Republican Senator: Iraq Insurgents "Same Enemy" Who Attacked on 9/11

[Bob Geiger]

Despite the release Friday of a Senate Intelligence Committee report showing that the Bush administration knowingly misled the nation about links between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda -- in fact, the report shows that Hussein considered Al Qaeda a direct threat to his regime -- Senate Republicans on Friday showed their regret by continuing the misleading rhetoric.

Speaking in the Senate Friday morning, Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) used a floor speech ostensibly commemorating the five-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks to once again mislead and distort by linking those responsible for 9/11 with insurgents faced by U.S. troops in the Bush administration's war of choice in Iraq.

"On September 11, 2001, the American people learned there exists a group of killers, fueled by a twisted version of Islam, who want to destroy America," said Bond. "Today, we continue to fight the same group of killers not on an airplane over America but in a country in their own neighborhood, Iraq, and elsewhere in the Middle East and around the world."

"It is the same enemy, the same determination, the same goal," he continued. "But today we are fighting the radical Islamists on their own turf because we have a President who knows if America doesn't fight back, another September 11 is inevitable."

Bond then went on to trot out the same tired, old cut-and-run theme, suggesting that Senate Democrats who believe we need to leave Iraq and begin a real offensive against Al Qaeda are weak.

"Yet while the threat level remains high, some in this country, and regrettably in this Senate, want to let our guard down. Some talk of giving up the fight in Iraq. Let's not talk of 'troop redeployment' and other such euphemisms. If America pulls out of Iraq now, it signals to our enemies we have given up."

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) later fired back at Bond, making it clear that, while the do-nothing Republican Senate sits idly by accusing Iraq war opponents of a lack of courage and patriotism, the world has become remarkably unsafe for Americans on their watch.

"With 140,000 American troops serving bravely in the middle of a civil war in Iraq, bin Laden still at large, and a growing threat posed by North Korea and Iran, it is long past time this rubberstamping Republican Congress stood up to the Bush administration and did its job, did its job of being a separate and equal branch of Government," said Reid, adding that Senate Republicans have spent the entire Bush presidency bowing to his every whim.

"The problem during the 6 years of President Bush's administration is that the Constitution has not been what it should be, not the checks and balances, not three separate, equal branches of Government," said Reid. "It is no mystery why there have been no vetoes, because the President has gotten everything he has wanted. We have had no congressional oversight. We have had committees not doing their work."

Carl Levin (D-MI) then commented forcefully on the many instances in which Bush and Dick Cheney have outright lied to the American people and cited the Intelligence Committee report released Friday -- saying it "shouldn’t surprise anybody" -- as yet more proof that truth is indeed a stranger in this White House.

"The President's decision to ignore intelligence community assessments prior to the Iraq war and to make repeated public statements that gave the misleading impression that Saddam Hussein's regime was connected to the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 cost him any credibility he may have had on this issue," said Levin.

"President Bush said Saddam and al-Qaeda were allies -- his words -- and that 'you can't distinguish between al-Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror.' The bipartisan report released today directly contradicts that linkage which the President has consistently made in his effort to build public support for his Iraq policy."

What remains astounding to me, is that we now have further documentary evidence -- as if any more is needed at this point -- that this White House lied the country into war and yet we know with certainty that the Republican-controlled Congress will turn a blind-eye to the latest set of facts and hope their October 6 adjournment comes as fast as possible so they can hide.

At that point, Democrats have about a month to broadcast that GOP act of party-over-country to all Americans and ask voters to take the Congressional enablers of our executive-branch liars and toss them out on their ears.

You can read more from Bob at BobGeiger.com.

[saltpoint]

1. I've always wondered if Kit Bond is as dense as he seems, or if it's

just some kind of self-dumbing-down to appease the party line.

And let's have a few editorials in the Missouri press call him to task on this. In strong language.

[HuffleClaw]

2. well, of course!

they've got to keep 'catapulting the propaganda' !

[gordianot]

3. Kit Bond is not just another dry drunk.

Remove the dry.

[SPCAworks]

4. yyes

Iraq is full of the same kind of terrorists who hit USA on 9-11.

But they're there BECAUSE of the Iraq invasion. With no Iraq invasion, they'd be selling kabobs on the side of the road in Islamabad.

[orleans]

5. iraq/9/11, iraq/9/11, iraq/9/11... now go to sleep. iraq/9/11 n/t

[IndianaGreen]

6. Fine, stay in Iraq asshole until there is no more left of the US military

meanwhile, since you all are tied down in Iraq, we leftists can continue with our reform programme in Latin America knowing full well that Uncle Sam has no troops available for colonial duties in our Hemisphere.

[ngant17]

7. Not that we'd want the Iraqi to suffer

instead of another invasion and army of occupation (again) in Latin America.

The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime, so they say. In this case, I agree, they are too involved with their current crime sprees in the Middle East and SW Asia to have the time to return to their old haunts in South and Central America. Not that I wouldn't put it past them, even with the mess in Iraq and Afghanistan. Old habits are hard to break.

They should at least be more sober about their tanks this time. New technology in Russian and Chinese-made anti-tank rounds are making this old bastion of military power an obsolete piece of hardware again. That's what we saw recently against the IDF in Lebanon.

[IWantAChange]

8. Kit Bond as a tool to be analyzed

Bond speaking out on the floor of Congress in direction contradiction to the Senate Intelligence Committee Report is pure 'ROVIAN' - the perception of truth is far more important than facts and or the truth. C'mon DNC - throw this back in Bond's face and call him to task - I appreciate Harry Reid's comments - but they have to be leveled again and again - it's the only way to win at this game.

[civildisoBDence]

9. "Know thine enemy", jackass

The insurgency includes secular Baathists, mercenaries paid by Middle Eastern governments with an interest in destabilizing Iraq, and foreign jihadists drawn there by their hatred of Bush and his invasion.

How anyone can spin that into "they's da same folks what done tore down them towers" is beyond me. Self-serving drivel.

Newsprism

[OregonDem]

10. We're attacking the terrorists in their own neighborhood?

So if a terrorist group attacks the US, then we have a right to attack the nations that NEIGHBOR the country from where the attacks were carried out? What the f*** kind of logic is that? I swear the military ought to lower their intelligence requirements so that all these retarded inbred right wingers can go fight their insane war.

[Higans]

11. Lets fight the Anthrax terrorist on their own turf......

I'm sorry, I don't believe in terrorist any more then I believe in Santa, or the tooth fairy. Terrorism is an idea perpetuated perhaps even funded by our government.

To put it simply, If Terrorist do exist, they have won, and they have taken control of the white house, and the American people are being held hostage.

LIVE FREE OR DIE BOLD...

[alfredo]

12. In Iraq we are fighting nationalist, not ideologues.

I looked through the list of men who hijacked those four planes and there still no Iraqis listed.

[CarlVK]

13. Are they even AWARE anymore of their lies?

It just boggles the mind.