Free Republic

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Sept. 11 -- Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans." The idea that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda plan the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a view once promoted by Bush administration officials, has since been rejected even by the president himself. But it is widely agreed that militants allied...

(SHNS) - The attacks of 9/11 have nothing to do with the war in Iraq, say some congressional critics of President Bush's speech this week urging the citizenry to have patience with efforts to quell an insurgency so that a liberated people can govern themselves. But, of course, the main reason we are in Iraq and the main thing keeping us there is what we learned through the dramatic, murderous foreshadowing of the attacks four years ago - that Islamic-fascist terrorists could bring an end to American civilization. The fiction propagated endlessly by war opponents has been that the invasion...

After the debate: Brian Williams, NBC, did a "fact check" on Cheney where he said he never claimed Iraq was directly responsible for 9-11. Williams then played a Meet the Press clip, Sept. 14, 2003 where Cheney seemed to contradict this. Williams (and Chris Matthews) claimed that Cheney didn't have his facts right (possibly implying he lied). CHENEY EXCERPT PLAYED BY WILLIAMS "...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...

LUGANO, Switzerland — Did Saddam Hussein use any of his ill-gotten billions filched from the United Nations Oil-for-Food program to help fund Al Qaeda? Investigations have shown that the former Iraqi dictator grafted and smuggled more than $10 billion from the program that for seven years prior to Saddam's overthrow was meant to bring humanitarian aid to ordinary Iraqis. And the Sept. 11 Commission has shown a tracery of contacts between Saddam and Al Qaeda (search) that continued after billions of Oil-for-Food dollars began pouring into Saddam's coffers and Usama bin Laden (search) declared his infamous war on the U.S....