In his April 25 Washington Sketch column, "Iraq War Is Everyone Else's Fault, Feith Explains," Dana Milbank asserted that the "CIA was correct" that there were no links between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. The historical record tells a different story.

In 2002, then-CIA Director George Tenet wrote in a letter to Bob Graham (D-Fla.), then chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, that "our understanding of the relationship between Iraq and al-Qa'ida is evolving" and "we have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and al-Qa'ida going back a decade."

A March 2008 report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command included information about the relationship between Hussein and Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's second in command: "Saddam supported groups either associated directly with al Qaeda (such as the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, led at one time by bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri) or that generally shared al Qaeda's stated goals and objectives."

Critics of the war in Iraq often try to minimize -- if not dismiss -- the links between Saddam Hussein and terrorists. As they say, facts are stubborn things.

JON KYL
U.S. Senator (R-Ariz.)
Letter to the editor in today's WaPo. As an Arizona resident, I am thankful for the exceptional representation we have had in the Senate.