Ladies and Gents: the BIG LIE is coming out as well: saddam/911

[DagmarK]

I hijacked this story reference from Charlie in another thread (post 10 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=33553&mesg_id=33553&page=)

I just felt like it had legs enough to carry its own thread!

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030712_661.html

Ex-Officials Dispute Iraq Tie to al-Qaida
Bush Overstated Alleged Links Between Iraq and al-Qaida, Former Intelligence Officials Say

The Associated Press


WASHINGTON July 12 —
As President Bush works to quiet a controversy over his discredited claim of Iraqi uranium shopping in Africa, another of his prewar assertions is coming under fire: the alleged link between Saddam Hussein's regime and al-Qaida.

Before the war, Bush and members of his cabinet said Saddam was harboring top al-Qaida operatives and suggested Iraq could slip the terrorist network chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons. Now, two former Bush administration intelligence officials say the evidence linking Saddam to the group responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was never more than sketchy at best.

"There was no significant pattern of cooperation between Iraq and the al-Qaida terrorist operation," former State Department intelligence official Greg Thielmann said this week.

Intelligence agencies agreed on the "lack of a meaningful connection to al-Qaida" and said so to the White House and Congress, said Thielmann, who left State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research last September.

Another former Bush administration intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, agreed there was no clear link between Saddam and al-Qaida.

"The relationships that were plotted were episodic, not continuous," the former official said.

MORE to story......see link.

*******THIS IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT than the Niger lie. I will tell you why --- AMERICANS believe overwhelmingly that Saddam was behind 9/11. And they justify everything Bush* has done in Iraq, Afghanistan, here in the USA with domestic policies ALL ON 9/11 stuff. 9/11 is Bush's friggin blank check for everything.

And Bush getting caught in a lie about 9/11.....that lead to WAR.....that killed our boys, that helped to double our deficit......WHOA.........THIS IS THE STORY of the year!!!!!!!

[Jeebo]

1. I hope so . . .

Lord, I hope so. If there is any justice in this world, please God, let SOMETHING bring this fraud and usurper down.

Ron

[uhhuh]

4. The BFEE's possible new info

I heard on some RW spewer's crapfest today that there is a district court judge(a Dem) who is in Iraq trying to rework the Iraqi judicial system, that has said that an Iraqi lawyer has shown him info about Uday Hussien sending an Iraqi official to Pakistan with the assignment of assisting Bin Laden's group. I think his name is Gilbert Merritt(sp?) I am going to see if I can find anything about this. Probably more BS, but who knows?

On Edit: I just googled Gilbert Merritt and iraq and al Queda. there is only one reference to him. He apparently is a judge that went to Iraq, but the only reference is an Intapundit link from a RW invasion apologist that claims to have clerked for him and it doesn't mention this info. I believe it was talking about him going there back in late April....still looking.

Update: U.S Court of Appeals, Sixth Circut until 1998. Family friend of the Gores. Seems pretty progressive...for more competent representation in capital cases...going back in...

Update2: Was ruling judge in 1985 that upheld decision the John Demanjuk was Ivan the Terrible of Treblika death camp, later proven false. Was on the fast track for nom to Supreme court until being campaigned agaist by Nazi Hunters who believe that the initial ruling was correct. Ginsburg given the nom instead. Felt the Clinton administration buckled under the pressure of charges that he was anti-semitic.
Merritt was the judge that asked Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from Chimp V Gore due to his wife lobbying prominent Repukes to apply for appoinments in the new administration if the chimp won..this was during the recount hold up, before the Supreme Court decision.
I doubt there's anything here. It would have hit by now if there was, and the wingers would be pointing at this already.

[acmavm]

2. I totally agree with you. This is the basis for all the crap that was to

follow. Get the American people to understand that this was untrue, they will begin to see that the rest of the "WMD, Niger, aluminum tubes, 45-minutes, etc." crap was just manipulation out of the White House. They will start to see that they played on their fears to attack Iraq, rip up the Constitution, bring our country to its knees financially, and to make sure that their friend got rich in the bargain.

[DagmarK]

6. That's right acamavm.......I just spent a week with two dems

both about age 60 years old or so.

Very liberal people.....both lived in San Francisco in the 1970s. VERY LIBERAL.

And this woman friend of mine starts in on her theory about BUSH. It went something like this:

"You see.....there is a reason for Bush having gotten into office -- even under election fraud. You see, the way things are in the world today, with the terrorists and all, it's a good thing we have someone like a barracuda in the White House. We need someone who is tough on terror. I have never voted republican in my life ...and I probably won't vote republican in 2004, but I think it's a good thing we have such a tough guy swimming in these rough waters for us right now.....we are in big trouble with these terrorists."

Of course, I just called a spade a spade and just told her.....hey, then Bush is your man...if you REALLY believe that he didn't CREATE and MANUFACTURE all this grief re terror.....then you NEED to vote for Bush in 2004. (I have ZERO tolerance for trying to shove actual facts up people's butts when their heads are up their own butts by choice.)

Anyways, she was plenty pissed at me for suggesting that she was a bona fide Bushite. It was a trippy night.....

But this was soooooo demoralizing to me.....to spend time with such a liberal person.....totally into astrology and alternative healing and listening to her crap. She really believed it. All I could say at the end of the trip (to her and her husband) was TURN OF FAUX NEWS!!! Give your brain a chance....... Sheesh.

[opihimoimoi]

12. Delusionitis is rampant across the Nation/World

We Humans are sooooo EMOTIONAL

[DagmarK]

3. Oh, I have to add a couple of snips from the article!

A United Nations terrorism committee says it has no evidence other than Secretary of State Colin Powell's assertions in his Feb. 5 U.N. speech of any ties between al-Qaida and Iraq.

***So, the UN is saying NO TIES

One of the things that concerns me is the continued reference to the war in Iraq as part of the war on terrorism. There's not much evidence to support that linkage," said Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a presidential candidate.


**And, isn't Mr. Graham going head to head with Rummy tomorrow? BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Graham will take the Niger story and run it all the way to the Beginning of the fradulent SOTU speech and Baghdad and back again.

I don't watch these pundit whore shows, but I am checking the TV guide to make sure I don't miss one word tomorrow!

[grasswire]

5. the freepers are talking about this "new info"

....it apparently is a tabloid or flyer that shows pictures of heroes including Osama, and refers to someone meeting with someone in the past. They are jubilant about this being the proof. One of them did speculate that anyone could print up such a kind of paper.

[NJCher]

7. give credit where credit is due

One of them did speculate that anyone could print up such a kind of paper.

One brain cell firing ....


Cher

[tomp]

8. also, let's see what the 9/11 commission has to say.

report due in less than two weeks, i understand. reportedly will be "explosive". i'll believe when i see it, but there's always hope.
if 9/11 was his blank check, he might be overdrawn.

[DagmarK]

9. Sun morning kick......n/t

*

[BuelahWitch]

10. This made the front page in my home town too today

We're only Lawrence, KS, but still... :bounce:

[tridim]

11. Only Lawrence Kansas?

Lawrence is a liberal Oasis in the vast repuke Kansas dessert. The best 5 years of my life were spent there. Don't sell your town short!

[TheBigGuy]

13. this came up on This Week

George Stephanopolous asked Rumsfeld about this, and he sort of weasle worded that there where "some contacts"....

Of course no one ever seriiously beleived this, excpet maybe the public.