Because one of the things that surprises a lot of the public, I think, is that immediately after Sept. 11, the administration knew exactly who had done it. Was that why?
No. On the day of Sept. 11, then the day or two following, we had a very open mind. CIA and FBI were asked, "See if it's Hezbollah. See if it's Hamas. Don't assume it's Al Qaeda. Don't just assume it's Al Qaeda." Frankly, there was absolutely not a shred of evidence that it was anybody else. The evidence that it was Al Qaeda began just to be massive within days after the attack.
So Iraq wasn't the only potential connection that he was asked to look into in the days immediately following 9/11. Which is as it should be, of course.
UPDATE: It has just occurred to me that it is also passing strange that, after the way the meeting with Bush on 9/11 was supposed to have gone (as he now tells it, at least), he didn't also mention being asked to look into an Iraqi connection.