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Rumsfeld Says Link Between Iraq, al Qaeda 'Not Debatable'
Friday, September 27, 2002
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

"How do you defend yourself against a terrorist? Do you absorb the attack and then decide to do something about it? Today, the question people are debating ... is how do you feel about absorbing a blow with a weapon of mass destruction, and it's not hundreds or thousands of people [killed], but it's tens of thousands?"

ATLANTA -- AFIS
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said this morning the link between al Qaeda terrorists and Iraq is "accurate and not debatable."

Rumsfeld traveled here to discuss the on-going war on terrorism and the threat Iraq poses to the United States and its allies.

The secretary declined to give more details on the ties between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. He said he does not want to give away intelligence information that may help the enemy.

Rumsfeld said he is not here to sell war with Iraq to the American people, noting that President Bush has made no decision on possible military action.

However, Rumsfeld said in interviews with local television stations, the president is pushing ahead with Congress on a resolution on Iraq. In addition, the president and Secretary of State Colin Powell are working with the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution that calls on Iraq to disarm and live up to 16 UN resolutions in place after the Persian Gulf War.

The secretary described his current role as ensuring the Defense Department is prepared for whatever the president decides. "And we are (ready)," he said. "My job is to see that DoD is equipped and ready to handle whatever comes."
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Dan