US President George W. Bush moved last night to dismiss speculation of a possible link between Saddam Hussein and the September 11th, 2001 attacks.
"We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in September 11th," Mr Bush told reporters as he met members of Congress on energy legislation.
Democrats have accused the administration of creating the "false impression" at the heart of a widespread belief held by Americans that Saddam had a personal role in the attacks.
A recent poll by the Washington Postsaid 69 per cent of Americans believed there was a Saddam link to the attacks although no evidence of such a link has surfaced.
Mr Bush said there were suspicions of an Iraq-al-Qaeda link, citing the case of Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi, a leader of an Islamic group in northern Iraq called Ansar al-Islam believed to have links to al-Qaeda.
The United States believes Zarqawi received medical treatment in Baghdad and helped orchestrate the assassination of a US diplomat in Jordan. "There's no question that Saddam Hussein had al-Qaeda ties," Mr Bush said.
At the White House yesterday, Mr Bush held a National Security Council meeting with his top foreign policy and military advisers and discussed Iraq.
The United States is searching for a compromise with France and other permanent members of the UN Security Council on a new UN resolution that would create a multinational force for Iraq and set up a pathway to Iraqi sovereignty.
Mr Bush is to address the UN General Assembly on September 23rd but US officials said this was not seen at the White House as a deadline for a new UN resolution.