Home > The view from the editorial pages
Wars and conflicts International Attack-Terrorism USA
by Stephen W. Stromberg
President Bush may still believe in the pre-war Iraq-al
Qaida connection as much as a 5-year old does in Santa
Claus, but the editorial boards of several major
newspapers are no longer deluded — thanks in large part
to this week’s revelation by the 9/11 commission that
Iraq and al-Qaida had no working relationship.
The Financial Times: "Whether the Osama and Saddam
thesis was more the result of self-delusion or cynical
manipulation, it — along with Washington’s
mismanagement of the whole Iraqi adventure — has been
enormously damaging."
"The Bush administration has misled the American people.
It has isolated the US, as American diplomats and
commanders pointed out this week. And its bungling in
Iraq has given new and terrifying life to the cult of
death sponsored by Osama bin Laden. Above all, it
inspires little confidence it is capable of defeating
the spreading al-Qaeda franchise, which always was the
clear and present danger."
The New York Times: "It’s hard to imagine how the
commission investigating the 2001 terrorist attacks
could have put it more clearly yesterday: there was
never any evidence of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda,
between Saddam Hussein and Sept. 11. Now President Bush
should apologize to the American people, who were led to
believe something different."
The Los Angeles Times: "Though Zarqawi may be directing
attacks against Americans in Iraq, and Baghdad may now
be Terror Central, it is a consequence of the war
itself."
The Miami Herald: "As long as the administration insists
on the 9/11 connection, its solution to the Iraqi
problem will be based on false assumptions. The 9/11
panel’s report, based on the findings of U.S.
intelligence and unencumbered by political
considerations, should be the last word on the subject."
Finally, proving that disillusion with Bush exists even
deep in Red State country, the Salt Lake Tribune
published this gem: "No matter what the Bush
administration did or did not say about it, it is now
clear that Saddam Hussein was not involved in the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and that any
support for the Iraqi war based on the assumption that
he was involved was misplaced. Misplaced, widely held
and, most disturbingly, still given life by the
president himself."
Whether any of this changes the minds of those Americans
who still believe Iraq was involved in 9/11 is yet to be
seen. A poll released today by Harris Interactive shows
almost half of all adults — 48 percent — believe there
is clear evidence that Iraq was supporting al-Qaida. The
survey took place before the 9/11 commission issued its
staff statement on the topic, however.