Book: CIA forged key Iraq war document

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The White House ordered the CIA to forge a document that purported to establish a link between al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein, a new book alleges.

Author Ron Suskind writes in "The Way of the World" that the White House ordered the CIA to fabricate a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam, Politico reported Tuesday.

Suskind writes that the Bush administration had information from Iraqi intelligence "that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq -- intelligence they received in plenty of time to stop an invasion."

The White House has denied the allegations and accused Suskind of making a living by writing "gutter journalism."

"He is about selling books and making wild allegations that no one can verify, including the numerous bipartisan commissions that have reported on pre-war intelligence," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

The (London) Sunday Telegraph published a story about the letter in December 2003, on the same day that Saddam was captured in Iraq, Politico said. Following news reports about the existence of the letter, it was cited in media reports as evidence that there was an operational connection between al-Qaida and Iraq.