Posted on 10/05/2004 10:50:39 PM PDT by rocklobster11
excerpt
MR. RUSSERT: But is there a connection?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: We don’t know. You and I talked about this two years ago. I can remember you asking me this question just a few days after the original attack. At the time I said no, we didn’t have any evidence of that... ... With respect to 9/11, of course, we’ve had the story that’s been public out there. The Czechs alleged that Mohamed Atta, the lead attacker, met in Prague with a senior Iraqi intelligence official five months before the attack, but we’ve never been able to develop anymore of that yet either in terms of confirming it or discrediting it. We just don’t know.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Cheney:...If we’re successful in Iraq, if we can stand up a good representative government in Iraq, that secures the region so that it never again becomes a threat to its neighbors or to the United States, so it’s not pursuing weapons of mass destruction, so that it’s not a safe haven for terrorists, now we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11.
Here is the part they left out. First a question from earlier in the show:
MR. RUSSERT: The Washington Post asked the American people about Saddam Hussein, and this is what they said: 69 percent said he was involved in the September 11 attacks. Are you surprised by that?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: No. I think it’s not surprising that people make that connection.
MR. RUSSERT: But is there a connection?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: We don’t know. You and I talked about this two years ago. I can remember you asking me this question just a few days after the original attack. At the time I said no, we didn’t have any evidence of that. Subsequent to that, we’ve learned a couple of things. We learned more and more that there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda that stretched back through most of the decade of the ’90s, that it involved training, for example, on BW and CW, that al-Qaeda sent personnel to Baghdad to get trained on the systems that are involved. The Iraqis providing bomb-making expertise and advice to the al-Qaeda organization.
We know, for example, in connection with the original World Trade Center bombing in ’93 that one of the bombers was Iraqi, returned to Iraq after the attack of ’93. And we’ve learned subsequent to that, since we went into Baghdad and got into the intelligence files, that this individual probably also received financing from the Iraqi government as well as safe haven.
Now, is there a connection between the Iraqi government and the original World Trade Center bombing in ’93? We know, as I say, that one of the perpetrators of that act did, in fact, receive support from the Iraqi government after the fact. With respect to 9/11, of course, we’ve had the story that’s been public out there. The Czechs alleged that Mohamed Atta, the lead attacker, met in Prague with a senior Iraqi intelligence official five months before the attack, but we’ve never been able to develop anymore of that yet either in terms of confirming it or discrediting it. We just don’t know.
And here's the complete context of the video they showed:
VICE PRES. CHENEY: Tim, we can do what we have to do to prevail in this conflict. Failure’s not an option. And go back again and think about what’s involved here. This is not just about Iraq or just about the difficulties we might encounter in any one part of the country in terms of restoring security and stability. This is about a continuing operation on the war on terror. And it’s very, very important we get it right. If we’re successful in Iraq, if we can stand up a good representative government in Iraq, that secures the region so that it never again becomes a threat to its neighbors or to the United States, so it’s not pursuing weapons of mass destruction, so that it’s not a safe haven for terrorists, now we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11. They understand what’s at stake here. That’s one of the reasons they’re putting up as much of a struggle as they have, is because they know if we succeed here, that that’s going to strike a major blow at their capabilities.
MR. RUSSERT: So the resistance in Iraq is coming from those who were responsible for 9/11?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: No, I was careful not to say that. With respect to 9/11, 9/11, as I said at the beginning of the show, changed everything. And one of the things it changed is we recognized that time was not on our side, that in this part of the world, in particular, given the problems we’ve encountered in Afghanistan, which forced us to go in and take action there, as well as in Iraq, that we, in fact, had to move on it. The relevance for 9/11 is that what 9/11 marked was the beginning of a struggle in which the terrorists come at us and strike us here on our home territory. And it’s a global operation. It doesn’t know national boundaries or national borders. And the commitment of the United States going into Afghanistan and take down the Taliban and stand up a new government, to go into Iraq and take down the Saddam Hussein regime and stand up a new government is a vital part of our long-term strategy to win the war on terror. America’s going to be safer and more secure in the years ahead when we complete the task in Iraq successfully, and we will complete it successfully. And whatever the cost is, in terms of casualties or financial resources, it’s a whale of a lot less than trying to recover from the next attack in the United States. So what we do on the ground in Iraq, our capabilities here are being tested in no small measure, but this is the place where we want to take on the terrorists. This is the place where we want to take on those elements that have come against the United States, and it’s far more appropriate for us to do it there and far better for us to do it there than it is here at home.
Get this info to Ben Ginsberg who was caught off guard by Chris Matthews.
Chris Matthews would lie? Surely you jest.
Excellent post!
Thanks for setting the record straight.
Cheney chewed up Edwards like a St Bernard devoured a "Ken doll". Not quite that imbalanced, but in the first half, Edwards demagogic points were rebutted point-blank time after time. But on one point, the Bush/Cheney camp are missing the rebuttal point. This is the Kery/Edwards talking point that Saddam was not involved in 9/11. We need the Bush side to remind the "say anything do nothing" pair of grandstanders that we are in a war with TERRORISM, not the 9/11 Hijackers. They need to say:
"LOOK, you keep talking about Saddam's lack of connections to 9/11 ... 9/11 was a terrible and horrific attack. But it is not the only terrorist attack. we were attacked in 1996 Khobar towers, Cole, Embassy bombing, Achille Lauro, and since 911 we've had Madrid, Bali, Istanbul, Beslan ... We declared war - not on Al Qaeda, not on the 9/11 hisjacker, but on the WHOLE GLOBAL TERRORIST THREAT. And to attack that threat, rip it up, and remove it, you have to go after those rogue regimes, like Saddam Hussein's that aided, trained, sponsored, and harbored those global terrorists. Saddam Hussein did those things. He aided, funded, trained and harbored terrorists.
And that is just ONE good reason why removing him from power was the right thing to do."
http://freedomstruth.blogspot.com/
good job...bump
Good post, that was a deliberate misunderstanding of Cheney
by MSNBC. This is something they throw out knowing by the time it is corrected people will have lost interest.
you need to send an e-mail to factcheck.org with this transcript in it, and a link to it!
thanks, I'll do it tomorrow
Thanks for chewing up Brian Williams and Chris Matthews just like Chenney chewed up Edwards. One of the best posts I've seen.
Good job.
MSDNC was using another quote from Cheney as well, where he said essentially that Iraq has been a base for terrorists, the same sort of people who have been attacking us for years, most recently on 9/11.
Brian Williams and the Scarborough panel all cited this as definative "proof" that Cheney claim a direct link between Saddam and 9/11.
They failed to make the case for me. It sounded to me that Cheney was making a connection between Saddam and the larger global terrorism in general, of which 9/11 was just one event.
Not.
Better watch it MSNBC- The Pajamajadeen are on the job. It's not a good idea to go with this "Cheney connects Iraq to 9/11" lie, unless you want to change the name of your network to MSEEBSNBC.
Matthews was talking to the GOP College student after the debate..... He asked the kid if he believed that Iraq was connected to 9-11 and the kid said no. He stated something to the effect.... Iraq is connected with terrorism. Terrorism is connected to 9-11.....connect the dots is my suggestion to anyone who keeps ranting the "Saddam had nothing to do with 9-11" talking points.
Good read....well done.
IRAQ and/or Sadaam was responsible for 9/11? - No solid evidence of this. We are not claiming this. We haven't said this in the past.
IRAQ and Sadaam has solid links to terrorists and Al Qaeda? - Yes. Absolutely. And a little research will show you the light.
thanks ;)
This had me screaming at my TV - when they said they had tape - I fully expected to see a clip of Cheney saying Iraq was connected to 9/11...when they showed the clip - all nodding and smug - I was outraged! What Cheney said was in no way what they twisted it into....ARGH!!!!
You are not alone. It is a shame.
Bloodshot eyes bump for some great work by freestyle and howlin!
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