In the November 24, 2003, Weekly Standard, Stephen F. Hayes summarized and quoted at length a recent, secret Pentagon memo to the Senate Intelligence Committee. The memo laid out -- in 50 bullet points, over 16 pages -- the relationship between Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. Much of the intelligence in the memo was detailed and appeared to be well-sourced and well-corroborated. The story generated lots of discussion on talk radio and on the Internet, but the establishment media did their best to take a pass. As we went to press, the memo had received nary a mention on the major broadcast networks. The Pentagon statement [following publication] criticized "news reports" about the memo as "inaccurate." It specified neither any reports nor any alleged errors. In fact, the Pentagon's statement itself contained several mistakes. We at The Weekly Standard have long believed that the war in Iraq was, indeed, central to the broader war on terror. This argument never depended on particular connections of Saddam and al Qaeda, but such connections are certainly relevant. Based on all the evidence we have seen, we believe that such connections existed. Does the Bush administration agree, or doesn't it? Follow the bouncing ball ... About That Memo ... | 
