Cheney admits no evidence of 9/11-Iraq link
Nearly eight years after the fact, former Vice President Dick Cheney finally admitted that there was absolutely no evidence to suggest that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11. He did however defend the invasion and the subsequent war, saying Hussein had “without question” provided sanctuary to other terrorist groups.
Repeatedly during his two terms as vice president, Cheney claimed there was overwhelming evidence linking the former Iraqi president to the al-Qaeda attack, and publicly condemned the 9/11 commission for claiming that there was “no credible evidence” linking the two.
The issue was brought back to the public’s attention in April, when the Obama Administration released memos relating to the abuse of detainees in US custody. Officials pointed to Cheney (among others), saying he had pressed for the harsh tactics to produce proof of the link between Hussein and al-Qaeda.
Though no such evidence was ever found, and indeed Cheney finally concedes it never existed, the United States invaded Iraq in early 2003, sparking a bloodly war in which well over 100,000 American soldiers remain mired to this day.
from AntiWar.com
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June 1st, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Mark, this isn’t new.
In the linked article, Cheney says
“Cheney restated his claim that “there was a relationship between al Qaeda and Iraq that stretched back 10 years. It’s not something I made up. … We know for a fact that Saddam Hussein was a sponsor — a state sponsor — of terror. It’s not my judgment. That was the judgment of our [intelligence community] and State Department.”
And the linked article says that Cheney condemned the 911 commission for denying an al-quaeda link to Saddam.
a claimed al aquaeda link to saddam is not the same thing as a claim of a link between 9/11 and saddam. The article doesn’t seem to be doing anything other than muddling things.
I don’t see the change that antiwar.com is claiming here. The distinction was made by cheney then and is being still made now.
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:53 am
It may not be the same thing but it is certainly related. It was al Qaida who were responsible for 9/11. They are the ones who planned, recruited and executed the plane hijackings. If Chenney could find a link to either, it would justify the invasion of Iraq (in most peoples minds). Try listening to the interviews with Lawrence Wilkerson which Mark linked here.