Is VP Cheney a Liar?

Claims and Facts: Iraq-Al Qaeda Connections

SADDAM-AL QAEDA CONNECTION


CLAIM: There's overwhelming evidence there was a connection between al Qaeda and the Iraqi government. I am very confident that there was an established relationship there." - Vice President Cheney, 1/22/04

CLAIM: "The regime of Saddam Hussein cultivated ties to terror while it built weapons of mass destruction." - President Bush's UN speech, 9/23/03

CLAIM: "Iraq [is] the central front in the war on terror." - President Bush's UN speech, 9/23/03

CLAIM: "You can't distinguish between al-Qaida and Saddam." - President Bush, 9/25/02

CLAIM: "There's no question that Saddam Hussein had al Qaeda ties." - President Bush, 9/17/03

CLAIM: "There was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda." - Vice President Cheney, 9/14/03

FACT: According to documents, "Saddam Hussein warned his Iraqi supporters to be wary of joining forces with foreign Arab fighters entering Iraq to battle U.S. troops. The document provides another piece of evidence challenging the Bush administration contention of close cooperation between Saddam's regime and al Qaeda terrorists." [NY Times, 1/15/04]

FACT: "CIA interrogators have already elicited from the top Qaeda officials in custody that, before the American-led invasion, Osama bin Laden had rejected entreaties from some of his lieutenants to work jointly with Saddam." [NY Times, 1/15/04]

FACT: "Sec. of State Colin Powell conceded Thursday that despite his assertions to the United Nations last year, he had no 'smoking gun' proof of a link between the government of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and terrorists of al-Qaeda.'I have not seen smoking-gun, concrete evidence about the connection,' Powell said." [NY Times, 1/9/04]

FACT: "Three former Bush Administration officials who worked on intelligence and national security issues said the prewar evidence tying Al Qaeda was tenuous, exaggerated and often at odds with the conclusions of key intelligence agencies." [National Journal, 8/9/03]

FACT: Declassified documents "undercut Bush administration claims before the war that Hussein had links to Al Qaeda." [LA Times, 7/19/03].

FACT: "The chairman of the monitoring group appointed by the United Nations Security Council to track Al Qaeda told reporters that his team had found no evidence linking Al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein." [NY Times, 6/27/03]

FACT: "U.S. allies have found no links between Iraq and Al Qaeda. 'We have found no evidence of links between Iraq and Al Qaeda,' said Europe's top investigator. 'If there were such links, we would have found them. But we have found no serious connections whatsoever.'" [LA Times, 11/4/02]


SADDAM-9/11 CONNECTION


CLAIM: "We have never claimed that Saddam Hussein ... had either direction or control of 9/11." - National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 9/16/03

FACT: President Bush sent a letter to Congress on 3/19/03 saying that the Iraq war was permitted specifically under legislation that authorized force against "nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."

FACT: Vice President Cheney said on 9/14/03 "I think it's not surprising that people make that connection" between Saddam and 9/11- with no evidence to back up his claim.

FACT: Two days after Cheney made that statement, Reuters reported on 9/18/03 that "President Bush distanced himself from the comments."




http://www.americanprogress.org/AccountTempFiles/cf/%7bE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03%7d/PRIRAQCLAIMFACT1029.HTM

* I feel that Cheney is a blatant liar and a criminal. He should be indicted forthwith. I also feel strongly that he ordered or at the least signed off of on the outing of the CIA Agent Ms. Plane. gwb is a shallow, smirkin' puppet with zero integrity but Cheney is a vile, greedy, scum of a person that should be in prison doing hard time.