Fox News claims Bush never said that Iraq and Al Qaeda were linked

[ck4829]

If anyone had the displeasure of watching Special Report with Brit Hume yesterday, they would have been bombarded with comments that Democrats are taking the Bush Administration out of context when they are saying that the Bush Administration misused intelligence.

They are claiming that the Bush Administration never said that Iraq and Al Qaeda were linked.

"The Bush administration has said the terrorist network and Iraq were linked.

In response, a senior administration official traveling with President Bush in Tampa, Florida, said, "We stand by what Powell and Tenet have said," referring to previous statements by Secretary of State Colin Powell and CIA Director George Tenet that described such links.

In February 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell told the United Nations that Iraq was harboring Abu Musab Zarqawi, a "collaborator of Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda lieutenants," and he said Iraq's denials of ties to al Qaeda "are simply not credible."

In September, Cheney said Iraq had been "the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/16/911.commission/

"President Bush repeated his administration's claim that Iraq was in league with al Qaeda under Saddam Hussein's rule, saying Tuesday that fugitive Islamic militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ties Saddam to the terrorist network.

"Zarqawi's the best evidence of a connection to al Qaeda affiliates and al Qaeda," Bush told reporters at the White House. "He's the person who's still killing."

U.S. intelligence officials have said al Qaeda had some links to Iraq dating back to the early 1990s, but the nature and extent of those contacts is a matter of dispute.

Critics have accused the president and other administration officials of falsely inflating the links between Iraq and al Qaeda in the months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/06/15/bush.alqaeda/index.html

Looks like the Administration and Fakes News have been caught in a lie they won't be able to spin out of.

How can they say that the 2 aren't linked NOW, while Zarqawi is still around?

[FearofFutility]

1. They wouldn't be trying to

REWRITE HISTORY, would they? :eyes:

[bryant69]

2. It may technically be true

President Bush and Karl Rove know how to use surrogates. He strongly hinted; but did he come right and say "Iraq and AL Qaeda are working together." Maybe not.

As for the last part of their question, that's a point several conservative commentators have made. "Liberals like to claim theirs no connection between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda; so how do you explain Zarqawi showing up to help out after the invasion?"

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[underpants]

4. Right that is the spooky part. Also check out "imminent danger"

No they were very careful that W himself never linked the two. The steady progression of "published authors" and the rest might not have actually said it either (surely some did) but they impression was made even without saying it.

"imminent danger" is a phrase that only Rummy got caught saying. Thomas Friedman got him on Face the Nation. Rummy did actually say it. As close as they got they only once made that mistake. Wow are they disciplined.

This whole thing really is a "HAHAHA we tricked you and you fell for it" 8 year olds type behavior by the Wingers will eat it up it will be another WIN for W!!!! and they are all about the WIN!!!!

[converted_democrat]

8. I agree with you about the use of surrogates, but I don't think Fox has

taken the time to figure out just how damaging their argument on this could be. The people that watch Fox were convinced that there was a link, and someone or something convinced them of that. These people have set up their belief system, and their justification on this very point. They believed it, and they believed it hard, it was all they had to defend their belief on. Now Fox is taking it away, and they are left with hardly anything to "defend" their beliefs with, and if Fox said it, it must be true. Fox is screwing the pooch much harder than what they realize. When people figured out that there were no WMD, many turned to the argument of the Iraq, Al-Qaeda connection as justification for their beliefs. Fox just destroyed the only argument for justification they had left. I have never said this before, but thank you Fox.

[chat_noir]

3. more

Bush insists Iraq, al Qaeda had 'relationship'

President Bush on Thursday said that there were "numerous contacts" between Iraq and the terror network.

Bush, in a brief appearance before reporters, was asked why the administration insists that Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda had a relationship "when even you have denied any connection between Saddam and September 11, and now the September 11 commission says that there was no collaborative relationship at all?"

The president answered:"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda, because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda."

Bush reiterated that the administration never said that "the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated" between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. "We did say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/17/Bush.alqaeda/


Bush Defends Assertions of Iraq-Al Qaeda Relationship

President Bush yesterday defended his assertions that there was a relationship between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, putting him at odds with this week's finding of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission.

"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda: because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda," Bush said after a Cabinet meeting. As evidence, he cited Iraqi intelligence officers' meeting with bin Laden in Sudan. "There's numerous contacts between the two," Bush said.

The finding of the commission's staff led Bush's Democratic challenger, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), to escalate his accusations that Bush deceived both the Senate and the American public about the rationale for war in Iraq. "The president owes the American people a fundamental explanation about why he rushed to war for a purpose that it now turns out is not supported by the facts," Kerry told reporters at the Detroit airport. "That is the finding of this commission."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50679-2004Jun17.html



http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rls=HPIC,HPIC:2005-21,HPIC:en&q=Bush+Iraq+Al+Qaeda&spell=1

[WearyOne]

5. Fox should ask Bill O'Reilly-he's a well known Al Qaeda supporter

..recently encouraging them to bomb a US city. He must have a direct line to them.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Just kept saying 9/11 Iraq Osama Bin Hussein over and over and over.

:eyes:

[librechik]

7. "our early work muddying the waters made that impossible!"

Americans don't like politicians defending themselves using some nitpicky loophole in language--like the definition of is, famously.

These guys must look more and more like the caricature of Clinton freepers love to hate. They basically are skeptical of all politicians anyway; they were only persuaded to accept the Bushies because they thought those guys were "just like them." Wrong.

[KharmaTrain]

9. Perception Vs. Words

I remember the poll right before the invasion that showed upwards of 70% of the sheeple believed Iraq was involved in 9/11...and while asshat wasn't doing the linking, Chenney, Rice and many others were. So was the corporate media. We saw a lot more reports on "Saddam's Hidden Weapons" and the Judy Miller stories ran in the NY Times.

Nope, there's no "smoking gun" that "booosh linked 9/11 and Iraq"...the fact that they saw those 70% poll numbers and instead of saying "no, no, that's not the right enemy", they were out with the bongos and cigars and the invasion was on. This was the real mission accomplished.

Now ain't this somethin'...the assholes who made such a big stink about what "is is" do nothing but parse these days. They look for that little snippet or carefully worded dodge...and when that doesn't work, they just make shit up.

People don't like liars...what's worse are liars who try to cover their lies with more lies.