Iraq & al-Qaeda: Part III

I've already had my say on this issue, this post is just a random collection of links and thoughts:

1. The New York Times editorial page has officially jumped the shark, as they say:

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 logic here, or lack thereof, is mind boggling. First, the administration has never said that Saddam was behind 9/11. Second, the ridiculous conflation of a Saddam tie to 9/11 with a Saddam link to al-Qaeda. Saddam wasn't involved in 9/11, therefore, he must not have had anything to do with al-Qaeda. Which brings me to my third point, that "there was never any evidence of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda". This statement is true, as long as you're perfectly willing to ignore the captured Iraqi documents, testimony of some al-Qaeda detainees, and other credible intelligence reporting indicating that such a link did indeed exist. To think that it's the dreaded neoconservatives who are accused of "cherry picking" intelligence.

2. On a happier note, Dan Darling at Winds of Change shares his thoughts on the 9/11 commission's staff statement that sparked the media frenzy.

3. Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy weighs in with his thoughts on this issue at National Review Online.