Former US defence policy chief Douglas Feith developed "dubious" intelligence that was used to bolster the Bush administration's case for the invasion of Iraq, a Pentagon watchdog said in a report to be released today.
The conclusion by Mr Feith's office that there was a "mature symbiotic relationship" between Iraq and al Qaeda was inconsistent with the view of the US intelligence community, according to excerpts of the Pentagon inspector general's report.
"An alternative intelligence assessment process was established in the office of Under Secretary for Policy Doug Feith ... that was predisposed to finding a significant relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.
"His staff then conducted its own review of raw intelligence reports, including reporting of dubious quality and reliability," the report said.
"They arrived at an 'alternative' interpretation of the Iraq-al Qaeda relationship that was much stronger than that assessed by the IC [intelligence community] and more in accord with the policy views of senior officials in the administration," the report concluded.
Excerpts of the report were released by Democrat Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and an unclassified summary is to be published later today when the committee is briefed on its findings.
Top Bush administration officials cited alleged ties between Iraq and al Qaeda as a justification for the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The bipartisan commission which investigated the September 11 attacks on the United States in later reported that no collaborative relationship existed between the two.
Mr Levin said the inspector general's report supports his own conclusion that the office, under Mr Feith, a strong advocate of deposing Saddam Hussein, twisted intelligence to suggest links between Iraq and militants from al Qaeda.
"Those activities supported the Bush administration's misleading case for war against Iraq," Mr Levin said in a statement.
"Senior administration officials, including Vice President Cheney, made numerous public statements that reflected the views of the Feith alternative analysis, which were inconsistent with the analysis and judgements of the intelligence community," Mr Levin added.