Bush invokes 9/11 in Iraq war

Washington Times ^ | Wednesday, June 29, 2005 | By Joseph Curl

[JohnHuang2]

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- President Bush last night warned Americans not to forget the lessons of September 11, declaring that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror and asserting that finishing the military mission there "is vital to the future security of our country." "The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11, if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like [Abu Musab] Zarqawi and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like [Osama] bin Laden. For the sake of our nation's security, this will not happen on my watch," he told an audience of 750 troops at Fort Bragg. The president -- delivering a prime-time, televised speech at the home of the 82nd Airborne and Special Operations Forces -- acknowledged the "horrifying" TV pictures of death and violence that Americans see each day. But in his 28-minute speech, he asked and answered a rhetorical question -- one that polls show is on the minds of many Americans. "Amid all the violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is it worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the security of our country," he said. Mr. Bush said he thinks that despite polls showing Americans are losing confidence in the war, "the American people do not falter under threat, and we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins."

[chgomac]

"How many of our planes were shot down?

Shot at...thankfully none shot down.

"By what logic do you interpret that scenario as one of strategic wisdom rather than moral timidity?"
Since we had spent 12 or 13 years keeping him in check, the move to free Iraq & finally have bold partner in the Middle East seemed a brilliant one to me.

[Quilla]

Saddam painted a few pictures as well.

The activities carried on by Saddam at Salman Pak are indeed "rooted in hard fact".

Iraq told UN inspectors that Salman Pak was an anti-terror training camp for Iraqi special forces. However, two defectors from Iraqi intelligence stated that they had worked for several years at the secret Iraqi government camp, which had trained Islamic terrorists in rotations of five or six months since 1995. Training activities including simulated hijackings carried out in an airplane fuselage [said to be a Boeing 707] at the camp. The camp is divided into distinct sections. On one side of the camp young, Iraqis who were members of Fedayeen Saddam are trained in espionage, assassination techniques and sabotage. The Islamic militants trained on the other side of the camp, in an area separated by a small lake, trees and barbed wire. The militants reportedly spent time training, usually in groups of five or six, around the fuselage of the airplane. There were rarely more than 40 or 50 Islamic radicals in the camp at one time.

[beyond the sea]

Better yet, who was demanding a timetable for pull out?

.... not my dear wife.

;-)

[oldbrowser]

For example, the Wash Times piece ties the war in Iraq to the crashes on 9/11. But there is a subtlety. We are in Iraq now to fight terrorism in their territory, but the picture being painted is that somehow Iraq was involved in 9/11. That debate is very nebulous and that debate will forever be ongoing. But the fact remains without directly saying it, he ties Iraq to involvement in 9/11 through the use of words that paint the mental picture. However as long as the hard connect is never made, then the deniablility is there. That's troubling.

NEXUS, NEXUS, NEXUS. The object was to avoid a nexus between the terrorists and rogue governments that could provide them with weapons of mass destruction such as poisons, chemicals, and nuclear.

The only people directly involved in the 9/11 attacks died inside of the airplanes.

Nobody ever implied that Iraq was directly involved in the 9/11 attack.

[iconoclast]

the move to free Iraq & finally have bold partner in the Middle East seemed a brilliant one to me.

Did you get your crystal ball off the Internet?

[iconoclast]

How can anyone not think that Iraq is not connected to 9/11.

Hope you're comfortable on your shrinking island of opinion.

[joesbucks]

See 22 above. Without knowing for sure who the poster in 22 is, they could be an administration person or they may an average Joe like me.

[ravingnutter]

Less than two months before 9/11/01, the state-controlled Iraqi newspaper “Al-Nasiriya” carried a column headlined, “American, an Obsession called Osama Bin Ladin.” (July 21, 2001)

In the piece, Baath Party writer Naeem Abd Muhalhal predicted that bin Laden would attack the US “with the seriousness of the Bedouin of the desert about the way he will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House.”

The same state-approved column also insisted that bin Laden “will strike America on the arm that is already hurting,” and that the US “will curse the memory of Frank Sinatra every time he hears his songs” – an apparent reference to the Sinatra classic, “New York, New York”. (Link below)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1106657/posts?page=1

List of newspaper article in the 90's which mention the world's concern regarding the growing relationship between OBL and Saddam:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/946809/posts?page=1

Son of Saddam coordinates OBL activities:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/951911/posts

The AQ connection (excellent):

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/944617/posts?page=2

Western Nightmare:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,798270,00.html

Saddam's link to OBL:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/866105/posts

NYT: Iraq and AQ agree to cooperate:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/985906/posts

Document linking them:

http://tennessean.com/nation-world/archives/03/06/34908297.shtml?Element_ID=34908297

Iraq and terrorism - no doubt about it:

http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins091903.asp

A federal judge rules there are links:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986293/posts

Wall Street Journal on Iraq and AQ:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/987129/posts

Iraq and Iran contact OBL:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/981055/posts

More evidence:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F27%2Fwalq27.xml

Saddam's AQ connection:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/969032/posts

Further connections:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1007969/posts

What a court of law said about the connections:

http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98110402.htm

Some miscellaneous stuff on connections:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/989201/posts

Saddam's Ambassador to Al Qaeda: (February 2004, Weekly Standard)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1083778/posts

Yes - it's NewsMax but loaded with interesting bullet points.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1097521/posts?page=1

Saddam's Fingerprints on NY Bombing (Wall Street Journal, June 1993)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1115387/posts

Colin Powell: Iraq and AQ Partners for Years (CNN, February 2003)

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/05/sprj.irq.alqaeda.links/

The Iraq-Al Qaeda Connections (September 2003, Richard Miniter)

http://www.techcentralstation.com/092503F.html

Oil for Food Scandal Ties Iraq and Al Qaeda (June 2003)

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1125899/posts

Saddam and OBL Make a Pact (The New Yorker, February 2003):

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030210fa_fact

Al Qaeda's Poison Gas (Wall Street Journal, April 2004):

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005016

Wolfowitz Says Saddam behind 9/11 Attacks:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/921398/posts

Saddam behind first WTC attack - PBS, Laurie Mylroie:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gunning/interviews/mylroie.html

Growing Evidence of Saddam and Al Qaeda Link, The Weekly Standard, July 2003:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/946997/posts

Qusay Hussein Coordinated Iraq special operations with Bin Laden Terrorist Activities, Yossef Bodansky, National Press Club

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/951911/posts

The Western Nightmare: Saddam and Bin Laden vs. the Rest of the World, The Guardian Unlimited:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,798270,00.html

Saddam Link to Bin Laden, Julian Borger, The Guardian, February 1999

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/866105/posts

The Al Qaeda Connection, The Weekly Standard, July 2003

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/944617/posts?page=2

Cheney lectures Russert on Iraq/911 Link, September 2003:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/982713/posts

No Question About It, National Review, September 2003

http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins091903.asp

Iraq: A Federal Judges Point of View

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986293/posts

Mohammed's Account links Iraq to 9/11 and OKC:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/987075/posts

Free Republic Thread that mentions some books Freepers might be interested in on this topic:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/977221/posts?page=8

The Proof that Saddam Worked with AQ, The Telegraph, April 2003:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F27%2Fwalq27.xml

Saddam's AQ Connection, The Weekly Standard, September 2003

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/969032/posts

September 11 Victims Sue Iraq:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2237332.stm

Osama's Best Friend: The Further Connections Between Al Qaeda and Saddam, The Weekly Standard, November 2003

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/296fmttq.asp

Terrorist Behind 9/11 Attacks Trained by Saddam, The Telegraph, December 2003

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1007969/posts

James Woolsey Links Iraq and AQ, CNN Interview, March 2004, Also see Posts #34 and #35

http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1104121/posts

A Geocities Interesting Web Site with maps and connections:

http://www.geocities.com/republican_strategist/Iraq-Bin-Laden.html

Bin Laden indicted in federal court, read down to find information that Bin Laden agreed to not attack Iraq and to work cooperatively with Iraq:

http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98110402.htm

Case Closed, The Weekly Standard, November 03

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/378fmxyz.asp

CBS - Lawsuit: Iraq involved in 9/11:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/05/september11/main520874.shtml

Exploring Iraq's Involvement in pre-9/11 Acts, The Indianapolis Star:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/746225/posts

The Iraq/AQ Connection: Richard Minister again

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/989201/posts

Militia Defector says Baghdad trained Al Qaeda fighters in chemical weapons, July 2002

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/743892/posts

The Clinton View of Iraq/AQ Ties, The Weekly Standard, December 2003

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/527uwabl.asp

Saddam Controlled the Camps (Iraq/AQ Ties): The London Observer, November 01

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/741676/posts

Saddam's Terror Ties that Critics Ignore, National Review, October 2003:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1005579/posts

Tape Shows General Wesley Clark linking Iraq and AQ:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1056113/posts

Credit to Peach for this info.

[Peach]

Thank you, ravingnutter. It can't be stated often enough, imo.

If the American public fully understood they ties Iraq had to AQ, the support for the war and our beloved soldiers would increase tenfold.

[angcat]

Ignorance is bliss.

[joesbucks]

You may want to look at these too.

Don't let the MSM and Democrats get away with saying that Iraq and AQ did not have a relationship. Dozens of links here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1327993/posts Just a few of those links include:

The Clinton Justice Department's indictment against OBL in federal court which mentions the terrorist's connections to Iraq. November 4, 1998. The federal indictment

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/985906/posts?page=30#30

Iraq and AQ agree to cooperate. The federal indictment against OBL working in concert with Iraq and Iran is mentioned. November 1998. The New York Times

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/985906/posts

Saddam reaching out to OBL January 1, 1999. Newsweek

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1158277/posts

ABC news reports on the Osama/Saddam connections January 14, 1999. ABC News

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1229608/posts?page=1

Western Nightmare: Saddam and OBL versus the World. Iraq recruited OBL. February 6, 1999. The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,798270,00.html

Saddam's Link to OBL February 6, 1999. The Guardian

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/866105/posts

Saddam offered asylum to bin Laden February 13, 1999. AP

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1158274/posts

[joesbucks]

Peach:

Why doesn't the President flattly state outright the link rather than pussyfoot around with the outlet of deniability of ever having said there was a link?

[ravingnutter]

I also posted it here, but forgot to ping you. I formatted it with clickable links...what a job...but then, you did all the hard work : )

With all those connections, I don't see how anyone can refute the AQ-Saddam link.

[Peach]

Bad PR, imo.

It's indisputable that the MSM wrote dozens of articles about the connections between Iraq and AQ in the 90's, before this became a political football.

Just as it's indisputable that the Clinton Justice Department obtained a federal indictment against OBL which cited his connections with Iraq.

Just as it's indisputable that the first WTC bomber took refuge in Iraq.

I'm a huge supporter of this president and the WOT, as you know, but PR on this matter has been abysmal. I actually wrote the WH about it once (silly me) and am extremely saddened that no one in the administration seems to understand how the truth would increase support for the war, our troops and shut up some of the lies the Democrats tell.

[doc]

Exactly right. His ties of 9/11 and Iraq are off base. Unfortunately most Americans are to naive or stupid not to realize this is a false connection. It has been proven that Iraq was not behind these attacks. Why not attack all Arab countries using this logic.

[Peach]

It was fun research to do; now if the administration would just TALK about it, I'd be a happy camper.

Thanks for using those links, ravingnutter.

[rwfromkansas]

Anybody who had their ears open last night would have not thought he was blaming Iraq for 9/11. He made it very clear that Iraq is part of the war on terror, and that is why he mentioned Sept. 11, saying they would be on our shores if they aren't there.

He did not come even remotely close to blaming Iraq for 9/11, and these articles being written are utterly silly.

[rwfromkansas]

Most Americans can listen to a speech and understand, but I guess you can't if you think Bush was blaming Iraq for 9/11.

[Mac94]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are seeing the consequences for President Bush's failure in the weeks after 9/11. IMHO he should have called for a Congressional Declaration of War that put into debate and codefied by Declaration who we were fighting, what the scope of this war would be. If we were fighting terror and those states that sponsor them, that could have been done, lisitng the states and organizations. If that had been done, this debate about Iraq and anything future with Iran, Syria, etc. would be moot. The nation could have been unifed and the course of action made much clearer to the American people. But, now, to many, this all seems like a make it up as you go along, with the UN mess of 2002 and 2003, the WMD issues, etc. We are a nation divided when it should not have ever been that way. Firm action in the days and weeks after 9/11 could have settled all of this, but it was not taken.

[rwfromkansas]

Fax it to the WH, call Rove's office etc. Maybe it will get into somebody's hands there.