Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda link allegations

The Saddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy theory was based on false claims by the United States government alleging that a secretive relationship existed between Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the Sunni pan-Islamist militant organization al-Qaeda between 1992 and 2003. The George W. Bush administration promoted it as a main rationale for invading Iraq in 2003.

The conspiracy theory dates to the aftermath of the Gulf War, when Iraqi Intelligence Service officers allegedly met al-Qaeda members in 1992. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the conspiracy theory gained worldwide attention. The consensus of intelligence experts, backed up by reports from the 9/11 Commission, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and declassified Defense Department reports, was that these contacts never led to a relationship between Saddam and al-Qaeda. Critics of the Bush administration have said that Bush was intentionally building a case for war with Iraq with no regard for factual evidence.