"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al-Qaida (is) because there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida," President Bush said.
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040617-021547-7512r

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http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=ahY4hRYnKbbw&refer=top_world_news
One of the connections, Bush said, was Abu Mussab al- Zarqawi, an associate and collaborator of bin Laden and his al- Qaeda aides. Bush said Saddam posed a threat because the former Iraqi leader ``provided safe haven'' for Zarqawi.

``The world is better off and America is more secure without Saddam Hussein in power,'' the president said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said later that Zarqawi ``had a safe harbor in Iraq'' in a hospital as he received medical treatment, before the war began. McClellan, citing the Sept. 11 commission report, also pointed to high-level contacts between Iraqi intelligence officials and bin Laden in Sudan.

At least 833 U.S. soldiers have died since the war began in March 2003, with 693 deaths since May 1 of that year, when Bush declared major hostilities over, Pentagon figures show.
(thats 83%)

Kerry, a four-term U.S. senator from Massachusetts, said the report by the Sept. 11 commission, a 10-member bipartisan panel, bolsters his argument that the war in Iraq was a distraction from the hunt for al-Qaeda. "This administration took it's eye off the real war on terrorism -- al- Qaeda, Afghanistan -- for reasons of its own choosing,'' Kerry, 60, said.
(introducing kerry.... lol)

The commission is holding its final public hearing today in Washington. After 18 months of work, the panel plans to deliver its final report to Congress and the White House by July 26, the opening day of the Democratic National Convention in Boston.