World | Osama bin Laden Prez Pushes Osama's Link to Insurgency Commander-in-chief adamant al-Qaeda in Iraq is key branch of broader network By Peter Fearon Posted Jul 25, 2007 6:13 AM CDT Copied President Bush talks with an airman driving a cargo loading truck during a visit to Charleston Air Force Base, Tuesday, July 24, 2007, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Alan Hawes, Pool) (Associated Press) President Bush insisted again yesterday that a Sunni insurgent group in Iraq is an integral part of Osama bin Laden's worldwide al-Qaeda network—-rebuffing several experts' claims to the contrary. Recent reports have suggested that Sunnis fighting under the "al-Qaeda in Iraq" banner are local insurgents with a weak connection to the eponymous parent organization. The distinction is critical because it determines whether Iraq is truly, as the administration has asserted, essential to a global war on terror. "Some will tell you al-Qaeda in Iraq isn't really al-Qaeda," Bush told military personnel. "That's like watching a man in a bank with a mask and a gun and saying he's just there to cash a check. We are fighting bin Laden's al-Qaeda in Iraq." Read These Next Guests find summit document on hotel printer. The vinyl tracklist can be very different from what you know. This is why you never rappel down a waterfall alone. Sudden, intense cloudbursts leave at least 300 dead. Report an error