Cheney blasts media on al Qaeda-Iraq link

[BoredShirtless]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/ ... index.html

[Crown]

"The press, with all due respect, (is) often times lazy, often times simply reports what somebody else in the press said without doing their homework."

Yeah no shit. Like Iraq having

• WMD
• Uranium from Niger
• Aluminium tubes of death!
• 45min reaction time
• Links with Al Quaeda

--- oops !

How fucking embarrasing.

[Stuart Mackey]

So the FBI and CIA say there were no links yet Cheney does and is unwilling to supply the evidence..This US government is full of crackpots.

[Drooling Iguana]

Is the news showing reruns now? I mean, I heard all this stuff more than a year ago, just with "WMDs" in place of "links."

[Chris OFarrell]

That kind of standard of debating and evidence would get thrown out here as trolling. "THEY ARE ALL WRONG, I DON'T CARE WHAT 'PROOF' THEY HAVE"....what kind of BS is this?

[Stuart Mackey]

That kind of standard of debating and evidence would get thrown out here as trolling. "THEY ARE ALL WRONG, I DON'T CARE WHAT 'PROOF' THEY HAVE"....what kind of BS is this?

politics

[CaptainChewbacca]

So the FBI and CIA say there were no links yet Cheney does and is unwilling to supply the evidence..This US government is full of crackpots.

Read the commission's reports. There ARE LINKS between baath party and AQ, just not with regards to 9/11.

[Howedar]

I ask this in all honesty: when did the Bush administration stop pretending to tell the truth?

[Elfdart]

Chewie, what exactly is a "link" to Al-Queda? A phone call or a fax? Some other message? Please.

We're talking shyster language here, folks. Like the way Velveeta is called a "cheese food product" to make casual shoppers think that 3 pounds of lard and whipped vegetable oil is actually cheese. So we get all this talk of "links" between Hussein and Bin Laden -to make people think the two were in cahoots and that Saddam was behind 9-11. We also get WMD "program-related activities"... See what I mean?

So if Bush and Cheney and Co. aren't lying because they didn't actually say "Saddam ordered the WTC bombings.", then Clinton wasn't lying about Monica Lewinsky because he didn't actually say "blowjob".

Sure, the Bush junta might have used enough weasel-words to beat any perjury rap, but they're still hucksters and charlatans.

[Axis Kast]

As the Wall Street journal opined today in a criticism of the way some have spun the 9/11 report, there is evidence of an al-Qaeda link. That indictment during the Clinton administration had to come from somewhere, for example. There are also reports that a senior Iraqi intelligence official met with al-Qaeda representatives in the Sudan (the results of which should now be in serious question, given the ’98 revelation).

Then there’s the whole issue of Mohammed Atta’s links to Iraqi intelligence. The Czechs continue to stand by it, and the best he 9/11 commission could come up with was that his cell phone made a call during the period he was supposed to be in Europe. Of course, the cell phone wouldn’t have worked in Europe anyway, so bringing it with him would have been fruitless in the first place.

Add to this Putin's new revelations, and we have a clear picture of Iraqi hands in forbidden cookie jars.

[Howedar]

Comical Axi, if that's your idea of a clear picture than I can't imagine what is unclear to you.

[Aaron]

As the Wall Street journal opined today in a criticism of the way some have spun the 9/11 report, there is evidence of an al-Qaeda link. That indictment during the Clinton administration had to come from somewhere, for example. There are also reports that a senior Iraqi intelligence official met with al-Qaeda representatives in the Sudan (the results of which should now be in serious question, given the ’98 revelation).

Then there’s the whole issue of Mohammed Atta’s links to Iraqi intelligence. The Czechs continue to stand by it, and the best he 9/11 commission could come up with was that his cell phone made a call during the period he was supposed to be in Europe. Of course, the cell phone wouldn’t have worked in Europe anyway, so bringing it with him would have been fruitless in the first place.

Add to this Putin's new revelations, and we have a clear picture of Iraqi hands in forbidden cookie jars.

Just because Iraqi and AQ officials may have met, doesn't mean that there was any co-operation between the two. As of yet, I have not seen any concrete evidence that the two were in cohoots. In fact the evidence I have seen indicates that there were training camps in Northern Iraq, in the area controlled by the Kurds, so if anything the USA should be taking a closer look at it's allies.

[Elfdart]

As the Wall Street journal opined today in a criticism of the way some have spun the 9/11 report, there is evidence of an al-Qaeda link. That indictment during the Clinton administration had to come from somewhere, for example. There are also reports

Reports from whom?

that a senior Iraqi intelligence official met with al-Qaeda representatives in the Sudan (the results of which should now be in serious question, given the ’98 revelation).

What was this "meeting" (assuming for the sake of argument that such a thing ever happened)? Did they bump into each other in the airport or in town? Was it a lengthy plot to kill Americans so their Sudanese Candidate John Kerry could get elected? Or was it a chance encounter, kind of like the time I ran into Salma Hayek by chance and said "Uhhhhhhh, Hi!"?

Then there’s the whole issue of Mohammed Atta’s links to Iraqi intelligence. The Czechs continue to stand by it, and the best he 9/11 commission could come up with was that his cell phone made a call during the period he was supposed to be in Europe. Of course, the cell phone wouldn’t have worked in Europe anyway, so bringing it with him would have been fruitless in the first place.

Add to this Putin's new revelations, and we have a clear picture of Iraqi hands in forbidden cookie jars.

Putin's "revelations" and fifty cents will buy a copy of USA Today.

[Chris OFarrell]

I'd also point out for the recrod that no-one is denying there were CONTACTS between the two. But they have never been shown to be any more then more or less saying 'Hi, we hate America...so um...nice hat?". Saddam and Ossama HATE each other so much they could not cement an allience! When they have the most basic of commen enemies who they both HATE, they still were completly unable to work together. Saddam refused point blank to provide any kind of resources to them and Ossama didn't work with him at all.

As the commision has pointed out quite correctly, there were contacts but NO LINKS. Of course Bush and Cheney are running around screaming that the fact that there were contacts = they were the original odd couple. Which is just so much bullshit. The fact that an independent investigation made up of both parties in an election year is able to stand up and say firmly there is nothing to it and Cheney has the fucking gaul to say they are wrong...that takes something special.

Of course the fact that after 9-11 Bush started pushing to bomb Iraq within about 5 hours speaks for itself just how warped his mind is on the subject.

[Stuart Mackey]

So the FBI and CIA say there were no links yet Cheney does and is unwilling to supply the evidence..This US government is full of crackpots.

Read the commission's reports. There ARE LINKS between baath party and AQ, just not with regards to 9/11.

My mistake, I was reffering to 9/11, I should have been more precise.

[Stuart Mackey]

So the FBI and CIA say there were no links yet Cheney does and is unwilling to supply the evidence..This US government is full of crackpots.

Read the commission's reports. There ARE LINKS between baath party and AQ, just not with regards to 9/11.

Mind you, those 'links' seem toconsist of an Iraqi 'fuck off' and id not lead to co-operation between the two

[Newtonian Fury]

source

Putin: Russia Warned U.S. of Possible Iraq Attack
From Associated Press

8:45 AM PDT, June 18, 2004

ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Russia gave the Bush administration intelligence after the September 11 attacks that suggested Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was preparing attacks in the United States, President Vladimir Putin said today.

Putin said he couldn't comment on how critical the Russians' information was in the U.S. decision to invade Iraq.

In Washington, a U.S. official said Putin's information did not add to what the United States already knew about Saddam's intentions.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said the Russian tip did not specify a time or a place where an attack might take place.

The Bush administration in part justified the invasion of Iraq by saying Saddam had links to terror groups, including al-Qaida. The U.S. commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said this week there was no evidence of any collaboration between Iraq and Osama bin Laden's terror network.

Putin said Russia didn't have any information that Saddam's regime was actually behind any terrorist acts.

"After Sept. 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, the Russian special services, the intelligence service, received information that officials from Saddam's regime were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States and outside it against the U.S. military and other interests," Putin said.

"It's one thing to have information that Saddam's regime is preparing terrorist attacks, (but) we didn't have information that it was involved in any known terrorist attacks," Putin said in the Kazakh capital Astana after regional economic and security summits.

He said President Bush personally thanked one of the leaders of Russia's intelligence agencies for the information.

At the White House, National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack would not directly address Putin's remarks. "We have excellent cooperation with Russia in the war against terrorism and a big part of that is the sharing of intelligence information," McCormack said. "We don't typically comment on intelligence matters."

Putin said the intelligence didn't cause Russia to waver from its firm opposition to the war.

"Despite that information about terrorist attacks being prepared by Saddam's regime, Russia's position on Iraq remains unchanged," Putin said.

Putin didn't elaborate on any details of the terror plots or mention whether they were tied to the al-Qaida terror network.

The Sept. 11 commission reported this week that while there were contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq, they did not appear to have produced "a collaborative relationship."

Bush, however, insisted Thursday that Saddam had "numerous contacts" with al-Qaida and said Iraqi agents had met with the terror network's leader, Osama bin Laden, in Sudan.

Saddam "was a threat because he had terrorist connections -- not only al-Qaida connections, but other connections to terrorist organizations," Bush said.

Also Thursday, a top Russian diplomat called for international inspectors to conclusively resolve the question of whether Iraq had any weapons of mass destruction -- one of the main reasons Bush used to justify the war. No such weapons have been found since Saddam's fall.

"This problem must be resolved ... because to a great extent it became the pretext for the start of the war against Iraq," Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said in Moscow, according to Interfax news agency.

He said such a finding would allow the U.N. Security Council to "turn a page and finally close the dossier on Iraqi weapons."

[Newtonian Fury]

What's Putin up to? Snuggling up to the Bush Brigade?

[Axis Kast]

Just because Iraqi and AQ officials may have met, doesn't mean that there was any co-operation between the two. As of yet, I have not seen any concrete evidence that the two were in cohoots. In fact the evidence I have seen indicates that there were training camps in Northern Iraq, in the area controlled by the Kurds, so if anything the USA should be taking a closer look at it's allies.

There's the Clinton-era '98 indictment, and now these few gems from the Russians. Not to mention Mohammed Atta's alledged meeting with an Iraqi operative before September 11, 2001, the only evidence against which being a call made from a cell phone that would have been useless had Atta taken it with him anyway.

Reports from whom?

The CIA, presumably.

What was this "meeting" (assuming for the sake of argument that such a thing ever happened)? Did they bump into each other in the airport or in town? Was it a lengthy plot to kill Americans so their Sudanese Candidate John Kerry could get elected? Or was it a chance encounter, kind of like the time I ran into Salma Hayek by chance and said "Uhhhhhhh, Hi!"?

Iraqi officials didn't need to meet with al-Qaeda representatives three or more times to rebuff offers of mutual cooperation. Not that the Clinton indictment suggests they turned down the initial overtures, either.

Putin's "revelations" and fifty cents will buy a copy of USA Today.

So now it's cherry-picking, is it? The word of Hans Blix or David Kay is gold, but God forbid Charles Duelfer or Vladimir Putin be taken seriously.

[lance]

from dictionary.com
link1 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (lngk)
n.

1. One of the rings or loops forming a chain.
2.
1. A unit in a connected series of units: links of sausage; one link in a molecular chain.
2. A unit in a transportation or communications system.
3. A connecting element; a tie or bond: grandparents, our link with the past.
3.
1. An association; a relationship: The Alumnae Association is my link to the school's present administration.
2. A causal, parallel, or reciprocal relationship; a correlation:

Which link do you link to Cheney's link? I think 2:3,3:1 and 3:2 might be a possibility.

[Elfdart]

Presumably the CIA? That's not even enough to be vague. This is Miss Cleo territory.

[Vympel]

There's the Clinton-era '98 indictment

Right, because a 6 year old indictment rather than a conviction with evidence presented to support it trumps the finding of the 9/11 commission. God you're desperate. It's kinda amusing- the peaks and troughs of your activity in this field mirrors exactly the peaks and troughs of the vehement denials of the Bush administration as their credibility just took a massive hit with the findings of the independent 9/11 commission. Curious.

and now these few gems from the Russians.

Only in your Bizarro World could a completely undetailed, no-evidence assertion by a foreign politician be a "gem". The gems noone who should have known about it seems to have heard of, no less.

Not to mention Mohammed Atta's alledged meeting with an Iraqi operative before September 11, 2001, the only evidence against which being a call made from a cell phone that would have been useless had Atta taken it with him anyway.

No, the 9/11 commission has concluded that this meeting did not take place- and the evidence against it includes the Iraqi official whoose been in US custody since July 03.