Panel seeks evidence from Cheney, wants to question Rice, Tenet

WASHINGTON -- Nearing the end of its work, the Sept. 11 commission is inviting Vice President Dick Cheney to provide any evidence he has that would show links between al-Qaida and Iraq under Saddam Hussein, a panel member said Saturday.

He said the panel also wants to follow up its questioning of President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, and CIA Director George Tenet.

The Cheney request culminates a week in which the commission said it found no evidence of collaboration between Saddam's Iraq and al-Qaida, while the White House stuck by its position that the two had significant links.

Cheney told the CNBC network that there probably were things about Iraq's links to terrorists that the commission members did not learn during their 14-month investigation.

After hearing the vice president's comment, commission members said they would like to see any intelligence reports that Cheney is referring to.