By Caren Bohan
Cincinnati - Vice-President Dick Cheney on Thursday again linked former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with al-Qaeda to defend invading Iraq in a week when United States deaths there passed the 1 000 mark.
At a town-hall-style forum in the swing state of Ohio, Cheney described Saddam as a "man who provided safe harbour and sanctuary to terrorists for years" and a man who "provided safe harbour and sanctuary as well for al-Qaeda".
The commission that investigated the September 11, 2001 attacks has said it had not discovered any evidence of a "collaborative" relationship" between the fallen Iraqi government and al-Qaeda.
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The Bush administration has in the past cited reports that Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al Zarqawi had been treated at a Baghdad hospital as evidence of the links between Saddam and al-Qaeda.
Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for several suicide bombings and other attacks on Iraqi and US officials in recent months. It has also killed an American, a South Korean and probably a Bulgarian hostage in Iraq.
After the September 11 attacks, Cheney became the most outspoken Bush administration official in making a direct link between al-Qaeda's attack and Saddam's Iraq. In response to questions, President George Bush later said the 9/11 attacks were not linked to Iraq but that there had been "numerous contacts" between Iraq and al-Qaeda.
Polls show about half the American public see the war on terror as linked to the year-old conflict in Iraq.
Cheney did not repeat his assertion, made on Tuesday, that America might "get hit again" by another terrorist attack if voters elected Senator John Kerry, Bush's Democratic rival for president.
Cheney also defended the administration's handling of the economy, saying that some US statistics such as the closely watched monthly payroll report may not be capturing the job growth that is taking place.
He argued that the economy was changing and that the way statistics were collected needed to reflect that. For example, he said, "400 000 people make some money trading on eBay".
Cheney added, "that's a source that didn't exist even 10 years ago".
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