The other night McClatchy broke the news that a huge Pentagon study of Iraqi archives had concluded that there was no Saddam-al Qaeda link. That's been followed by reports in other media on the contours of the report, which was supposed to be released today followed by a Pentagon briefing.

But not any more.

ABC News reports:

The Bush Administration apparently does not want a U.S. military study that found no direct connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda to get any attention. This morning, the Pentagon cancelled plans to send out a press release announcing the report's release and will no longer make the report available online.

The report was to be posted on the Joint Forces Command website this afternoon, followed by a background briefing with the authors. No more. The report will be made available only to those who ask for it, and it will be sent via U.S. mail from Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia.

It won't be emailed to reporters and it won't be posted online. …

Asked why the report would not be posted online and could not be emailed, the spokesman for Joint Forces Command said: "We're making the report available to anyone who wishes to have it, and we'll send it out via CD in the mail."

Another Pentagon official said initial press reports on the study made it "too politically sensitive."

Late Update: Needless to say, this is a clownish effort at best. Nothing prevents anyone from obtaining the report and publishing it in its entirety. Paul Kiel has more.