Washington: An internal Pentagon report into pre-warintelligence has faulted civilian defence officials for exaggerating the linkbetween Saddam Hussein's Iraq and Al Qaeda, according to excerpts reported inthe US media today (Feb 9,2007). 

A defence department analysis was done separately from theintelligence community and contained "reporting of dubious quality orreliability", according to the Pentagon's acting inspector general ThomasF. Gimble, who submitted a long-awaited report to Congress on Thursday, theWashington Post reported.

 The report singles out former undersecretary of defenceDouglas Feith for leading the rival intelligence analysis. Feith's office was predisposed to finding a significant relationship between Iraq and AlQaeda, according to excerpts of the report cited in the Post.

But the report concludes that none at the defence departmentviolated any laws or directives of the department, according to the New YorkTimes.

The USadministration's handling of intelligence leading up to the March 2003 invasionof Iraqhas long been questioned.

 No direct linkbetween Al Qaeda and Iraqhas been proven, but the Pentagon report says Feith's judgement that the twohad a "mature symbiotic relationship" was used by officials despite alack of evidence to support it.

 A full summary of the inspector general's report was to bereleased later Friday by the Senate Armed Services Committee.