Yesterday, Vice President Dick Cheney repeated the assertion that Saddam Hussein had "long-established ties" with al-Qaida. "He was a patron of terrorism," Cheney told an audience at conservative think-tank in Florida. "He had long established ties with al-Qaida."

Asked to defend his claims -- which have been largely discredited by policy experts and denounced by members of Congress -- Cheney demonstrated the administration's latest approach to intelligence gathering, putting his fingers in his ears and singing, "La-la-la-la-la! I can't hear you!"

Cheney says al-Qaida, Hussein linked, despite widespread doubts [AP/Sun-Sentinel]