The Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday released a report claiming that President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other administration officials promoted the Iraq war with public statements that were not backed by findings of U.S. intelligence agencies.
Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold , a member of the committee, said that officials "overstated the nature and urgency of the threat, as described in the intelligence, ignored ongoing disagreements and uncertainty within the Intelligence Community, and, at times, outright contradicted intelligence assessments." Feingold called Bush administration claims of a link between Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden's al Queda organization "outlandish," and charged that "the administration used the 9/11 attacks to justify a war that has not only been waged in a country that had no connection to the attacks, but has seriously damaged our ability to fight al Qaeda."
The findings in the report were denounced by four Republican members of the committee, although two others voted to approve it. White House spokesman Dana Perino said the report contained nothing new, and denied any administration officials purposefully lied.