Rumor Bombs of 9/11 for Iraq
The most offensive exploitation of 9/11 for a political agenda has without a doubt been the Iraq War. This use of 9/11 has taken many reprehensible forms, from rumors of Iraq/Al Qaeda links on 9/11, to "Weapons of Mass Destruction" in Iraq which would allegedly be used to commit mass murder even worse than 9/11. These stupendous acts of political opportunism have snowballed into repeated degradations of freedom and public life generally.
The speech that launched a thousand bombs and burned the towers of Baghdad was Bush’s 2003 State of the Union, which used inaccurate intelligence to claim Iraq was building nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. This was the most public case for an invasion of Iraq, and its strength mostly lay in its asserted connection to 9/11.
In the same speech heavily loaded with misleading information (that if not deliberately misused was certainly carelessly used), he launched the the rumor bomb that Saddam Hussein had close ties to terrorists, had aided Al Qaeda, and would very likely play a role in future attempted terrorist attacks on American citizens. In his own words, “Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody, reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al-Qaida. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own.
The Iraq/Al Qaeda rumor bomb was repeated in similar forms and circulated near and far in American media and cyberspace. As recently as one day after the fifth anniversary of 9/11, White House press secretary Tony Snow claimed that Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda leader al Zarqawi had a “relationship.” This came a week after a bi-partisan Senate Intelligence Committee report noted that while Hussein had once met al Zarqawi, Hussein had attempted to locate and capture Al Zarqawi. To state there was a “relationship,” just like Iraq/Al Qaeda “links,” was deliberately misleading and is the near equivalent to claiming Al Qaeda had a relationship with the U.S. or Bush, simply because their agents were in the U.S.
These are all types of spin, which I have elsewhere explained as “rumor bombs” (go here for lengthy discussion of this rhetorical strategy called "the rumor bomb"). In short, rumor bombs are intentionally vague claims, difficult to refute in their slipperiness, intended to obfuscate or distract, console or agitate, while circulating widely without news media subjecting them to critical scrutiny. Iraq/Al Qaeda links and weapons of mass destruction were both very effective rumor bombs whose explosions were so powerful that large portions of the American population still believe that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, that they were found, and that there were Iraq/Al Qaeda “links” (February 2005 and July 2006, September 2006)!
Article comments
1 - Mark Schannon
Very powerful peace. You make it clear that neither side has shown much courage or integrity through this terrible time.
Sigh...
In Jameson Veritas.
2 - Neelan
US also adopts double standards in dealing with terrorism.On the one hand it fights terrorism and on the other it takes the help of Mushraf in Pakistan .Since 1947,Pakistan has been training people in terrorism and has been tagetting India.Never has US or any other country condemned it.In fact,it seems,the Western countries have taken this up as an opportunity to sell arms.What has resulted is that Pak and other pan islamic nations have got support all along. and they had their training camps .And no one was bothered as long as India was targeted. Unfortunately,no one from the Islamic intelligentia have also ever condemned terrorist attacks on India ,by Pak trained militants.Even now,terrorist training camps are active inside Pakistan.Mr.Bush has to undersatnd taht
Death is same -whether it is in USA or India.
3 - jayson
Thanks, Mark. And Neelan, I agree. The "U.S." as a composite of different rulers/parties throughout the 20th Century (to say nothing of the 19th)has been ethically fickle in its foreign policy and valuation of human life. As you know, Chalmers Johnson has referred to this as blowback.
best,
Jayson
4 - Nancy
Excellent article, which just fuels my ongoing rage at & loathing of the current adminstration as well as the scumbags of both parties currently infesting congress. Unfortunately politics always seems to attract the lowest of the low ethically & morally, and they in turn infect & corrupt everything & everyone around them. As with any nest of vermin, I think we need a good fumigation of both congress & the administration, and then start over from scratch. It has become painfully obvious there isn't anything these bastards won't stoop to, for self-aggrandizement, retention of power, or continued opportunity to plunder & gorge at the public trough.