WASHINGTON, Sept 11: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld mixed up Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein twice in a speech on Friday about the "war against terrorism".

Critics accuse the Bush administration of having concentrated on going after Saddam Hussein at the expense of the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

In a speech to the National Press Club on the eve of the third anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks, Mr Rumsfeld began by saying the world just before the attacks was not as serene as some people now suggest.

"The leader of the opposition Northern Alliance, Masood, lay dead, his murder ordered by Saddam Hussein, by Osama bin Laden, Taliban's co-conspirator," Mr Rumsfeld said.

He was referring to Ahmad Shah Masood, who was in opposition to the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan and was killed allegedly by Al Qaeda two days before the Sept 11 attacks.

Later in response to a question, Mr Rumsfeld again confused Saddam and Osama in a discourse about how U.S. actions had made it more difficult for "terrorists" to operate.

"It's harder for them to travel between countries, it's harder for them to communicate with each other, it's harder for them to raise money, it's harder for them to transfer money, it's harder for them to buy weapons, it's harder for them to do everything," Mr Rumsfeld said.

"Saddam Hussein, if he's alive, is spending a whale of a lot of time trying to not get caught. And we've not seen him on a video since 2001," Mr Rumsfeld said.

"Now, he's got to be busy. Why is he busy? It's because of the pressure that's being put on him," he added.

The moderator later asked Mr Rumsfeld if he had meant Osama, and the defence secretary replied: "I did. I meant we haven't seen Osama bin Laden."-Reuters