And we thought Bill Clinton was funny for trying to figure out what the meaning of “is” is? Compared to Clinton, George W. Bush is the King of Comedy. The President is right. He never specifically said that “there was a direct connection between September 11th and Saddam Hussein.” But, he did say there was a direct tie between Iraq and Al Qaeda. In fact, Bush and his Administration worked overtime to fully link the phrase Al Qaeda with Saddam Hussein. Consider the following appeared in The New York Times on June 20, 2004, under the title, What the Bush Administration Said. (Kudos to the NY Times).
Critics of the Bush administration argue that it falsely created a link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks to help justify the war. Last week, the administration countered that it had never made such an assertion — only that there were ties, however murky, between Iraq and Al Qaeda. A survey of past public comments seems to bear that out — although whether there was a deliberate campaign to create guilt by association is difficult to say.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE
”Now the Al Qaeda is an organization that’s quite dispersed and –and quite widespread in its effects, but it clearly has had links to the Iraqis, not to mention Iraqi links to all kinds of other terrorists. And what we do not want is the day when Saddam Hussein decides that he’s had enough of dealing with sanctions and it’s time to end it on his terms, by transferring one of these weapons, just a little vial of something, to a terrorist.”
Interview on ”Face the Nation,” Mar. 9, 2003
Q: Do you believe, because this is continually a subject of debate, that there was a link between al Qaeda and the regime of Saddam Hussein before the war?
MS. RICE: Absolutely. And Zarqawi made the coming back to his old stomping ground. But we know that there was training of Al Qaeda in chemical and perhaps biological warfare. We know that the Zarqawi network was out of there, this poisons network that was trying to spread poisons throughout —
Q: You’re talking about the Ansar al-Islam base in northern —
MS. RICE: Yes. And there was Ansar al-Islam, which appears also to try to be operating in Iraq. So yes, the Al Qaeda link was there. And maybe they’re trying to reestablish it.”
Interview on ”Fox News” Sunday, Sept. 7, 2003
”Saddam Hussein –no one has said that there is evidence that Saddam Hussein directed or controlled 9/11, but let’s be very clear, he had ties to Al Qaeda.”
Interview on ”Meet the Press,” Sept. 28, 2003
DONALD H. RUMSFELD
”There is no question but that there have been interactions between the Iraqi government, Iraqi officials and Al Qaeda operatives. They have occurred over a span of some 8 or 10 years to our knowledge. There are currently Al Qaeda in Iraq.”
Interview with Infinity CBS Radio, Nov. 14, 2002
”The regime plays host to terrorists, including Al Qaeda, as the president indicated.”
Defense Department briefing, Jan. 29, 2003
Q: Mr. Secretary, today in a broadcast interview Saddam Hussein said, ”There is only one truth, Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction whatsoever.” And he went on to say, ”I would like to tell you directly we have no relationship with Al Qaeda.”
MR. RUMSFELD: And Abraham Lincoln was short.
Defense Department Briefing, Feb. 4, 2003
”We said from the outset that there are several terrorist networks that have global reach and that there were several countries that were harboring terrorists that have global reach. We weren’t going into Iraq when we were hit on September 11. And the question is: Well, what do you do about that? If you know there are terrorists and you know there’s terrorist states –Iraq’s been a terrorist state for decades –and you know there are countries harboring terrorists, we believe, correctly, I think, that the only way to deal with it is –you can’t just hunker down and hope they won’t hit you again. You simply have to take the battle to them.”
Interview on ”Meet the Press,” Nov. 2, 2003
COLIN L. POWELL
Q: You referred in your speech to the links between Al Qaeda and Iraq. Now, even some of our secret service chiefs say publicly there is no evidence of that.
MR. POWELL: We do have evidence of it. We are not suggesting that there is a 9/11 link, but we are suggesting –we do have evidence –of connections over the years between Iraq and Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.”
Interview with European editors, Jan 26, 2003
”The more we wait, the more chance there is for this dictator with clear ties to terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda, to pass a weapon, share a technology or use these weapons again.”
Remarks at the World Economic Forum, Jan. 26, 2003
”We do have information that suggests that there have been links over the years, and continue to be links, between the Iraqi government and Al Qaeda. And the more we look at this the more we are able to look back in time and connect things with people who have come into our custody and other information has become available to us. It’s clear that there is a link.”
Interview with ITN Television of Britain, Jan. 29, 2003
”But what I want to bring to your attention today is the potentially much more sinister nexus between Iraq and the Al Qaeda terrorist network, a nexus that combines classic terrorist organizations and modern methods of murder.”
Remarks made before the United Nations Security Council, Feb. 5, 2003
DICK CHENEY
QUESTION REGARDING 9/11: Do we have any evidence linking Saddam Hussein or Iraqis to this operation?
MR. CHENEY: No.
Interview on ”Meet the Press,” Sept. 16, 2001
MR. CHENEY: I want to separate out 9/11 from the other relationships between Iraq and the Al Qaeda organization. But there is a pattern of relationships going back many years.”
Q: But no direct link?
MR. CHENEY: I can’t –I’ll leave it right where it’s at. I’ve tried to be cautious and restrained in my comments.”
Interview on ”Meet the Press,” Sept. 8, 2002
”[Saddam’s] regime has had high-level contacts with Al Qaeda going back a decade.”
Remarks at the Air National Guard Senior Leadership Conference, Dec. 2, 2002
”If we’re successful in Iraq we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11.”
Interview on ”Meet the Press,” Sept. 14, 2003
”On the 9/11 question, we’ve never had confirmation one way or another. We did have reporting that was public, that came out shortly after the 9/11 attack, provided by the Czech government. We’ve never been able to collect any more information on that.”
Interview with The Rocky Mountain News, Jan. 9, 2004
”I continue to believe, I think there’s overwhelming evidence that there was a connection between Al Qaeda and the Iraqi government.”
National Public Radio interview, Jan. 22, 2004
GEORGE W. BUSH
”We know that Iraq and Al Qaeda have had high-level contacts that go back a decade. Some Al Qaeda leaders who fled Afghanistan went to Iraq.”
Remarks on Iraq made in Cincinnati, Oct. 7, 2002
”[Saddam Hussein] is a threat because he is dealing with Al Qaeda.”
Washington press conference, Nov. 7, 2002
”Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaeda.”
State of the Union address, Jan. 28, 2003
”Iraq has sent bomb-making and document forgery experts to work with Al Qaeda. Iraq has also provided Al Qaeda with chemical and biological weapons training.”
Speech: ”World Can Rise to This Moment,” Feb. 6, 2003
”The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We’ve removed an ally of Al Qaeda.”
Announcement that major combat in Iraq was over, May 1, 2003
”The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11, 2001.”
Same speech, May 1, 2003
”The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and Al Qaeda is because there was a relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda.”
So, what do we say to President Bush and his Cabinet about their effort to link Saddam with Osama. How about, “Mission Accomplished”?
