Whoa! From McClatchy: Bush plays al Qaida card to bolster support for Iraq policy

[babylonsister]

Sounds like a bit of skepticism seeping in.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/17471.html

Bush plays al Qaida card to bolster support for Iraq policy
By Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — Facing eroding support for his Iraq policy, even among Republicans, President Bush on Thursday called al Qaida "the main enemy" in Iraq, an assertion rejected by his administration's senior intelligence analysts.

The reference, in a major speech at the Naval War College that referred to al Qaida at least 27 times, seemed calculated to use lingering outrage over the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to bolster support for the current buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq, despite evidence that sending more troops hasn't reduced the violence or sped Iraqi government action on key issues.

Bush called al Qaida in Iraq the perpetrator of the worst violence racking that country and said it was the same group that had carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

"Al Qaida is the main enemy for Shia, Sunni and Kurds alike," Bush asserted. "Al Qaida's responsible for the most sensational killings in Iraq. They're responsible for the sensational killings on U.S. soil."

U.S. military and intelligence officials, however, say that Iraqis with ties to al Qaida are only a small fraction of the threat to American troops. The group known as al Qaida in Iraq didn't exist before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, didn't pledge its loyalty to al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden until October 2004 and isn't controlled by bin Laden or his top aides.

more...

[Old and In the Way]

1. They can't tell the truth about Iraq or the so-called War on Terror.

It's all disinformation and has been for decades.

[zabet]

2. When did Al Qaeda become 98% of the population of the 'enemy factions'?

Don't even mention arming the Sunnis - they are all Al Qaeda now.
:argh:

[Faygo Kid]

3. He's desperate, but there may be more to his setting the table than Iraq.

I have a very bad feeling about what this cornered dog and his handler, Cheney, might do if they think their power is genuinely threatened. Attack Iran? Manufacture an attack on us? Declare martial law? I don't know, but his detachment from reality is frightening.

[Botany]

4. Iraq Study Group: 1,300 foreign fighters who are al Qaeda

Al Qaeda is responsible for a small portion of the violence in Iraq, but that includes some
of the more spectacular acts: suicide attacks, large truck bombs, and attacks on significant
religious or political targets. Al Qaeda in Iraq is now largely Iraqi-run and composed of Sunni
Arabs. Foreign fighters—numbering an estimated 1,300—play a supporting role or carry out
suicide operations. Al Qaeda’s goals include instigating a wider sectarian war between Iraq’s
Sunni and Shia, and driving the United States out of Iraq.



Iraq = al Qaeda = 9/11 = bin Laden rinse lather repeat

Iraq = al Qaeda = 9/11 = bin Laden rinse lather repeat

Iraq = al Qaeda = 9/11 = bin Laden rinse lather repeat