For nearly three years, murky speculation, innuendo and inaccurate information have kept a connection between Saddam Hussein and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 alive in the American mind. Even as late as April, as the 9/11 Commission marched toward its ultimate conclusion, announced last Thursday, that no such connection could be found, 40 percent of the American population still believed in the link such a link.Here is The Times on Saturday:
Mr. Bush said the 9/11 panel had actually confirmed his contention that there were "ties" between Iraq and Al Qaeda. He said his administration had never connected Saddam Hussein to 9/11. Both statements are wrong.Vs. The Times on Sunday:
Critics of the Bush Administration argue that it falsely created a link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks to help justify the war. Last week, the administration countered that it had never made such an assertion - only that there were ties, however murky, between Iraq and Al Qaeda. A survey of past public comments seems to bear that out - although whether there was a deliberate campaign to create guilt by association is difficult to say.Bonus Times Multimedia - What the Bush Administration said
(all via Tom Maguire)