BY JAMES TARANTO
Monday, September 8, 2003 1:12 p.m.
Somewhat Likely
Here's a Washington Post poll question guaranteed to drive the Angry Left mad:
How likely is it that Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11 terrorist attacks?
Very likely - 32%
Somewhat likely - 37%
Not very likely - 15%
Not likely at all - 12%
The Post reports that 80% of Republicans, 67% of independents and 62% of Democrats answered "somewhat" or "very" likely. And the paper doesn't think much of this view, calling it an "apparently groundless belief" and interviewing an assortment of "experts" who, while acknowledging that President Bush has never actually asserted such a link, he has used devious mind-control techniques to fool Americans into believing it exists.
In truth, however, "somewhat likely" is the correct answer to the Post's question. The evidence pointing toward a link is far from conclusive, so "very likely" goes too far. But there is ample reason to treat Saddam as guilty until proven innocent. For one thing, he simply fits the profile: America-hating Muslim Arab male with a history of mass murder. And he's known to have had various connections with al Qaeda over the years.
Furthermore, as a February editorial in The Wall Street Journal noted, Saddam's state-controlled press used the first anniversary of the attacks as an opportunity to praise them. "September 11: Allah's Punishment," read the cover blurb on Baghdad al-Iqtisadi magazine. This doesn't prove that Saddam was involved, of course--but if O.J. Simpson had gone around in 1994 talking about how happy he was that his ex-wife were dead, his guilt would have been a reasonable conjecture.
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