On Imus, Snow misleadingly claimed that Bush "never has" linked Saddam, 9-11
SUMMARY: On MSNBC, Don Imus failed to challenge White House press secretary Tony Snow's false claim that President Bush never linked the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. In fact, both Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have done so.
On the June 14 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus failed to challenge White House press secretary Tony Snow's false claim that President Bush has never linked the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Snow claimed that Bush told him and NBC's Tim Russert that "there's no demonstrated link between Saddam [Hussein] and 9-11, and we're never going to make that argument." Snow then asserted that Bush "never has" claimed such a link. But both Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have, in fact, explicitly linked Iraq to 9-11.
Bush did so in a March 21, 2003, letter to the speaker of the House of Representatives and president pro tempore of the Senate notifying them of the use of military force in Iraq after the failure of diplomacy, as Media Matters for America has previously noted. In the letter, Bush stated that "the use of armed force against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
In addition, Cheney also linked Iraq to 9-11 during two appearances on Russert's NBC program Meet the Press, as Media Matters for America has also noted. On the December 9, 2001, edition of Meet the Press, Russert asked Cheney if he "still believe[s] there is no evidence that Iraq was involved in September 11," and the vice president responded falsely that it was "pretty well confirmed" that an Iraqi intelligence officer met with September 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta shortly before the attacks. Then, on the September 14, 2003, edition of the NBC program, Cheney repeated his claim that Iraq and 9-11 are linked, saying: "If we're successful in Iraq ... 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."
Moreover, the 9-11 Commission found that Bush asked his staff to explore possible links between Iraq and 9-11 as early as September 12, 2001. The 9-11 Commission's report noted that, according to former national counterterrorism coordinator Richard A. Clarke, Bush asked him on the evening of September 12 to investigate possible Iraqi links to the previous day's attacks:
Clarke has written that on the evening of September 12, President Bush told him and some of his staff to explore possible Iraqi links to 9/11. "See if Sad-dam did this," Clarke recalls the President telling them. "See if he's linked in any way." While he believed the details of Clarke's account to be incorrect, President Bush acknowledged [in an April 29, 2004, interview with the commission] that he might well have spoken to Clarke at some point, asking him about Iraq.
The commission noted that, on September 18, 2001, Clarke's office sent then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice a response memo on the subject. It "found no 'compelling case' that Iraq had either planned or perpetrated the attacks." A March 29, 2004, New York Times article reported that "The White House acknowledged ... that on the day after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush asked his top counterterrorism adviser, Richard A. Clarke, to find out whether Iraq was involved." The Times also noted Clarke's recollection -- disputed by the White House -- of his response to the president:
Mr. Clarke was incredulous, he said in [his] book [Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror (Free Press, March 2004)]. "But, Mr. President, Al Qaeda did this," he said he responded.
Mr. Bush answered: "I know, I know, but ... see if Saddam was involved. Just look. I want to know any shred," according to Mr. Clarke's account.
From the June 14 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning:
IMUS: You mentioned Al Qaeda and 9-11. You guys are not still suggesting there was some link there, are you?
SNOW: Between Al Qaeda and 9-11? The president's never -- of course there's a link between Al Qaeda and 9-11. Osama bin Laden's the head of Al Qaeda.
IMUS: Well, yeah, I understand that, but --
SNOW: You're, you're, you're -- what you're trying to say is Iraq --
IMUS: What I meant is Iraq, yeah.
SNOW: No, Iraq's a front of the war on terror. [Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-] Zarqawi clearly was in Iraq when it started. But, I mean, I've been around. And Russert and I were both in a meeting with the president before that first day -- even after September 11. The president back then said there's no demonstrated link between Saddam and 9-11, and we're never going to make that argument, and he never has.
Now you know he was just 'mistaken' again don't you?
all those people got the notion there was a link between Saddam and 9-11. Maybe because they were mentioned together in speech after speech. This is the same hollow defence that Bush never lied. If you take care to word things in a way as to mislead people you are lying. If you want people to believe that there was a link between Iraq and 9-11 you choose your words carefully so you can say that you never made the connection. Didn't the House just pass a BS resolution linking Iraq to the war on terror? Technically they are not claiming that Saddam attacked us but the inference is there and it is there by design. Ergo Tony Snow is also full of BS.
Maybe it was the 2004 Republican Convention that gave everyone that impression.
*shrug*
But what do I know...?
that a majority of Fox News viewers still belive that Sadaam was involved in 9/11. The Republican talking points still imply this connection.
Dear good citizens of the United States of America, Left is now right, and 2 + 2 = 5. Sorry for the confusion. Glad we could clear it up! Your friend, The Bush Administration.
Hate Goldstein
The East is our friend. We have never been at war with the East. The West is our friend. We have never been at war with the West. At least the characters in 1984 had daily outrage sessions.
War is peace. Up is down.
I would like MMFA to document the number of times Bush has made, in his many inane speeches, the connection... either literally or merely juxtaposing the ideas of Saddam and his purported WMDs to 9/11. It happens every time he speaks. Are people this stupid?
How else could they vote for this clown? As for his clever little trick of implying a link between Saddam and 9/11, I believe he did it just last week in his little PR visit to Baghdad. Of course, we all know that he just says what they tell him to say...
...Only when Bush gets off-script does it get really interesting (e.g. 'the decider', etc) Good stuff.
" Are people this stupid? "
Yes, they are. And, the leader of those people gathered the most votes in the last election.
You are the perfect demonstration of that point.
Case closed.
Mr. Imus isn't exactly a crack investigative reporter, which is probably why Mr. Snow chose to appear on his show in the first place.
Just a quibble. It's Eurasia.
You should know that by now. We are always at war with either them or Oceania. Although, I forget which one we are at war with now...
is gettting worse and worse. How come Reid is the only one hitting him fo the "number" comment. Why does this guy get a pass?
But I was not for invading Iraq for the reasons Bush gave. I could see his lying clear as day.
However, removing Sadam is really not a bad thing.
No one has ever said it was.
I cringe. Not because I think President Puddinhead and his fellow Puddinheadites are lieing. But because they came frightfully close to, but never actually did claim there was a tie between Saddam Hussein and 9/11. I've looked at tons of Press briefings, photo ops and television interviews where Bush, Cheney and Rice made strong hints, but they never seemed to connect all the dots. Which, to me, makes these clowns even more dangerous. They gave the American public carefully crafted head fakes, and we all bit! Meanwhile the Knuckleheaded Congress DID connect the dots with their resolution to go to war.
In it's October 2, 2002 Joint resolution to authorize the use of US Armed Forces Against Iraq: "Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq..."
meeting in Prague was pretty well confirmed after it had in fact been pretty well refuted by our own FBI, I think Cheney crossed that line when he said "If we're successful in Iraq ... 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."
If that isnt liking Iraq with 9/11 then the difference is moot.
Even in that statement, it seems Cheney performing a nice little sleight of hand. During all of their statements leading up the war, I've found dozens of cases where 9/11 and Iraq (or Saddam Hussein) appeared in the same paragraph and even the same sentence. And the distance between the two references somehow got closer and closer with each passing public appearance.
And that's my biggest beef. They knew how to manipulate the American public and the gullible press until we'd all thought that their doublespeak came from the heart.
And you know, SOLON, this new penchant for straight talk out of the White House has produced a former FAUX Newsman with a distinct penchant for the FAUX Pas!!!!
[link to www.huffingtonpost.com]
Did anyone really believe that Tony Snow was going to STOP lying when he went to work as Dubya's chief spokeman?
If so, then I've got some Enron stock you might be interested in buying.
I DID hope he would stop insulting our intelligence with such transparent lies.
Snowjob is showingh his true colors................
he doesn't sweat as he Lies!
MMFA picked up the video too late in the interview. A few minutes before where the clip picks up Snow absolutely connected 9/11 and Saddam. I don't recall the exact quote, but it was something along the line of Bin Laden being responsible for our having to invade Iraq.
Dubya' has never said that there is a link between Sadam & 9/11.
And I've never called Snow a lying *ss h*le.
It's obviously part of Tony Snow's job to try'n re-write the history of the invasion of Iraq and all the reasons for doing so. But when you consider the MSM were suckers and never lived up to their responsibility as a so called "free press" should they'll be all to happy to help the snow man spin,spin away.
Snow, did you forget everything Bush has said, or did you think we did?
You have to keep repeating things to catapult the propaganda or something like that. Bush made a statement like this in one of his unscripted moments. Like the previous poster said, his unscripted moments are the best. It often gives you a peek at the strategy of his propagandists who are hard at work behind the scenes 24-7.
it is now a right wing talking point to try to distance this administration from making an Iraq / 9-11 link , but if you were to say that there actually was no link between the two the same hardliners would try to convince you that there is a link . It seems that it is the same die hards who want to make the Iraq / 9-11 link .......... so why do they handle it like a hot potatoe at the same time ?