Last week, the administration released an intelligence summary that warns al-Qaeda is getting stronger.
The president pointed to this as proof that Iraq is central to fighting AQ. Asked if the report actually demonstrates that Bush's efforts to defeat AQ aren't working, he replied that things would be far worse if he hadn't invaded Iraq.
Mull that over for a second. It's a rhetorical get-out-of-jail-free card. You're Bush, and six years later things are getting worse, not better. No problem! Just claim that things would really be dire if not for your brilliant leadership. It's a completely irrefutable claim, because you can't rewind history and try again.
Unfortunately for Bush, such a bald assertion relies heavily on his credibility on security matters. And he has (charitably) almost none left. He's made so many blithe assertions that have turned out to be flat wrong that nobody believes him anymore.
This ties in with Bush's continuing efforts to tie our opponents in Iraq to 9/11. During a speech at the end of June, he noted that the people we're fighting in Iraq "are the people that attacked us on September the 11th."
Except that for the most part, they aren't. Al Qaeda in Iraq is a mostly local group that arose in 2003 in response to our invasion of Iraq. It has established some contacts with AQ Central and pledged it's loyalty to AQ. But they are at best a local franchisee using the AQ brand name. They are not the people, or even the same group, that attacked us in 2001. Further, they represent only a small portion of the combatants in Iraq.
No matter how you slice it, painting Iraq as a war on al-Qaeda is a flat lie. "War on Islamic extremism" might be closer to the truth, and even that doesn't encompass the growing, unrelated sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - moonraven
I already posted this on another thread, but it is more appropriate to this one:
Published on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 by the Telegraph/UK
Bush Told Iraq War Has Helped al-Qa’eda
by Tim Shipman
WASHINGTON - President George W Bush was facing increasingly blunt criticism of his Iraq policy last night as a US intelligence report suggested that the war has made al-Qa’eda attacks on American soil more likely.
Senator George Voinovich, a close ally of Mr Bush, delivered a withering assessment of the situation in Iraq, declaring that the Bush administration had “f****d up the war”. The Ohio senator revealed that he warned Karl Rove - the President’s chief political adviser - last week that Mr Bush must devise a new plan for Iraq or he would vote with Democrats on Capitol Hill to withdraw troops from Iraq.
He spoke out as a declassified National Intelligence Estimate of the terrorist threat to the US indicated that the Iraq war has helped al-Qa’eda “raise resources and to recruit and indoctrinate operatives, including for homeland attacks”.
2 - Elaine Johnson
9/11 was STAGED. 9/11/2001, Pentagon. Where is the Boeing 757-sized hole? In fact, where is the Boeing 757?
3 - Clavos
Yaaaaawwwnnn...
4 - Dr Dreadful
Clavos, I hope you're responding to comment #2, not the article. You can't be that cynical.
...Clav? [shakes shoulder, nudges] ...CLAV...? Wake up!!!
5 - Alec
Sean - RE: Asked if the report actually demonstrates that Bush's efforts to defeat AQ aren't working, he replied that things would be far worse if he hadn't invaded Iraq.
This is a variation of the other rhetorical gambit these guys love, "However bad things are now, they would be worse if you vote a Democrat into office."
A very good and well-reasoned post. Sadly, the GOP true believers will continue to grasp onto Busn's weak reasoning like a drowning man grabbing at a stick.
6 - moonraven
Uhem--they ARE drowning men grasping at a stick.
And 9/11 WAS staged--although a bit differently than Elaine implied.
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Another female actually posted on this semen-only site!!!!!!!!
Watch clavos and Nalle claim she is a drag queen.
7 - Sean Aqui
Two female posters, and both are 9/11 conspiracy theorists. What are the odds?
8 - gonzo marx
Sean...the Article was a goo0d read, and raises plenty of Questions to chew over...
this Article takes a stab at some of it, relating to OBL and the insanity surrounding this Administration's policies...
looks like the foreshadowing there has borne out, sad to say...
Excelsior?
9 - Clavos
zzzzzzzzz......Huh/ Whazzat?
Oh, hi, Doc....No, no, I'm not that cynical; it WAS comment #2 that put me to sleep.
Just finished.....reading.....number.....6.......zzzzzzzz.
10 - moonraven
There are millions of those "theorists" all over the world.
Not a single person in Mexico, for example, beieves that 9/11 was done by anyone other than the Us government. That's what--106 million now.
Only you domestic dumbells bit for the smoke and mirrors--just like a retarded guy and his handlers said you would.
If I were you, I would hang my head--and everything further down--in shame.
11 - Sean Aqui
There are millions of those "theorists" all over the world.
And not one has any actual, you know, proof.
Tangentially, I'm highly impressed by the hive mind uniformity of Mexican citizens....
I'm no fan of Bush, God knows. But I actually require evidence before making rash assertions about conspiracies and coverups.
12 - Clavos
"Not a single person in Mexico, for example, beieves that 9/11 was done by anyone other than the Us government. That's what--106 million now."
WOW!! You are one busy abuelita, mr!
Interviewing 106 MILLION people about their opinions on 9/11!!
Tell me something: when you interviewed the Tarahumaras, did you use an interpreter, or are you fluent in their language?
As isolated a lifestyle as they lead, I'm surprised they'd even heard of 9/11, much less formed an opinion on it.
13 - moonraven
Easy to know what folks think here--I personally was on tv in Toluca on the news the evening of 9/11, and nobody's comments were anything but agreement with what I said. Guillermo Almeyra's piece "Los marcianos hablan inglés" on 9/12 did not result in any disagreement, either.
I was giving a training to elementary school teachers while ole Dickhead Cheney was orchestrating everything from his bunker and the Cross-eyed Cretin was TRYING without much success to read My Pet Goat to a group of 2nd graders in Florida.
Even the 6th graders at the school in Metepec didn't buy it. They said the US was just trying to start another world war to steal the world's petroleum. Out of the mouth of babes....comes wisdom.
Out of the mouth of gusanos, pure nonsense. If you eat bullshit everyday, what else could come out....
Sean: YOU require. Hah! Tell Bush that YOU are now The Requirer.
You guys have sold what was left of your souls for less than a plate of lentils, but YOU require.
This is not Alice in Wonderland.
14 - Sean Aqui
YOU require. Hah! Tell Bush that YOU are now The Requirer. You guys have sold what was left of your souls for less than a plate of lentils, but YOU require. This is not Alice in Wonderland.
I'd respond to this if I had any idea what you're talking about.
15 - moonraven
Re-read your arrogant post. YOU are not The Decider, YOU do not require anything. YOU are just a lemming to be ordered over the cliff.
Evidence, my ass....
16 - Sean Aqui
Re-read your arrogant post. YOU are not The Decider, YOU do not require anything.
You have a real problem with understanding idiom.
When I say I "require" evidence, it means I need persuasive evidence before I will sign on to claims of a coverup. How is that "arrogant"?
YOU are just a lemming to be ordered over the cliff.
This insult would make a lot more sense if I actually supported either Bush or the war in Iraq.
17 - moonraven
You bought 9/11.
Ergo, you will buy anything.
You probably even bought Iraq's involvement in 9/11 as an excuse to grab for the petroleum and destroy the country and its people.
It's arrogant of YOU to demand anything and foolish to think that YOU make up your own mind about anything. All you do is swallow propaganda.
18 - Baronius
Sean, I don't agree with your article, but you're awe-inspiringly good on the comment board. (Too bad, really. These days, just about the only thing the Right has going for it is the kookiness of the conspiratorial Left.)
19 - Sean Aqui
This is getting amusing.
You bought 9/11.
Yes, yes I did.
Ergo, you will buy anything.
Interesting leap of logic. And a circular excuse for you to dismiss anyone who doesn't agree with you.
You probably even bought Iraq's involvement in 9/11 as an excuse to grab for the petroleum and destroy the country and its people.
Do you even read the posts you respond to? Like the part where I said I oppose the war in Iraq? To be clear, I've opposed it from the beginning.
Try addressing the reality of individual commenters, not a strawman or the demons in your head.
It's arrogant of YOU to demand anything
I see. It's arrogant of me to say I'll make up my own mind, but it's not arrogant of you to call me names because I disagree with you.
and foolish to think that YOU make up your own mind about anything. All you do is swallow propaganda.
Wow, you can deduce so much about me from the single datum that I accept the official 9/11 explanation. Amazing.
20 - Sean Aqui
Baronius: LOL!
I cut my political teeth on a political discussion board. That's why I'm probably better at back-and-forth than standalone essays.
Well, and some folks make it easy.
21 - moonraven
Yeah, well I am not ONE of those who makes it easy.
You have great skill at proving my point that your ideas are as original and worthy of reading as a used condom.
You have, in fact, presented no EVIDENCE to show you that you make up your mind about anything.
I DO. Ergo, I can be as arrogant as I feel like. It suits me.
22 - Sean Aqui
You have great skill at proving my point that your ideas are as original and worthy of reading as a used condom.
Oh, *that* was your point? Sorry. I thought you were talking about 9/11. My article, as you may have noted from the headline, is about Iraq. I'm not aware of you having actually addressed the content thereof.
You have, in fact, presented no EVIDENCE to show you that you make up your mind about anything.
Whatever that means.
I DO. Ergo, I can be as arrogant as I feel like. It suits me.
It sure does, and don't ever stop. Just don't use "arrogant" as a perjorative when you freely admit to being arrogant yourself. Doing so makes you a hypocrite.
23 - moonraven
Who contributed the first post on this thread, Magoo?
Just for the record, people ARE tired of the War on Dandruff--er, Terror (pax, dear Gore Vidal).
Any adjective that applies to me is always positive.
Sucker.
24 - Sean Aqui
Who contributed the first post on this thread, Magoo?
Please quote the words of yours from that comment that address the original article.
25 - moonraven
Note that I said CONTRIBUTED in response to your having said that I did not ADDRESS the content.
I addressed the content by indicating that the article was appropriate to the topic and posting the beginning of the article (which I know that you did not read on CommonDreams, even though you claim to have an interest in the topic you wrote about).
Don't try to change the rules of language to suit your adolescent aims.
It won't work.
How about those baby teeth that fell out of your mouth. Isn't it time to replace them with permanent teeth?
I have all of mine--in perfect condition.
In fact. I have sharpened them on the carcass of another infantile sniveler just a couple of hours ago.
Looks like Imight as well hang your dandruff-ridden scalp up outside next to the door of the teepee, too.
Gringo scalps have to be aired out before they can be brought inside....