ABSTRACT
American presidents have employed a variety of different tools in the interrelated conduct of foreign and national security policy over the past two and one-quarter centuries. This chapter deals with the degree to which the Bush administration's policy toward Iraq from 2001-2003 was related to the war on terrorism broadly and the events of 9/11 in particular. It discusses in detail the altered perception of threats to US interests in the aftermath of 9/11. The chapter examines the relationship between Al Qaeda and the United States during both the Clinton and Bush administrations from 1993-2004. It describes the relationship between Saddam's Iraq and the United States during the Clinton and Bush administrations from 1993-2004. The chapter reviews the extent to which credible linkages existed between Saddam's regime and Al Qaeda prior to the 9/11 attacks on one hand and whether Iraq played any role whatsoever in the planning and conduct of those assaults on the other.
