Cheney, in Florida visit, claims ties between Hussein, al Qaida

[floda]

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press Writer


ORLANDO, Fla.


Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that Saddam Hussein had "long-established ties" with al Qaida, an assertion that has been repeatedly challenged by some policy experts and lawmakers.

"He was a patron of terrorism," Cheney of Hussein during a speech before The James Madison Institute, a conservative think-tank based in Florida. "He had long established ties with al Qaida."

Cheney offered no details backing up his claim of a link between Hussein and al Qaida.

In making the case for war in Iraq, Bush administration officials frequently cited what they said were Saddam's decade-long contacts with al-Qaida operatives. They stopped short of claiming that Iraq was directly involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, but critics say Bush officials left that impression with the American public.

more...

http://gainesvillesun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040614/APN/406140864&cachetime=5

[Worst Username Ever]

1. Desperately...

...grasping at straws?

[Mokito]

Or...

is the undisclosed location only reachable by post pigeon, thus the extremely slow update of official party lines?

[saigon68]

51. Cheney in Florida to smoke crack

Has a "vision"

[LuminousX]

2. Cheney offered no details backing up his claim of a link

Cheney went on to assert Kerry is a homicidal killer and needs to be put in jail, again without proof. Meanwhile, he said Bush has cured people of leprosy just by touching them. Again, no proof, evidence, or even a corrobative witness was provided.

Cheney is to appear at several more speaking events where it is believed he'll continue to say random things that have no basis in reality.

[Catfight]

6. well put LuminousX!

[54anickel]

3. What an ASS! When will he give it up! Sheesh, Raygun had long

established ties with them, actually created them, as well. Just shut-up Cheney! STFU!!!!

[htuttle]

4. He refuses to say this in a forum where he can be questioned

In fact, I can't remember the last time Cheney was publicly questioned about anything, by anyone. It seems Dick's whole personal 'strategy' is to repeat his lies as much as possible, then flee from any sort of questioning.

[whosinpower]

5. After Cheney claiming fervently

That Saddam had, in fact, reconstituted his nuclear weapons program....and we all know how bogus that was - it never ceases to amaze me why anyone would ever ever give him the time of day to listen to his rants. The man lacks any shred of credibility.....my time is better spent clipping toenails rather than listen to his blather......

[havocmom]

7. Waiting for the lying SOB to get laughed outta town

Hope the CIA agents, pissed at his behavior endangering their fellow agents keep leaking the truth and making the US media bite the bullet and PRINT the TRUTH!

Memo To Dick:
No one believes you anymore.
You look ridiculous.
The evidence of your evil is now public knowledge.
Give it up.
Resign, have a heart attack, go fishing, just get the f**k out of OUR government!

[Malva Zebrina]

8. Looks to me as if no one calls him on it, he will continue to spout lies

we know it is a lie, but no one calls him on it. Therefore, being the prick and the evil person he is, he will continue to kick ass and in your face and lie. He gets away with it. If he did not get away with it, he would stop it.

[tom_paine]

9. Wow, they just shamelessly lie and lie and LIE

They are Nazis, all right, just "kinder and gentler".

They have the same love of truth...

[joe freedom]

10. The binLaden family spent more time in Crawford, Texas

Than they did in Iraq.

Salem binLaden (Osama's brother) died in an ultralight plane crash outside of Crawford. Their close friend, Prince Bandar, is a regular visitor.

[Tight_rope]

41. Here's a good link between Bin Laden and Bush

In summer 1971, Osama and Salem Bin Laden enjoyed a holiday in Sweden with some of their 55 brothers and sisters.

Yet within a few years, the two teenagers' lives had taken stunningly different turns.

As the world knows to its cost, Osama embraced Islamic fundamentalism and 30 years later was named the world's most wanted man. He is prime suspect in the murder of nearly 7,000 in the worst ever terrorist atrocities in the U.S. earlier this month.

Incredibly, Salem went on to become a business partner of the man who is leading the hunt for his brother. In the 1970s, he and George W Bush were founders of the Arbusto Energy oil company in Mr Bush's home state of Texas.

Photos reveal the brothers on family holiday to the Swedish town of Falun, 150 miles north-west of Stockholm, when Osama was 14 and Salem around 19.

The brothers had recently inherited a fortune from their construction magnate father, Mohammed. He left millions to each of his 57 children by 12 wives after dying in a plane crash in 1968.

Osama and Salem first visited Falun in 1970, arriving in a blue Rolls-Royce flown to Copenhagen by private jet. They liked the town so much they returned with other family members a year later.

Learning that the Bin Ladens, originally from Saudi Arabia, were staying at the Astoria Hotel, a local photographer asked the unusual visitors to pose.

More---> http://www.propagandamatrix.com/bin_laden_family_link_to_bush.html

[MallRat]

11. ENOUGH! THE MEDIA SHOULD HAMMER THESE MOTHERF*CKERS!!!

Haven't we established (hell, hasn't the ADMINISTRATION ADMITTED) that there was no proof of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda?

For the love of god... CHENEY HAS BEEN CAUGHT IN AN OBVIOUS LIE. The media should rain a shitstorm down on him!!!!

I'm not holding my breath.

-MR

[Mokito]

18. AGREE !!!!

[psychopomp]

45. Yes, Bush himself admitted such

"We have no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the 11 September attacks," Mr Bush told reporters as he met members of Congress on energy legislation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3118262.stm

A good list of misleading statements by the Bush Administration can be found at http://www.bushoniraq.com/

[MidwestTransplant]

12. This proves one thing

Cheney is out there on his own. He doesn't coordinate the message, he is the message. What he said directly contradicts what Bush says but he doesn't care.

[Disturbed]

15. Bush Cult

These cult members believe whatever they are told. Cheney is the actual Cult Leader. W is the puppet, spokesperson. The Bush Cult believe that BushCo is representing God on a mission, a Crusade to save Christians from the Muslim hoards.

[Tellurian]

26. Yep, look at this:

The link is from the WH Kids Page:



"Unka Dick"

"Richard B. Cheney is the Vice President of the United States.
His job is to help President George W. Bush fulfill his goals for America."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/vicepresident/

[DemoVet]

35. Please, you're scaring the children!

[Tellurian]

44. heh...Unka Dickie is scaring me...

After reading Cheney's thumbnail bio, I wonder if he imagines running the country is the same as running Halliburton?
Or worse yet, attaining the class presidency or acting as captain of his HS football team?

[arthaby]

22. cheney bush

i wonder why they don't agree...cheney and clinton seem to agree

[They_LIHOP]

32. You care to back that up?

Proof that Bill Clinton has ever asserted that Saddam has 'long-standing ties' to Al-Qaeda?

I'll be here holding my breath...

[librechik]

13. shame on the James Madison Institute

for promoting more smoke and mirrors regarding this ridiculous and venal assertion. Of course it has been thoroughly debunked by clearer heads. Sometimes I feel like I live in pre-Revolutionary France.

[charlyvi]

14. That Dog Won't Bark

Anymore...except to the wingnuts. He's preaching to the choir.

[Emboldened Chimp]

16. Man, this is PATHETIC!

Give it up, Dick!

[samhonk]

17. Who's "out of the loop" now?

Jeez, Dick, we've CHANGED THE SUBJECT (after that one was found to be a lie.)

[Dover]

19. WHY is Cheney in Florida? Hmmmmmmm?

..

[killbotfactory]

20. More "secret" evidence, eh?

secret meaning imaginary.

[geek tragedy]

21. In other news, the rest of the planet remembers

that Saddam Hussein had long-standing ties to the United States and Halliburton.

[gatlingforme]

23. Cheney is still on that BS ........ what next, oh yeah and Neil Bush

is really smart too.

[UpInArms]

24. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Bogdad Dick!

What a freakin' joke.

This is just to keep justifying the use of torture - as long as they maintain that there is a tie between terrorism and Iraq, they can keep their torture memos intact.

This creep belongs in prison.

[robertpaulsen]

25. Next he'll be shilling his reconstituted nuclear BULLSHIT!

Whoever Kerry picks for VP better be prepared to rip Dick a new one when it comes time to debate.

[daleo]

27. Rummy, Cheney, Bush, Reagan

All had long established ties to Hussein, and some to the Bin Laden family. I suppose that makes them patrons of terrorism too.

[0007]

28. Cheney is in self denial and need to be prosecuted as a war criminal

I wish the Senate would call Chaney in for a good old fashion grilling, to find out what and how he knows al Qaida and Saddam Hussein were connected.

[HuckleB]

29. Proof? We don' need no STINKING PROOF!

[chelsea0011]

30. But still can't find ties between Halliburton and himself

Asshole!

[DainBramaged]

31. I guess it's his last gasp before the Haliburton scandal

engulfs him.

[Generator]

33. Since these mofucks don't need to have proof or anything unimportant

like that, I'll just say that Cheney and Saddam are related by blood. In fact, Saddam got most of his money from Cheney!

Hey, all you gotta do is say it and it's true.

[struggle4progress]

34. "Lie lah lie! Lie lah lie lie lie lah lie! Lie lah lie!"

[MallRat]

54. Lie lah lie lah lah lah lie, lah-lah-lah-lah lie!

Damn, I love Google.
-MR

===============
http://servercc.oakton.edu/~billtong/bnsp/fraudster.htm

The Fraudster
(Sung to the tune of "The Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel)
Guest song parody by Skisics Surus and W. Tong
-----------------------------------------------------------
(instrumental intro)
Rich is he, the Bush Boy
His true story's seldom told
He's been rendered all assistance
After pocketing more money that they promised him
Unwise at best,
Still the boy hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest, hmm...

When he left Midland and his family
He was no more than a boy
In the hands of his arrangers
In the quiet of the Lincoln bedroom, running scared
Was snorting snow, seeking out the news reporters
There these retched people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Lie-la-lie... lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-la-lie... lie-la-lie...
Lie-la-lie, lie-lie-la-lie, la-la-la-la-lie

The election for the ages
Bush stole his way to his job
Filled his money coffers
He had run on sham reform to get your votes from you
Thinks you don't care; Bush's crimes made him so loathsome
Do not give him comfort there, hmm...

(instrumental break)

Lie-la-lie... lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-la-lie... lie-la-lie...
Lie-la-lie, lie-lie-la-lie, la-la-la-la-lie

We are protesting the Chosen One
And wishing he was gone
Protest him...
But the Washington press writings praise GWB
GWB, protest him...

On the dais stands the Fraudster
He's a liar who's got it made
And he smirks at the reminder
How the Supreme Court had ruled for him
And they cut him slack - we cried out
In our anger at this shame
We are steaming, we are steaming
But that liar still remains

Lie-la-lie... lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-la-lie... lie-la-lie...
Lie-la-lie, lie-lie-la-lie, la-la-la-la-lie
Lie-la-lie... lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-la-lie... lie-la-lie...
Lie-la-lie, lie-lie-la-lie, la-la-la-la-lie
Lie-la-lie... lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-la-lie... lie-la-lie...
Lie-la-lie, lie-lie-la-lie, la-la-la-la-lie
Lie-la-lie... lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-la-lie... lie-la-lie...
Lie-la-lie, lie-lie-la-lie, la-la-la-la-lie

[struggle4progress]

58. Thanks for finding this!

[Tight_rope]

36. Interesting! Nothing to back you up Cheney! Why say it.?

"Cheney offered no details backing up his claim of a link between Hussein and al Qaida." However, we seem to keep finding evidence that Bushco did have links with al Qaida.:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[Rex]

37. No one is held accountable - this is what happens when we

allow one branch of government to decide who will lead another branch. Illegitimacy at its finest.

[mountainvue]

38. Lying sack

of shit.

[ItsThePeopleStupid]

39. Cheney, the one-man intelligence service

He doesn't need the CIA, DIA, FBI... he just comes up with intelligence on his own.

We could save a lot of money by defunding all the intelligence agencies and just ask Cheney instead.

Sort of like the Delphic Oracle.

[neverforget]

40. When do these lies come back and bite them on the ass? Karma's

a bitch!

[Geo55]

42. Don't forget...

A portion of the koolaide swillers believe this...
Unka Dickhead is just tendin' to the fire.

[Francine Frensky]

43. Why does nobody care when republicans lie blatantly????

I'm sick of seeing these lies go unchallenged. Nobody in the media bothers to ask tough follow-up questions or flat out call them liars or flip-floppers (like Bush flip-flopping on the french or on steel tariffs).

I'd love to see this in a debate in the fall. I think the bush and cheney are delusional and I'd love to see them caught in the web of their own lies come Nov.

But it will never happen with our corporate-controlled media.

[SoCalDem]

46. Too bad Al Franken is busy

Heneeds to follow Cheney everywhere, and when he starts into his "programmed speech equating Iraq with 9-11", Al could stand up and yell.....L I A HHHHHHHHH !!!

[Malva Zebrina]

59. Franken? Don;t make me laugh

He is playing a game also. He wants to run for the Senate in the future.

He cherishes all of his right wing contacts, you can be sure. He will not vigorously challenge any of them but will hide behind some twisted humor, pretending he gets along with everyone includimg those close friends on the right

I do not place any bet on Franken when it comes to defending the liberal cause.

[Hekate]

47. It's the Big Lie -- and it works

I'm arguing with a distant cousin right now about this. Nothing wrong with his IQ -- and yet he believes the propaganda machine about Al Qaeda and Saddam and the necessity of the torture because "these people" are given to blowing themselves up in crowded places...:argh:

Hekate
I want my country back

[0rganism]

48. Is it possible they don't even try to coordinate talking points anymore?

Not like all that "lockstep" stuff was working so hot for them; ya get one thing wrong, everybody repeats it, and suddenly the whole administration looks stupid. So why not just have everyone go off on their own separate random tangents? Yeah, they contradict each other at times, but who's going to care? If the media starts getting uppity, just throw down a terror alert or two, wave around veiled threats against an unnamed major city, and blammo! Problem solved through distraction. Much easier than striving simultaneously for consistency and reliability, and there's always the chance that someone will get it right.

[sniffa]

49. were there cackLes of Laughter

when he said that?

[Ganja Ninja]

50. "He had long established ties with al Qaida."

Weren't W and Osama crib mates at one point? How far back did Saddams ties go? Bet they don't go back as far as the Bush family's.

[qb]

52. What a sad, desperate man.

I mean Cheney, but I suppose the same could be said of Saddam. Like peas in a pod.

[attaturk]

53. The Many Moods of Dick

This seems appropriate given the subject matter:

<http://risinghegemon.blogspot.com/2004/06/cuddly-republicans-many-moods-of-dick.html>

[texas is the reason]

55. but we already knew cheney had ties with hussein and al-qaida!

whoops, must have read that wrong, my mistake;-)

[soleft]

56. kick

[priller]

57. Seriously, I wonder what happened to Cheney

Back during the Bush I days he seemed like a competent technocrat-ish kind of person, and did much to reduce defense spending. He was a gun nut (voted against banning armor-piercing bullets), but otherwise seemed fairly reasonable for a Repug.

Something radicalized him, and it wasn't 9/11, although that did seem to reinforce his grim, dark view of the world. Maybe it was his tenure at Halliburton, where he discovered that a few "wise" men can secretly make the best decisions for everyone, and as a bonus get filthy rich at the same time through friendly and non-accountable government contracts.

I look forward to a good bio on him in the future.

[glitch]

60. precioussss is not lying: the tie between al queda and saddam knots at

bushco corporate hq

[peterh]

61. The twit is defending dickie’s assertion on the connection…..

It looks like they’re going to run with this on the campaign and the media will just nod at it….even the Guardian had it in the last paragraph....:eyes:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4208539,00.html

At his news conference, Bush defended Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that Saddam had ``long-established ties'' with al-Qaida, an assertion that has been repeatedly challenged by some policy experts and lawmakers. Bush pointed to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is accused of trying to disrupt the transfer of sovereignty as well as last month's decapitation of American Nicholas Berg.

``Zarqawi is the best evidence of connection to al-Qaida affiliates and al-Qaida,'' the president said.

[struggle4progress]

62. Bush stands by al Qaeda, Saddam link

President Bush repeated his administration's claim that Iraq was in league with al Qaeda under Saddam Hussein's rule, saying Tuesday that fugitive Islamic militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ties Saddam to the terrorist network.

"Zarqawi's the best evidence of a connection to al Qaeda affiliates and al Qaeda," Bush told reporters at the White House. "He's the person who's still killing."

U.S. intelligence officials have said al Qaeda had some links to Iraq dating back to the early 1990s, but the nature and extent of those contacts is a matter of dispute.

Critics have accused the president and other administration officials of falsely inflating the links between Iraq and al Qaeda in the months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/06/15/bush.alqaeda/

[Mithras61]

63. Maybe I'm just being stupid, but...

Didn't Zarqawi enter Iraq after the "Mission Accomplished" nonsense?

Besides, how is his activity in Iraq any indication of anything except that he doesn't like us there and sees us as easy targets?

[struggle4progress]

65. Well, the story has some problems.

For a while he was in Iran but left for Iraq and became an amputee.
Target: Zarqawi
"After leaving Iran, Zarqawi showed up in the Iraqi capital in May 2002. Intercepts of telephone calls he made to his family in Jordan show that he received medical treatment in Baghdad, and his bad leg was amputated."
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/WorldNewsTonight/zarqawi_030224.html

Then for a while, he was dead.
Iraq militants claim al-Zarqawi is dead (March 04, 2004)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4446084/

Then this legless dead man killed Berg.
CIA official: Al-Zarqawi likely beheaded Berg
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/13/iraq.berg/

Of course, this story is awkward because the Iranians have hated al-Qaeda for a long time and continue to condemn the group for terrorist attacks.
(Toronto Star Mar. 2, 2004)
Iran blames Al Qaeda for attacks
Over 20 Iranians died in attacks in Iraq, Pakistan
Shiites, not U.S., is terror group's real enemy: Iranian vice president
An Iranian vice president blamed Al Qaeda for today's attacks on Shiite Muslims in Iraq and Pakistan, condemning the terrorist group's rigid thinking for the bombings and shootings that killed more than 20 Iranian worshippers and wounded 69.
<snip>
http://research.lifeboat.com/alqaeda.htm

It's also unclear to me why Saddam would harbor anybody crossing the border from his old enemy Iran.

At this point, I'm really not sure what to think, but I'm certainly not taking Bushista "intelligence" announcements on this topic seriously anymore.

[lostnfound]

64. I saw Tucker Carlson grasping at 'Hilary straws' on this one

He played an excerpt of a speech she gave on the floor of the Senate in support of the Iraq war (when she voted to authorize force), in which she parroted the Bush line about Saddam giving safe harbor and support for terrorists including al Qaeda.

Tucker said what's the big deal for Cheney saying this, Hilary was saying it and (he named some other Democrats) so it would have to be a pretty big conspiracy, wouldn't it?

Very, very weak.

[TLDHOME99]

66. Cheney lying in Florida?

Doesn't he know our governor can do that perfectly well without him? Why did no one tell me he was coming here so I could peacefully protest him?

Why does he do this evil thing? Go home, Cheney, go home!

:oops: