A reader speaks

One of my co-bloggers at The Detroit News has been there almost as long as I have. He bills himself as a Libertarian and occassionally posts astute and reasonable opinions on issues that I actually agree with, but at least half the time, his posts so resemble GOP talking points that he might as well be a RNC spam bot. This post was one of the latter.

I would have responded myself but long time reader/commenter KS nailed him so perfectly, I'm just going to lift the comment and repost it here verbatim.

The link you provided to the WSJ article was interesting, but contradicts the findings of the bipartisan, independent 9/11 commission, not to mention similar findings from the CIA, Pentagon, United Nations Security Council, etc., etc.

Following the release of the 9/11 report, the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette did give the Bush administration a little wiggle room on this connection when it reported on June 18, 2004:

"This claim of an al-Qaida-Iraq link has been used by the Bush administration as critical underpinning in its argument that the United States had to go to war with Iraq. If the information the commission has put together is correct -- and it seems to be very sound -- then the claim of Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney is either a persistent misunderstanding on their part, or, as some believe, a big lie."

I sincerely hope no lives were lost due to a misunderstanding or a lie, but at this point in time one fact remains: Either our intelligence agencies, the 9/11 commission, United Nations Security Council, David Kay, former Bush administration officials, etc., are "intellectually lazy" (sorry...I stole your euphemism for stupid) and got it wrong, or else they're right and there is no connection.

In light of what happened in London last week, I'm not sure the answer matters. It doesn't appear the world is any safer with Saddam Hussein eliminated, and the terrorists continue to multiply and flourish.

Especially well said, KS.