Otherwise this would have come up in the 9/11 Commission hearings.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) -- Russia gave the Bush administration intelligence that suggested Saddam Hussein's regime was preparing attacks against the United States and its interests abroad before the Iraq war, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.
Putin said he couldn't comment on how critical the Russians' information was in U.S. decision to invade Iraq. However, he said the intelligence didn't cause Russia to waver from its firm opposition to the war.
``Indeed, after Sept. 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, the Russian special services ... received information that officials from Saddam's regime were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States and outside it against the U.S. military and other interests,'' Putin said.
``Despite that information about terrorist attacks being prepared by Saddam's regime, Russia's position on Iraq remains unchanged,'' Putin said.
Putin said Russia didn't have any information that Saddam's regime had actually been behind any terrorist acts.