"BULLET-PROOF"

Ray McGovern asked Rumsfeld about his "bullet-proof" claim that Saddam was working with Al-Qaida and I decided to look up Rumsfeld's speech:

They did, they came back, we ended up with five or six sentences that were bullet-proof. We could say them, they're factual, they're exactly accurate. They demonstrate that there are in fact al Qaeda in Iraq. But they're not photographs, they are not beyond a reasonable doubt, they in some cases are assessments from a limited number of sources. They're in some cases hard information that were we to release it would reveal a method of gathering it. And it seems to me that if our quest is for proof positive we probably will be left somewhat unfulfilled.

Rumsfeld, Sept. 27, 2002
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

It's hard to make out what Rumsfeld means by all this. On the one hand, we have bullet-proof facts BUT they are not beyond a reasonable doubt and are not proof-positive.

Later on, Rumsfeld seems to be saying that there is no doubt that Saddam and Al-Qaida are working together:

"The regime plays host to terrorists, including Al Qaida, as the president indicated."
Source: Donald Rumsfeld and Richard Myers Hold Regular Defense Department Briefing, Defense Department (1/29/2003).