Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 26, 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell said: ” ‘There is evidence of linkage between al Qaeda and Iraq… There is no linkage to 9/11 that we are aware of, but I can’t dismiss that possibility.’ He reiterated the point moments later. ‘There’s no smoking-gun linkage to 9/11, but it cannot totally be ruled out.’ ”
– Stephen F. Hayes, The Connection, Pages 22-23