Bush Clings to 9/11-Iraq Link
President Bush continues to insist that there is a direct connection between the perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the “folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq.” In fact, according to The New York Times, Bush mentioned al-Qaida no fewer than 30 times in public remarks Thursday.
New York Times:
There is no question that the group is one of the most dangerous in Iraq. But Mr. Bush’s critics argue that he has overstated the Al Qaeda connection in an attempt to exploit the same kinds of post-Sept. 11 emotions that helped him win support for the invasion in the first place.
Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia did not exist before the Sept. 11 attacks. The Sunni group thrived as a magnet for recruiting and a force for violence largely because of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, which brought an American occupying force of more than 100,000 troops to the heart of the Middle East, and led to a Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad.