And so the first decision I made, as you know, was to — was to deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan because they were harboring terrorists. This is where the terrorists planned and plotted. And the second decision, — which was a very difficult decision for me, by the way, and it's one that I — I didn't take lightly — was that Saddam Hussein was a threat. He is a declared enemy of the United States; he had used weapons of mass destruction; the entire world thought he had weapons of mass destruction. The United Nations had declared in more than 10 — I can't remember the exact number of resolutions — that disclose, or disarm, or face serious consequences. I mean, there was a serious international effort to say to Saddam Hussein, you're a threat. And the 9/11 attacks extenuated that threat, as far as I — concerned.
And so we gave Saddam Hussein the chance to disclose or disarm, and he refused. And I made a tough decision. And knowing what I know today, I'd make the decision again. Removing Saddam Hussein makes this world a better place and America a safer country.
***
Woodville later told the Washington Post that she believed Bush ducked her question.
"There is no link, and he knows it as well as I. And I and others in the audience are insulted," she said.
Woodville may have been insulted, but she shouldn't have been surprised.
***
This item first appeared at Journalists Against Bush's B.S.
Article comments
1 - Thad Anderson
Yeah, "9/11 changed my look on foreign policy" has to be the administration's weakest defense of the Iraq-Al Qaeda link yet.
Even after the 9/11 Commission report refuted its claims of a link, the Bush administration continued to cite a link.
Cheney again insists Saddam had ties to al-Qaida, Seattle Times, June 18, 2004:
"the evidence [of a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida] is overwhelming."
A Statement From Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, DoD News, Oct. 4, 2004:
"We have what we consider to be very reliable reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda going back a decade, and of possible chemical and biological agent training."
The recent declassification of a DIA letter from February 2002, DITSUM No. 044-02, shows that the Defense Intelligence Agency did not consider the Bush administration's source for the allegations of a link to be reliable.
"This is the first report from Ibn al-Shaykh in which he claims Iraq assisted al-Qaida’s CBRN [Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear] efforts. However, he lacks specific details on the Iraqis involved, the CBRN materials associated with the assistance, and the location where training occurred. It is possible he does not know any further details; it is more likely this individual is intentionally misleading the debriefers (emphasis added). Ibn al-Shaykh has been undergoing debriefs for several weeks and may be describing scenarios to the debriefers that he knows will retain their interest."
Moreover, the document shows that the DIA did not consider collaboration between Saddam and Al Qaeda very likely:
"Saddam’s regime is intensely secular and is wary of Islamic revolutionary movements. Moreover, Baghdad is unlikely to provide assistance to a group it cannot control."
PDF of DITSUM No. 044-02; Press release from the Office of Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who worked to get DITSUM No. 044-02 declassified, explaining the document.
2 - david r. mark
But no one can hold them accountable. The GOP controls the Congress, and when the media points out the obvious, conservatives make the false charge of "liberal media bias."
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
Offtopic: The media is liberal. Biased is another story, and liberally biased is yet another story.