I was reading the Newsweek quoted here today and was shocked by this piece of info, before seeing it here in "Get Your War On." That is a disturbingly puzzling factoid, as it were.
But can you blame people for being a bit confused as to exactly what was going on in Iraq before we took over?
G.W. Bush's words from 7/17/2007: These people have sworn allegiance to the very same man who ordered the attack on September the 11th, 2001: Osama bin Laden," the president said. "And they want us to leave parts of the world, like Iraq, so they can establish a safe haven from which to spread their poisonous ideology. And we are steadfast in our determination to not only protect the American people, but to protect these young democracies.
Or perhaps those of Homeland Security Advisor Frances Townsend: TOWNSEND: Well, there's no question -- I mean, I think there's a tendency to try and suggest that Al Qaida core and Al Qaida in Iraq are two separate things. Let's step back for a minute because I think that is not accurate.
Clearly, what we know is the Al Qaida that attacked us on the September 11th was an Al Qaida that is led by Osama bin Laden and caused the killing of 3,000 Americans. That same Al Qaida headed by bin Laden is the same Al Qaida that Zarqawi, when he becomes the emir of Al Qaida in Iraq, swears by loyalty to. So it's the same organization.
Well, part of the bizzaro-ness of that "factoid" was that there are apparently people out there that still think Saddam was involved in 9-11, yet disapprove of Bush's job performance. Granted, the latter number does tend to fluctuate somewhat wildly and without regard for relevant information, sometimes.
Speaking of Townsend, did anyone else hear the short interview segment with her on NPR the other day? She argues that the recent NIE report strengthens the "stay the course" argument, but NPR's Steve Inskeep pushes the question, and her refusals to answer whether there was any Al-Qaida presence in Iraq before the war began are more than frustrating.
INSKEEP: Now let me ask about another part of the world — Iraq. This report says that al Qaeda “will probably seek to leverage its contacts and capabilities” in Iraq. What abilities are you talking about?
TOWNSEND: Steve, I think it’s important that we at least refer to the entire sentence.
INSKEEP: Please, go ahead.
TOWNSEND: “[W]e assess that al-Qa’ida will probably seek to leverage the contacts and capabilities of al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI), its most visible and capable affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack the Homeland.” It’s important that we understand that there’s al Qaeda central — al Qaeda core with bin Laden, Zawahiri, in the tribal areas — and we know that al Qaeda in Iraq is a direct capable affiliate of al Qaeda core. So that when the President says that al Qaeda in Iraq are the same people who tried to kill us, it’s al Qaeda writ large. The same al Qaeda that killed 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11.
INSKEEP: Well, you know that one of the intelligence officials that helped to draft this report has been briefing reporters, and has said that before the war in Iraq, al Qaeda had no capabilities in Iraq, and overwhelmingly now their resources are focused inside Iraq, not attacking the United States. Is that correct?
TOWNSEND: Al Qaeda’s resources are focused in Iraq because that’s where we are capturing and killing them every single day, so it drains their resources there. There’s no question that they’d like to try and extend their reach. And we see them trying to inspire like-minded affiliates, if you will, around the world in places like London and Glasgow. But they are very much tied down because we are keeping them tied down fighting them in Iraq.
INSKEEP: Is it correct that they had no capability in Iraq before the war?
TOWNSEND: I don’t know — I wasn’t at that briefing. I don’t know what the intelligence official said.
INSKEEP: Based on your information, is it correct they had no capability in Iraq before the war?
TOWNSEND: Steve, I’m going to rely on the intelligence community, just as this NIE is the consensus of the intelligence community. I rely on the office of the DNI for their intelligence.
INSKEEP: The Director of National Intelligence, you’re saying.
TOWNSEND: That’s right, and so I would refer you to them.
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4 comments:
It's pretty clear that people will believe what they want to believe and listen to those who tell them what they want to hear.
But it's also clear that the same 4 in 10 people who think that Saddam was giving Osama pointers, also believe that Iraqis were flying the planes on 9/11
But can you blame people for being a bit confused as to exactly what was going on in Iraq before we took over?
G.W. Bush's words from 7/17/2007:
These people have sworn allegiance to the very same man who ordered the attack on September the 11th, 2001: Osama bin Laden," the president said. "And they want us to leave parts of the world, like Iraq, so they can establish a safe haven from which to spread their poisonous ideology. And we are steadfast in our determination to not only protect the American people, but to protect these young democracies.
Or perhaps those of Homeland Security Advisor Frances Townsend:
TOWNSEND: Well, there's no question -- I mean, I think there's a tendency to try and suggest that Al Qaida core and Al Qaida in Iraq are two separate things. Let's step back for a minute because I think that is not accurate.
Clearly, what we know is the Al Qaida that attacked us on the September 11th was an Al Qaida that is led by Osama bin Laden and caused the killing of 3,000 Americans. That same Al Qaida headed by bin Laden is the same Al Qaida that Zarqawi, when he becomes the emir of Al Qaida in Iraq, swears by loyalty to. So it's the same organization.
Well, part of the bizzaro-ness of that "factoid" was that there are apparently people out there that still think Saddam was involved in 9-11, yet disapprove of Bush's job performance. Granted, the latter number does tend to fluctuate somewhat wildly and without regard for relevant information, sometimes.
Speaking of Townsend, did anyone else hear the short interview segment with her on NPR the other day? She argues that the recent NIE report strengthens the "stay the course" argument, but NPR's Steve Inskeep pushes the question, and her refusals to answer whether there was any Al-Qaida presence in Iraq before the war began are more than frustrating.
INSKEEP: Now let me ask about another part of the world — Iraq. This report says that al Qaeda “will probably seek to leverage its contacts and capabilities” in Iraq. What abilities are you talking about?
TOWNSEND: Steve, I think it’s important that we at least refer to the entire sentence.
INSKEEP: Please, go ahead.
TOWNSEND: “[W]e assess that al-Qa’ida will probably seek to leverage the contacts and capabilities of al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI), its most visible and capable affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack the Homeland.” It’s important that we understand that there’s al Qaeda central — al Qaeda core with bin Laden, Zawahiri, in the tribal areas — and we know that al Qaeda in Iraq is a direct capable affiliate of al Qaeda core. So that when the President says that al Qaeda in Iraq are the same people who tried to kill us, it’s al Qaeda writ large. The same al Qaeda that killed 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11.
INSKEEP: Well, you know that one of the intelligence officials that helped to draft this report has been briefing reporters, and has said that before the war in Iraq, al Qaeda had no capabilities in Iraq, and overwhelmingly now their resources are focused inside Iraq, not attacking the United States. Is that correct?
TOWNSEND: Al Qaeda’s resources are focused in Iraq because that’s where we are capturing and killing them every single day, so it drains their resources there. There’s no question that they’d like to try and extend their reach. And we see them trying to inspire like-minded affiliates, if you will, around the world in places like London and Glasgow. But they are very much tied down because we are keeping them tied down fighting them in Iraq.
INSKEEP: Is it correct that they had no capability in Iraq before the war?
TOWNSEND: I don’t know — I wasn’t at that briefing. I don’t know what the intelligence official said.
INSKEEP: Based on your information, is it correct they had no capability in Iraq before the war?
TOWNSEND: Steve, I’m going to rely on the intelligence community, just as this NIE is the consensus of the intelligence community. I rely on the office of the DNI for their intelligence.
INSKEEP: The Director of National Intelligence, you’re saying.
TOWNSEND: That’s right, and so I would refer you to them.
Yeah, she didn't answer that question affirmatively or negatively at the press conference either.
Al Qaeda is in Iraq.
But were they in Iraq?
Clearly the Al Qaeda that attacked us on 9/11 is in Iraq now.
But were they then?
repeat.
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