Are there ANY on the Right who still believe Iraq was involved in 9/11?

[Si modo]

I bet few on the right ever believed a strawman created by the left.

 

[kyzr]

The answer is that it was <is?> a media hoax that anyone in the US believed that Iraq was involved in 9/11. I read the 9/11 Commission Report and most of it makes some sense. I have not seen any comparable document disproving the 9/11 Commission Report. If there was any credible evidence it would have been a best seller. There is no credible evidence to the contrary, OBL and KSM admit doing 9/11, QED.

Any conspiracy theorists need to ask one simple question. "How many people would have been needed to carry off the "inside job" and how many of those would actually be willing kill up to 50,000 Americans (OBL's estimate) and keep their mouths shut? Its an impossibility. Only the most simple-minded would think its possible.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

No one on the right EVER claimed Iraq was involved in 9/11 dumb ass, that was a made up talking point by you retard liberals.

 

[Wry Catcher]

No one on the right EVER claimed Iraq was involved in 9/11 dumb ass, that was a made up talking point by you retard liberals.

No one? Are you sure? Would you like time to edit your claim?


The Christian Science Monitor


Specials>Buildup in the Gulf
from the March 14, 2003 edition

The impact of Bush linking 9/11 and Iraq
American attitudes about a connection have changed, firming up the case for war.

By Linda Feldmann | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON &#8211;
In his prime-time press conference last week, which focused almost solely on Iraq, President Bush mentioned Sept. 11 eight times. He referred to Saddam Hussein many more times than that, often in the same breath with Sept. 11.

Bush never pinned blame for the attacks directly on the Iraqi president. Still, the overall effect was to reinforce an impression that persists among much of the American public: that the Iraqi dictator did play a direct role in the attacks. A New York Times/CBS poll this week shows that 45 percent of Americans believe Mr. Hussein was "personally involved" in Sept. 11, about the same figure as a month ago.

For the full article read this link: http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0314/p02s01-woiq.html

Now, did Bush provide a clear nexus between Saddam, Iraq and 9/11? Of course not. However, Bush clearly manipulated the nation in this address with a goal of using 9/11 as an excuse to engage in a war of choice against Iraq.

 

[eots]

The answer is that it was <is?> a media hoax that anyone in the US believed that Iraq was involved in 9/11. I read the 9/11 Commission Report and most of it makes some sense. I have not seen any comparable document disproving the 9/11 Commission Report. If there was any credible evidence it would have been a best seller. There is no credible evidence to the contrary, OBL and KSM admit doing 9/11, QED.

Any conspiracy theorists need to ask one simple question. "How many people would have been needed to carry off the "inside job" and how many of those would actually be willing kill up to 50,000 Americans (OBL's estimate) and keep their mouths shut? Its an impossibility. Only the most simple-minded would think its possible.

the fact is many esteemed government research scientist and Intel agents do not share that belief with you



letter to Congress regarding the 9/11 Commission Report 9/13/04, signed by the following 25 military, intelligence, and law enforcement veterans: National Security Whistleblowers Coalition


"[W]e the undersigned wish to bring to the attention of the Congress and the people of the United States what we believe are serious shortcomings in the report and its recommendations. …

Omission is one of the major flaws in the Commission’s report. We are aware of significant issues and cases that were duly reported to the commission by those of us with direct knowledge, but somehow escaped attention. …

The omission of such serious and applicable issues and information by itself renders the report flawed, and casts doubt on the validity of many of its recommendations. ...

The Commission, with its incomplete report of "facts and circumstances", intentional avoidance of assigning accountability, and disregard for the knowledge, expertise and experience of those who actually do the job, has now set about pressuring our Congress and our nation to hastily implement all its recommendations. ...

We the undersigned, who have worked within various government agencies (FBI, CIA, FAA, DIA, Customs) responsible for national security and public safety, call upon you in Congress to include the voices of those with first-hand knowledge and expertise in the important issues at hand. We stand ready to do our part." National Security Whistleblowers Coalition


Edward J. Costello, Jr. – Former Special Agent, Counterterrorism, FBI. Former Judge pro tem., Los Angeles, CA.


John M. Cole – Former Intelligence Operations Specialist, in the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. In charge of FBI’s foreign intelligence investigations covering India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. 18-year FBI career.


Mark Conrad, JD – Retired Agent in Charge, Internal Affairs, U.S. Customs, responsible for the internal integrity and security for areas encompassing nine states and two foreign locations. Former Federal Sky Marshall. 27-year U.S. Customs career. Currently Associate General Counsel, National Association of Federal Agents. Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Troy University.


Rosemary N. Dew – Former Supervisory Special Agent, Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence, FBI. Former member of The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and the Electronic Commerce/Cyber Crime Working Group. 13-year FBI career.


Bogdan Dzakovic – Witness before the 9/11 Commission. 14-year Counter-terrorism expert in the Security Division of the Federal Aviation Administration. Team Leader of the FAA's Red (Terrorism) Team, which conducted undercover tests on airport security through simulated terrorist attacks. Former Team Leader in the Federal Air Marshal program. Former Coast Guard officer. (See also individual statement above.)


Sibel D. Edmonds – Witness before the 9/11 Commission. Former Language Translation Specialist, performing translations for counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations, FBI. (See also individual statement above.)


Steve Elson – Former Special Agent with the U.S. Navy and the FAA. Specialist in Counterterrorism, Intelligence, and Security. Twenty-two years military experience, primarily in Naval Special Warfare and nine years Federal service with the FAA and DEA. Retired Navy SEAL. (See also individual statement above.)


David Forbes – Former head of Thames Valley Police Fraud Squad, trained at New Scotland Yard. Over 30 years experience in law enforcement, commercial and industrial security-related risk management, and service sector business management. Currently Aviation, Logistics and Govt. Security Analyst, BoydForbes, Inc.


Melvin A. Goodman – Former Division Chief and Senior Analyst at the Office of Soviet Affairs, CIA,1966 - 1990. Senior Analyst at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, State Department, 1974 - 1976. Professor of International Security at the National War College 1986 - 2004. Currently Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy and Adjunct Professor of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author and co-author of five books on international relations. (See also individual statement above.)


Mark Graf – Former Security Supervisor, Planner, and Derivative Classifier, Department of Energy. Former Chairman of the Rocky Flats (DOE) Physical Security Systems Working Group from 1990 through 1995.


Gilbert M. Graham – Retired Special Agent, Counterintelligence, FBI. 24-year FBI career.


Diane Kleiman – Former Special Agent, US Customs.


Lt. Col. Karen U. Kwiatkowski, PhD, U.S. Air Force (ret) – Former Political-Military Affairs Officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Also served on the staff of the Director of the National Security Agency. 20-year Air Force veteran. (See also individual statement above.)


Lynne A. Larkin – Former CIA Operations Officer. Served in several CIA foreign stations and in the CIA's counter-intelligence center helping chair a multi-agency task force and seminars on coordinating intelligence among intelligence and crime prevention agencies.


David MacMichael, PhD – Former Senior Estimates Officer with special responsibility for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the CIA's National Intelligence Council. Former Captain, U.S. Marine Corps.


Raymond L. McGovern – Former Chairman, National Intelligence Estimates, CIA, responsible for preparing the President’ Daily Brief (PDB) for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. 27-year CIA veteran. Former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer. (See also individual statement above.)


Theodore J. Pahle – Former Senior Intelligence Officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency. His 37-year intelligence career was exclusively as a HUMINT (Human Intelligence) operations officer with DIA, Office of Naval Intelligence and U.S. Army Intelligence. He is a Middle East and Latin American operations specialist. Today, he continues to support the HUMINT effort as a contract instructor.


Behrooz Sarshar – Retired Language Translation Specialist, performing Farsi translations for counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations dealing with Iran and Afghanistan, FBI.


Brian F. Sullivan – Retired Special Agent and Risk Management Specialist, FAA. Retired Lieutenant Colonel, Military Police.


Commander Larry J. Tortorich, U.S. Navy (ret) – Former Deputy Program Manager for Logistics – Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. 24-year Navy career in the fields of aviation and counterterrorism. Two years as a federal employee with DHS/TSA in the fields of security and counterterrorism.


Jane A. Turner – Retired Special Agent, FBI. 24-year FBI career.


John B. Vincent – Retired Special Agent, Counterterrorism, FBI. 27-year FBI career.


Fred Whitehurst, JD, PhD – Retired Supervisory Special Agent / Laboratory Forensic Examiner, FBI. 16-year FBI career. Former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer.


Col. Ann Wright, U.S. Army (ret) – Retired Army officer and former U.S. Diplomat. Served 13 years on active duty with the U.S. Army and 16 years in the U.S. Army Reserves. She was a member of the International law team in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada and served in Panama and Somalia. She joined the Foreign Service in 1987 and served as Deputy Chief of Mission of U.S. Embassies in Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Afghanistan. She helped reopen the US Embassy in Kabul in December, 2001. One of three U.S. State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the invasion of Iraq in March, 2003. (See also individual statement above.)


Matthew J. Zipoli – Special Response Team (SRT) Officer, DOE. Vice President, Security Police Officer's Association, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Letter to Congress regarding the 9/11 Commission Report 9/13/04, signed by the following 25 military, intelligence, and law enforcement veterans: National Security Whistleblowers Coalition


"[W]e the undersigned wish to bring to the attention of the Congress and the people of the United States what we believe are serious shortcomings in the report and its recommendations. …

Omission is one of the major flaws in the Commission’s report. We are aware of significant issues and cases that were duly reported to the commission by those of us with direct knowledge, but somehow escaped attention. …

The omission of such serious and applicable issues and information by itself renders the report flawed, and casts doubt on the validity of many of its recommendations. ...

The Commission, with its incomplete report of "facts and circumstances", intentional avoidance of assigning accountability, and disregard for the knowledge, expertise and experience of those who actually do the job, has now set about pressuring our Congress and our nation to hastily implement all its recommendations. ...

We the undersigned, who have worked within various government agencies (FBI, CIA, FAA, DIA, Customs) responsible for national security and public safety, call upon you in Congress to include the voices of those with first-hand knowledge and expertise in the important issues at hand. We stand ready to do our part." National Security Whistleblowers Coalition


Edward J. Costello, Jr. – Former Special Agent, Counterterrorism, FBI. Former Judge pro tem., Los Angeles, CA.


John M. Cole – Former Intelligence Operations Specialist, in the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. In charge of FBI’s foreign intelligence investigations covering India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. 18-year FBI career.


Mark Conrad, JD – Retired Agent in Charge, Internal Affairs, U.S. Customs, responsible for the internal integrity and security for areas encompassing nine states and two foreign locations. Former Federal Sky Marshall. 27-year U.S. Customs career. Currently Associate General Counsel, National Association of Federal Agents. Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Troy University.


Rosemary N. Dew – Former Supervisory Special Agent, Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence, FBI. Former member of The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and the Electronic Commerce/Cyber Crime Working Group. 13-year FBI career.


Bogdan Dzakovic – Witness before the 9/11 Commission. 14-year Counter-terrorism expert in the Security Division of the Federal Aviation Administration. Team Leader of the FAA's Red (Terrorism) Team, which conducted undercover tests on airport security through simulated terrorist attacks. Former Team Leader in the Federal Air Marshal program. Former Coast Guard officer. (See also individual statement above.)


Sibel D. Edmonds – Witness before the 9/11 Commission. Former Language Translation Specialist, performing translations for counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations, FBI. (See also individual statement above.)


Steve Elson – Former Special Agent with the U.S. Navy and the FAA. Specialist in Counterterrorism, Intelligence, and Security. Twenty-two years military experience, primarily in Naval Special Warfare and nine years Federal service with the FAA and DEA. Retired Navy SEAL. (See also individual statement above.)


David Forbes – Former head of Thames Valley Police Fraud Squad, trained at New Scotland Yard. Over 30 years experience in law enforcement, commercial and industrial security-related risk management, and service sector business management. Currently Aviation, Logistics and Govt. Security Analyst, BoydForbes, Inc.


Melvin A. Goodman – Former Division Chief and Senior Analyst at the Office of Soviet Affairs, CIA,1966 - 1990. Senior Analyst at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, State Department, 1974 - 1976. Professor of International Security at the National War College 1986 - 2004. Currently Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy and Adjunct Professor of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University. He is the author and co-author of five books on international relations. (See also individual statement above.)


Mark Graf – Former Security Supervisor, Planner, and Derivative Classifier, Department of Energy. Former Chairman of the Rocky Flats (DOE) Physical Security Systems Working Group from 1990 through 1995.


Gilbert M. Graham – Retired Special Agent, Counterintelligence, FBI. 24-year FBI career.


Diane Kleiman – Former Special Agent, US Customs.


Lt. Col. Karen U. Kwiatkowski, PhD, U.S. Air Force (ret) – Former Political-Military Affairs Officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Also served on the staff of the Director of the National Security Agency. 20-year Air Force veteran. (See also individual statement above.)


Lynne A. Larkin – Former CIA Operations Officer. Served in several CIA foreign stations and in the CIA's counter-intelligence center helping chair a multi-agency task force and seminars on coordinating intelligence among intelligence and crime prevention agencies.


David MacMichael, PhD – Former Senior Estimates Officer with special responsibility for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the CIA's National Intelligence Council. Former Captain, U.S. Marine Corps.


Raymond L. McGovern – Former Chairman, National Intelligence Estimates, CIA, responsible for preparing the President’ Daily Brief (PDB) for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. 27-year CIA veteran. Former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer. (See also individual statement above.)


Theodore J. Pahle – Former Senior Intelligence Officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency. His 37-year intelligence career was exclusively as a HUMINT (Human Intelligence) operations officer with DIA, Office of Naval Intelligence and U.S. Army Intelligence. He is a Middle East and Latin American operations specialist. Today, he continues to support the HUMINT effort as a contract instructor.


Behrooz Sarshar – Retired Language Translation Specialist, performing Farsi translations for counterterrorism and counterintelligence operations dealing with Iran and Afghanistan, FBI.


Brian F. Sullivan – Retired Special Agent and Risk Management Specialist, FAA. Retired Lieutenant Colonel, Military Police.


Commander Larry J. Tortorich, U.S. Navy (ret) – Former Deputy Program Manager for Logistics – Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. 24-year Navy career in the fields of aviation and counterterrorism. Two years as a federal employee with DHS/TSA in the fields of security and counterterrorism.


Jane A. Turner – Retired Special Agent, FBI. 24-year FBI career.


John B. Vincent – Retired Special Agent, Counterterrorism, FBI. 27-year FBI career.


Fred Whitehurst, JD, PhD – Retired Supervisory Special Agent / Laboratory Forensic Examiner, FBI. 16-year FBI career. Former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer.


Col. Ann Wright, U.S. Army (ret) – Retired Army officer and former U.S. Diplomat. Served 13 years on active duty with the U.S. Army and 16 years in the U.S. Army Reserves. She was a member of the International law team in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada and served in Panama and Somalia. She joined the Foreign Service in 1987 and served as Deputy Chief of Mission of U.S. Embassies in Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Afghanistan. She helped reopen the US Embassy in Kabul in December, 2001. One of three U.S. State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the invasion of Iraq in March, 2003. (See also individual statement above.)


Matthew J. Zipoli – Special Response Team (SRT) Officer, DOE. Vice President, Security Police Officer's Association, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory


Patriots Question 9/11 - Responsible Criticism of the 9/11 Commission Report

 

[kyzr]

I never said that the Commission's report was "perfect". I said it was generally credible. Add to this the fact that OBL and KSM both admit planning and executing the attack, it seems fairly reasonable that AQ did 9/11.

That said, the report fails to lay blame for the attack on any individual or department. Jamie Gorelick surely isn't going to fess-up and say that her putting up "The Wall" between agencies had anything to do with the success of the attack and 3,000 deaths. Similarly, the FBI and CIA getting tied-up in red tape over things like Moussoui's laptop and other politically correct tap dances led to the intelligence failure.

If ICE would have rounded-up the guys whose visas expired...if they would not have been allowed to get drivers licenses...if....if they weren't cleared to fly....if the anthrax in FL was followed up on...if...if...if...

 

[ABikerSailor]

Hey asshole.. nobody on the right EVER believed iraq was iinvolved in 9/11. It is you on the LEFT who keep bringing this drivel up. Go back to sleep.

Well Soggy No Load, please explain why we went into Iraq, to take out Saddam, when the person responsible was actually named Osama Bin Laden who was in Afghanistan?

Oh yeah.........can you please explain that "dead or alive" statement as well? He's still running around.

9/11 was just an excuse for Bush Jr. to go into Iraq for an oil war.

By the way, is that avatar actually you? If so, you're one ugly bitch.

 

[rdean]

No one ever said Conservatives were bad at rewriting history.

 

[The Rabbi]

I bet few on the right ever believed a strawman created by the left.

It is an absolute strawman. No one ever believed it. No one ever said it.
I'd like to see links where anyone in the administration pushed such a view.

 

[Zona]

I thought this was already dead, cremated, and put in a jar... I don't think anybody still believes that shit.

I watched some town hall tea baggers last night who still believe it.

I watched on tv the other day, a republican (the one who gave out an award to a felon) say they found WMD's.


Jesus Christ.

 

[Zona]

How many on the Left STILL believe that Bush personally piloted the plane into the Pentagon?

None. Dumb question.

Next.

 

[Zona]

Hey asshole.. nobody on the right EVER believed iraq was iinvolved in 9/11. It is you on the LEFT who keep bringing this drivel up. Go back to sleep.

Then maybe you can explain why we attacked Iraq right after 9/11? What did Iraq have to do with 9/11?


I STILL DONT GET THIS.

 

[AllieBaba]

Nobody on the right ever believed Iraq was involved in 9/11. Ever. It's a complete fabrication concocted by the left because it was the only way they could contest fighting terrorists, eliminating a sadistic dictator, and establishing stability in a country whose people were being terrorized by their own government and Islamofascists from other countries.

 

[The Rabbi]

Hey asshole.. nobody on the right EVER believed iraq was iinvolved in 9/11. It is you on the LEFT who keep bringing this drivel up. Go back to sleep.

Then maybe you can explain why we attacked Iraq right after 9/11? What did Iraq have to do with 9/11?


I STILL DONT GET THIS.

Geez, 8 years later and you still haven't figured it out.

Please name one administration official who said we were attacking Iraq because they were part of 9/11.

 

[AllieBaba]

They can't argue with the reasons we really went to Iraq, because we were right and honorable to do so.

So they attributed reasons to us that are complete nonsense. All in order to hide their belief we should allow thugs to butcher, kidnap, torture and rape civilians...so long as it isn't on THEIR doorstep.

 

[The Rabbi]

They can't argue with the reasons we really went to Iraq, because we were right and honorable to do so.

So they attributed reasons to us that are complete nonsense. All in order to hide their belief we should allow thugs to butcher, kidnap, torture and rape civilians...so long as it isn't on THEIR doorstep.

No question. First they create a strawman. Then they deride it. Then they accuse conservatives of lying because they deny they believed in the strawman the Left made up in the first place.
No intellectual honesty among the Left. None.

 

[AllieBaba]

Hey asshole.. nobody on the right EVER believed iraq was iinvolved in 9/11. It is you on the LEFT who keep bringing this drivel up. Go back to sleep.

Then maybe you can explain why we attacked Iraq right after 9/11? What did Iraq have to do with 9/11?


I STILL DONT GET THIS.

Of course you don't. We all know it. Even yellow dog knows it.

 

[Zona]

Hey asshole.. nobody on the right EVER believed iraq was iinvolved in 9/11. It is you on the LEFT who keep bringing this drivel up. Go back to sleep.

Then maybe you can explain why we attacked Iraq right after 9/11? What did Iraq have to do with 9/11?


I STILL DONT GET THIS.

Geez, 8 years later and you still haven't figured it out.

Please name one administration official who said we were attacking Iraq because they were part of 9/11.

So mission accomplished, we got the guy responsible for 9/11?

Question, isnt it an extrodinary coincidence us going to war with Iraq right as we are screaming for retaliation for 9/11?

Are you seriously trying to say 99% of America didn't think we were going to war.....right AFTER 9/11.....to get the people responsible for 9/11?

Why would they not think this? How does this make sense to you?

First bush said he would turn over heaven and hell to get bin laden (as we were going to war) to bush saying, he didn't have time for that.

HOW DOES THIS MAKE SENSE.

If we didn't go to Iraq because of 9/11 then that is truly tragic. WHAT DID BUSH DO TO RETAILATE FOR THE WORSE ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL?

 

[The Rabbi]

Then maybe you can explain why we attacked Iraq right after 9/11? What did Iraq have to do with 9/11?


I STILL DONT GET THIS.

Geez, 8 years later and you still haven't figured it out.

Please name one administration official who said we were attacking Iraq because they were part of 9/11.

So mission accomplished, we got the guy responsible for 9/11?

Question, isnt it an extrodinary coincidence us going to war with Iraq right as we are screaming for retaliation for 9/11?

Are you seriously trying to say 99% of America didn't think we were going to war.....right AFTER 9/11.....to get the people responsible for 9/11?

Why would they not think this? How does this make sense to you?

First bush said he would turn over heaven and hell to get bin laden (as we were going to war) to bush saying, he didn't have time for that.

HOW DOES THIS MAKE SENSE.

If we didn't go to Iraq because of 9/11 then that is truly tragic. WHAT DID BUSH DO TO RETAILATE FOR THE WORSE ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL?

You're avoiding the question. I don't care what you think 99% of America thought (got any polls to support that??).
Please name one administration official who stated that Iraq was involved in 9/11 and this was the rationale for invading.

 

[Wry Catcher]

You're avoiding the question. I don't care what you think 99% of America thought (got any polls to support that??).
Please name one administration official who stated that Iraq was involved in 9/11 and this was the rationale for invading.

June 22, 2004 edition, Christian Science Monitor

Iraq, Al Qaeda, and what constitutes a 'relationship'
By Dante Chinni

WASHINGTON &#8211;
For the past few days, the dialogue in this town has sounded more like "Sex and the City" than "The McLaughlin Group." Suddenly the question of what constitutes a relationship has come to the fore. We're not talking J. Lo here, we're talking about the Bush administration and whether its definition of "relationship" fits with everyone else's.

Last week, the 9/11 Commission released a report saying, among other things, that there was no "collaborative relationship" between Al Qaeda and Iraq. The press jumped on the story, saying the Bush administration has been proven wrong. The White House, however, quickly countered that it had never said that Iraq was involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; it had simply argued that there was a connection.

"There was a relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda," President Bush said. "The evidence is overwhelming" that there was a relationship, Vice President Cheney said.

What kind of relationship? Well, that's not clear. The commission reported that, beyond the Sept. 11 attacks, there were indeed contacts between Al Qaeda and Iraq but that Iraq rebuffed Al Qaeda's entreaties. Late last week, however, the vice president hinted that might not be the whole story.

When asked if he knew things the panel didn't, Mr. Cheney said, "probably," leaving some to wonder whether the administration has shared all it knew with the panel. Just as quickly, however, a spokesman also said the administration "cooperated fully with the commission," and "the president wants the commission to have the information it needs to do its job."

It may still turn out that there is some bit of bombshell evidence showing a "collaborative relationship" between Al Qaeda and Iraq. It's not really clear though, why the White House would keep such information secret. This administration, like many others, has not been shy about leaking sensitive information that helps its cause.

All of which means, what we probably have here is an issue of semantics. What exactly qualifies as a relationship in the early 21st century? Is it chatter that doesn't lead to anything, or something more? Where are Carrie Bradshaw and her friends when you need them?

These questions may be wonderful for conversation around the campfire. They may even enable you to say you dated the homecoming queen, but they aren't exactly on point. The point, as it so often is in politics, isn't what those in the administration actually said with all their link talk; it's what they implied.

Since it began talking about invading Iraq, this administration pushed two main lines of argument as justification. First, Iraq needed regime change because the government there was amassing or had amassed weapons of mass destruction. Second, Iraq was likely to use those weapons against the US or sell them to someone who would because it was part of the Al Qaeda-led jihad against the United States.

With the first argument largely discredited, the White House is holding on tenaciously to the second - tenaciously, but carefully. For the past year members of this administration have been dancing along the line of connecting, but not completely connecting, Al Qaeda and Iraq.

There are numerous examples, but one of the best is Cheney's comment on "Meet the Press" last September. "If we're successful in Iraq," he said, "we will have struck a major blow right at the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11."

Parse that carefully and you'll see he is 100 percent correct. If the US brings a stable democracy to Iraq, it will strike a blow at "the heart" of "the geographic base" of Islamic terrorism: the Middle East. But the wording, if you will, leads the reader or listener to more dramatic conclusions, particularly when the "9/11" is added in there. They are led toward the idea that Iraq and Al Qaeda are working together.

Of course, members of the administration are generally pretty careful not to cross that line. They're careful not to say it explicitly; they just let the public infer it.

That's not exactly unprecedented. Semantics and careful lawyerly phrasing are all too common here. But straightforward talking is supposed to be this administration's strong point. And for all the talk of restoring honor and integrity to the White House, here we are again arguing over how to define "relationship."