BUSH ASSERTS THAT AL QAEDA HAS LINKS TO IRAQ'S HUSSEIN

President Cites Potential Cooperation as Concern

President Bush asserted a link yesterday between Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein and the al Qaeda terrorist network, saying he fears they will join
forces and are already virtually indistinguishable.

"The danger is, is that they work in concert," Bush said. "The danger is,
is that al Qaeda becomes an extension of Saddam's madness and his hatred
and his capacity to extend weapons of mass destruction around the world."

The administration had begun deemphasizing claims of links between Hussein
and global terrorism. Senior intelligence officials told The Washington
Post this month that the CIA had not found convincing proof, despite
efforts that included surveillance photos and communications intercepts.

U.S. officials have continued to hint at connections, however. Evidence
linking Hussein to the Sept. 11 attacks could help erode reservations on
Capitol Hill and among world powers about the justification for a U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq.

A few hours before Bush's remarks, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was
asked by reporters traveling with him in Warsaw if there are linkages
between al Qaeda and Iraq. "I have no desire to go beyond saying the answer
is yes," he replied. Rumsfeld had just appeared before NATO defense
ministers with CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin to give an intelligence
briefing on the Iraqi threat. Rumsfeld said McLaughlin told them about
linkages between Hussein and al Qaeda.

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer tried to play down the
specificity of Bush's charge, saying the president was talking about what
he feared could occur. Fleischer repeated the administration position that
it would be a mistake to wait for a smoking gun. "Clearly, al Qaeda is
operating inside Iraq," he said. "In the shadowy world of terrorism,
sometimes there is no precise way to have definitive information until it
is too late."

Bush was in the Oval Office with President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia when he
was asked whether Hussein was a bigger threat to the United States than al
Qaeda. "That is an interesting question," Bush began. "I'm trying to think
of something humorous to say."

"But I can't when I think about al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein," the president
continued. "They're both risks. They're both dangerous. The difference, of
course, is that al Qaeda likes to hijack governments. Saddam Hussein is a
dictator of a government."

Bush then drew another distinction that differs from longtime reports from
the country. "Al Qaeda hides, Saddam doesn't," Bush said. In fact, military
planners fear finding Hussein could be a challenge if Bush decides to
depose him, because the Iraqi leader often works and sleeps at different
palaces and other sites.

"The war on terror, you can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when
you talk about the war on terror," he said. "They're both equally as bad,
and equally as evil, and equally as destructive."

Bush praised Uribe, the Colombian president, who took office on Aug. 7 amid
guerilla attacks, for his vision for the long process toward a peaceful and
prosperous Colombia. "He's a man who told the people of his country that he
would work to eradicate terrorism, narco- trafficking," Bush said. "The
Colombian people believe him, and so do I."

The two discussed ways Colombia can secure international aid to fight drugs
and terrorism, and Bush said the United States is "certainly willing to
help the government and the Colombian people realize a prosperous future."
Fleischer said Bush told Uribe that the United States will press the World
Bank, International Monetary Fund and other organizations "to assure an
increased flow of financial and development assistance."

Bush made a connection between terrorism and drug trafficking when he cited
the unsealing of federal charges Tuesday against Carlos Castano, head of a
violent right-wing Colombian paramilitary group, who is accused of bringing
17 tons of cocaine into the United States and Europe since 1997.

"The guy who got indicted yesterday made a decision to be a terrorist,"
Bush said. "We made a decision to hold him to account, and we will continue
to do that."