Kerry challenges Bush on Iraq-9/11 connection

[Robert Oak]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/09/12/kerry.powell.iraq/index.html

CNN) -- Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry accused the Bush administration Sunday of falsely linking Iraq to the attacks of September 11, 2001, "in its desperate attempts to reinvent a rationale for the Iraq war."

YES!!!!!

[Born Free]

1. we must remain steadfast in the attacks on the bush cowards record

Along with Kerry, all democrats must remain steadfast in their effort to expose the bush coward for what he is. We must continue to talk to everyone that will listen to remind them of all the poor decisions the bush coward has made and how America was hurt because of those decisions. For the sake of the world in general and America in particular, the bush coward must be defeated -


BTW: Dan Berns song "bush must be defeated" is a great song.

[SeekingTruth]

2. Think this is a winner....

with the recent finding by Editor and Publisher magazine that 42 percent of the American people think Hussein had a direct link to 9/11, the more this myth is discounted, the better for Kerry.

Though what is truly appalling is how the Bush Adminstration has been allowed to do this without being called on it by the mainstream media.

[dennis4868]

11. Your post reminds me of....

Paul Waldman's book on Bush called FRAUD. In this book he says that when a politician is able to lie and is not held accountable by the media, the sky is the limit for this politician. He can do and say whatever he wants and his opponnent is at a severe disadvantage. Great book....he lists all of Bush as of last summer (2003).

Waldman says that Bush and Rove know thwy will not be held accountable by the media....sure the media will give 15 minutes to a lie but then they back off and move on to another matter.

[Robert Oak]

15. I think the reason Americans MUST try to connect Iraq & 9/11

is denial...

if they cannot connect Iraq with terrorists and there is no WDM's
then it becomes more clear Americans were sent to die for Oil
and multinational corporate interests.

I think they do their damnest for the truth not to cut through
because it makes them look at the reasons to go to war which
are too horrifying for them and cut right through their beliefs
that make them who they are...i.e. patriotic Americans.

But, if Kerry cuts through this denial mechanism...
Bush has to go down in popularity and it's critical (I think)
that they keep this front and center.

[Zen0]

3. yes its about time...

a professor in my humanities class, asked the girl seated to my left why we invaded Iraq. I heard whispers of oil, money, democracy. And then the girl says we invaded Iraq to get the terrorists, the ones from that group, that caused 9/11. I jsut about died.

I had this statistic one time of how many times Bush used the word terror or terrorist in the same sentence as Iraq. If anyone can find it again for me, i'd be greatly appreciative.

Bush is misleading the nation. Many people ignorant and ill formed think we went there for terrorist. Bush's spin has taken the spot light off his lack of WMDs and put it on terror. Thank you Kerry, it's about time somebody put Bush on the spot.

[Sugarbleus]

4. Zen, did you have the opportunity to set the girl straight?

I think it's going to be alright peeps... More devastating info is coming out about Bushlies Inc. and Kerry/Edwards, along with other dems and reps, are speaking out.

The race is on. Keep your heads up and do like Kerry did: TURN YOUR BOAT INTO THE ENEMY FIRE.

Tell everyone you run into what the REAL DEAL is and who they should vote for. Let them know that this country under Fubya is heading over a cliff.

Where your views on your sleeves, on your bumpers, in/on everything your own and let it go every where you go...

HOPE IS ON THE WAY :bounce:

[Disturbed]

5. Another fave statement of the Rethugs is..

that they are fighting the terrorists in Iraq and that is good because the terrorists aren't in the US.

They are WRONG! The terrorists are here. They are in the Govt.

[July]

6. That's another version of their "Iraq did 9/11" bull.

They're counting on people to assume that (1) there were terrorists in Iraq before we attacked them and (2) that those terrorists are connected to 9/11. They achieved this not only by putting Iraq in the same sentence with 9/11 and "terror" as often as possible but also by attacking Iraq not long after attacking Afghanistan, thereby confusing those not paying attention. Soldiers as well as people here still believe in large numbers that fighting in Iraq is some kind of vengeance for 9/11. Mission accomplished. Good on Kerry for bringing up this subject.

[KansDem]

10. From the 2003 "State of the Union" speech...

With nuclear arms or a full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein could resume his ambitions of conquest in the Middle East and create deadly havoc in that region. And this Congress and the America people must recognize another threat. Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own.

Before September the 11th, many in the world believed that Saddam Hussein could be contained. But chemical agents, lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist networks are not easily contained. Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans -- this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. We will do everything in our power to make sure that that day never comes. (Applause.)

Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option. (Applause.)

The dictator who is assembling the world's most dangerous weapons has already used them on whole villages -- leaving thousands of his own citizens dead, blind, or disfigured. Iraqi refugees tell us how forced confessions are obtained -- by torturing children while their parents are made to watch. International human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape. If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning. (Applause.)

And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country -- your enemy is ruling your country. (Applause.) And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation. (Applause.)

(Sound familiar???)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html

Bush uses "Saddam Hussein" and the words "terror," "terrorists," and similar words in the same sentences, and the American media doesn't call him on this. This might be one reason that almost half of all Americans believe Saddam was connected with 9/11

[underpants]

7. ~"But a lot of people think there is a connection so (shrugs) what's

the big deal?"

That from the spin reader on CNN this morning, I didn't catch her name.

The "expert" they had on the phone said that recent polling showed that about 43% of the American people still think there is/was a connection........uh that means 57% say there ISN'T!

[Zen0]

8. yes I did have a chance to talk to her...

I asked her why she got the mix up, and she just told me that she isn't too much into keeping up with current events so she just hears things, like Iraq bad, then hears about 9/11, and more Iraq being bad. And just associates the two.

The 9/11 commission disproved any and all links of al qaeda and Iraq, and all ties from Iraq to 9/11. There's no controversy. Bush Cheney and comp. can have their own opinions, but when they voice them on the media that's falsely misleading the nation.

[Richardson08]

9. Everyone has the same problem

They have done a terrific job covering up their mistakes.Kerry needs to stop referring to Iraq as the part of the war on terror.He needs to refer to Iraq as the Battle for Iraq AND pound that into the minds of everyone.

[dennis4868]

12. If Kerry does this....

Bush/media will pound Kerry for being weak on defense and national security.....

[Qutzupalotl]

16. I disagree.

Or rather, they may try, but they won't succeed, at least not if Kerry keeps hammering the difference between occupying Iraq and fighting terrorism. Kerry will be seen as being bright enough to conceive a sensible strategy for fighting terror that has nothing to do with stealing oil.

[dennis4868]

17. they won't succeed?

The damn swift boat liars succeeded on all lies thanks to the media...why do you think in this instance they wont succeed?

[Qutzupalotl]

21. It attacks Bush's "strength".

He's running as the "strong, fearless leader." But he's inept, incompetent, and makes bad decisions. As long as Kerry hammers his point that Iraq was the Wrong War at the Wrong time, he'll be fine.

The swifties gained traction because there weren't enough voices in the first two weeks pointing out they were lying. Kerry's learned that lesson, and is coming out swinging. He won't let them get away with anything like that again.

[Catfight]

13. I liked Edwards response to Cheney, "from here on, there should

be no more irrational talk about the connection of Saddam to 9/11 after Powell has made it perfectly clear, there is not a connection." This is some GOOD stuff. Cheney/Bush are delusional.

[UpInArms]

14. Powell Sees No 'Direct' Link Between Hussein, Sept. 11

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16707-2004Sep12.html

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he had "seen nothing that makes a direct connection between Saddam Hussein and that awful regime and what happened on 9/11."

Asked how he believes Sen. John F. Kerry would respond to a terrorist attack, Powell said, "I can't tell you how he might respond to it. As commander in chief, I think he'd respond to it in a robust way."

...more...

Well, gee - there you have it - no link - what took so freakin' long?

[gulliver]

18. I love the word "reinvent" here.

[Aries]

19. The Big Lie, continued...

Some relevant quotes:

http://www.letstalksense.com/quotes.html

"What good fortune for those in power that the people do not think."
--Adolf Hitler

"Through clever and constant application of propaganda people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way around, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise."
--Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1923

"It also gives us a very special, secret pleasure to see how unaware the people around us are of what is really happening to them. "
--Adolf Hitler

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
-- Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945

[Julian English]

20. Transcript from Meet The Press--Powell denies link between Iraq and 9/11

This is front page stuff.

From 9/12 Meet The Press:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0409/S00160.htm
MR. RUSSERT: Yesterday, very painful memories of September 11th, parents and grandparents, remembering their loved ones. Henry Hyde, the Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said this on Thursday, "There is a direct connection between the war in Iraq and the bombing of September 11th. Our response to that bombing of September 11th was Iraq and based on the best information available." Is that true?

SECRETARY POWELL: I have no indication that there was a direct connection between the terrorist who perpetrated these crimes against us on the 11th of September, 2001, and the Iraqi regime. We know that there had been connections and there had been exchanges between al-Qaida and the Saddam Hussein regime and those have been pursued and looked at, but I have seen nothing that makes a direct connection between Saddam Hussein, that awful regime, and what happened on 9/11.