Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith “was flying back from Europe the day of the attacks [September 11, 2001] with a group of senior Pentagon officials. On the flight Feith broached the idea of overthrowing Saddam. General John Abizaid, the Arabic-speaking four-star general who two years later would assume responsibility for U.S. military operations in the Middle East, interrupted him, saying, ‘Not Iraq. There is not a connection with al-Qaeda.’ “
– Peter Bergen, The Longest War, Page 52