That Saddam and al Qaeda were not actually working together comes as a surprise to exactly one person:
The report’s release came on the same day that Vice President Cheney, appearing on Rush Limbaugh’s radio program, repeated his allegation that al-Qaeda was operating inside Iraq “before we ever launched” the war…Cheney cited the alleged history to illustrate his argument that withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq would “play right into the hands of al-Qaeda.”
He’s either not paying close attention (“analysts told… I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, that there were ‘fundamental problems with how the intelligence community is assessing information.'”) or, you know, lying.
It’s all very horrific and sad but according to the NYT’s headline, Cheney has one last straw to grasp at should he need to prove our invasion was justified:
Hussein-Qaeda Link ‘Inappropriate,’ Report Says
Seance in the West Wing tonight! “Where did al Qaeda touch you, Saddam, where?!?”