When asked what Iraq had to do with the 9/11 attacks:

believing anything these 2 say is like believing our vote really means something.

both of them should just shut the hell up already!

gotta love thisc country for putting up with this

I wonder if Bush understands how tape recorders, video cameras, and pens work.

this man doesnt even read a newspaper as stated many of times.

How do those quotes indicate at all that Saddam ordered the attack?

They pretty much don't. I was just waiting for you to get here and say it, so i didn't have to.

B, i don't really get this thread

You don't think that's a clear attempt to link Iraq and 9/11?

Linking yes. Saying Iraq ordered the attack, planned, and put it together? No.

It's pretty arrogant of Bush to pretend like he can't understand why the American public wouldn't be able to flesh out such subtleties.

"I was only trying to falsely LINK Iraq and 9/11, so that I had an excuse to go to war with Iraq. Why would something think that I was suggesting responsibility?"

But that's not EVER what it was, and you know it. Just like you know there's nothing beyond those comments above.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases ... 319-1.html

Come on LittleWing, you talk about how some images that may show one extra body could entirely sway world view about the recent war. Thus, this means that you believe that the majority of people do not read into the news with any sort of depth.

If this is the case, then those quotes from Cheney are easy to figure out. They may not explicitly say that Saddam ordered the attacks, but that is the intended message for the idiot public, and you know it. The average american reads that, and says: "those motherfuckers did 9/11!" And you damn well know that that is the desired effect.

So quit your posturing here...it is transparent as hell.

To my knowledge, Bush, Cheney, etc have never publically stated any direct connection beween September 11 and Iraq during the buildup to the invasion.

Some examples:

Bush, October 2002 speech:
We know that Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network share a common enemy -- the United States of America. 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. These include one very senior al Qaeda leader who received medical treatment in Baghdad this year, and who has been associated with planning for chemical and biological attacks. We've learned that Iraq has trained al Qaeda members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases. And we know that after September the 11th, Saddam Hussein's regime gleefully celebrated the terrorist attacks on America.

Bush, March 2003 Letter to the Speaker of the House:
I have also determined that the use of armed force against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.


What Bush is doing, however, is strategically connecting the two with rhetorical association. It was a subtle, clever ploy to get people to associate Iraq with September 11 without saying it. Why bring up September 11 at all? It's not like we'd forgotten it. Of course Bush and Cheney are going to play up Iraq's "strong links" to Al Qaeda, because we all know Al Qaeda planned the terrorist attacks. This was calculated, purposeful, and manipulative of people's emotions regarding the tragedy of that day. They knew exacty what they were doing, because support for the war would not have been what it was if that link was not made in people's minds.

When he was speaking about Iraq (then, and now), President Bush will bring up 9/11 to bring the War in Iraq into the proper perspective - that 9/11 taught us that we can no longer ignore the problem of terrorism.
Did Saddam Hussein orchestrate the 9/11 attacks? No.
Did Saddam Hussein support terrorism? Yes. Did that make Iraq a state that sponsored terrorism? Yes. That and other reasons justified the War in Iraq.
This is about the broader problem - terrorism. This is why President Bush utters Iraq and 9/11 in the same speech.

The other two did it for me...you guys keep reaching for that rainbow. Also B, I think you highlighted a little early.

(2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-243 is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.

That's what Iraq was.

Hey LittleWing, read diaglo's post again...good job of reading the whole thing:

"What Bush is doing, however, is strategically connecting the two with rhetorical association. It was a subtle, clever ploy to get people to associate Iraq with September 11 without saying it. Why bring up September 11 at all? It's not like we'd forgotten it. Of course Bush and Cheney are going to play up Iraq's "strong links" to Al Qaeda, because we all know Al Qaeda planned the terrorist attacks. This was calculated, purposeful, and manipulative of people's emotions regarding the tragedy of that day. They knew exacty what they were doing, because support for the war would not have been what it was if that link was not made in people's minds."

...this does not seem like it is putting me down for "reaching for the rainbow." In fact, it seems like you might be the one "reaching," and being incredibly idiotic if you believe bush and cheney were NOT trying to infer this.

do you really believe OBL was behind the attacks?

I disagree.

I'd reckon that there would have been broader support if it would have been sold primarily as a humanitarian mission than with WMD's. Was it used in connection with 9-11, yes, and rightfully so. However, it was never sold as "Saddam did it." Never once.