The CIA issued a classified assessment on June 21, 2002, titled ‘Iraq and al-Qa’ida: Interpreting a Murky Relationship.’ “The assessment noted that it was ‘purposefully aggressive in seeking to draw connections, on the assumption that any indication of a relationship between these hostile elements would carry great dangers for the United States.’ The paper concluded that there was no evidence of cooperation on terrorist operations but there was enough intelligence on supposed contacts and training, including on chemical and biological weapons, that the relationship between al-Qaeda and Saddam was worrying.”
– Peter Bergen, The Longest War, Page 139