<font size=4>No Terrorism in Iraq Before the War?
Who does John Kerry think he's kidding?
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by Stephen F. Hayes
09/16/2004 12:00:00 AM
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"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war."<font color=black>
--Stephanie Cutter, chief spokesman, John Kerry for President
Los Angeles Times, September 9, 2004
IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, John Kerry's campaign has challenged Bush administration claims of an Iraq-al Qaeda connection. The effort has been amateurish and confused. Kerry has conflated two separate issues--an Iraq-September 11 connection (which cannot be proven) and the Iraq-al Qaeda connection (which has been)--in a lame attempt to accuse the Bush administration of <font color=blue>"misleading"<font color=black> America about the Iraq war.
No one should be surprised at distortions coming from a presidential campaign. (Journalists, however, continue to surprise. Where are the John Kerry versions of the fact-checking articles on Bush that the Associated Press distributes on the wire and that the Washington Post, and the New York Times splash on their front pages?)
On the other hand, on September 7 Kerry said that the soldiers who have died in Iraq have done so <font color=blue>"on behalf of freedom in the war on terror."<font color=black> It was a moment of lucidity the Kerry campaign could not let stand. Kerry spokesman Stephanie Cutter told the Los Angeles Times that the comment should not be misinterpreted as endorsing Bush administration claims of an Iraq-al Qaeda connection. And then she dropped the stunner at the top of the page: <font color=blue>"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war. There is now terrorism there now."<font color=black>
Really?
Kerry campaign: <font color=blue>
"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war." <font color=black>
CIA Analysis, January 2003: Iraqi Support for Terrorism, (p.314 of Senate Intel Report): <font color=purple>
"Iraq has a long history of supporting terrorism."<font color=black>
Kerry campaign: <font color=blue>
"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war."<font color=black>
CIA Analysis, January 2003--Iraqi Support for Terrorism, (p. 314 of Senate Intel Report): <font color=purple>
"Iraq continues to be a safehaven, transit point, or operational node for groups and individuals who direct violence against the United States, Israel and other allies." <font color=black>
Kerry campaign: <font color=blue>
"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war."<font color=black>
Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report (p. 315):
<font color=purple>"The CIA provided 78 reports, from multiple sources, [redacted] documenting instances in which the Iraqi regime either trained operatives for attacks or dispatched them to carry out attacks." <font color=black>
Kerry campaign: <font color=blue>
"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war."<font color=black>
Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report (p. 316):
<font color=purple>"Iraq continued to participate in terrorist attacks throughout the 1990s."<font color=black>
Kerry campaign:<font color=blue>
"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war." <font color=black>
Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report (p. 316):
<font color=purple>"From 1996 to 2003, the [Iraqi Intelligence Service] focused its terrorist activities on western interests, particularly against the U.S. and Israel." <font color=black>
Kerry campaign: <font color=blue>
"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war." <font color=black>
Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report (p. 316):
<font color=purple>"Throughout 2002, the [Iraqi Intelligence Service] was becoming increasingly aggressive in planning attacks against U.S. interests. The CIA provided eight reports to support this assessment."<font color=black>
Kerry campaign: <font color=blue>
"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war."<font color=black>
Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report (p. 331):
<font color=purple>"Twelve reports received [redacted] from sources that the CIA described as having varying reliability, cited Iraq or Iraqi national involvement in al Qaeda's [chemical, biological, nuclear] CBW efforts."<font color=black>
Kerry campaign: <font color=blue>
"There was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war."
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The 9/11 Commission Report (p. 66):
<font color=purple>"In March 1998, after bin Laden's public fatwa against the United States, two al Qaeda members reportedly went to Iraq to meet with Iraq Intelligence. In July, an Iraqi delegation traveled to Afghanistan to meet first with the Taliban and then with bin Laden." <font color=black>
A few days ago the Kerry campaign eagerly <font color=blue>"clarified"<font color=black> the senator's claim that soldiers in Iraq had died <font color=blue>"on behalf of freedom in the war on terror."<font color=black> Any chance of a another clarification? Does John Kerry really believe that <font color=blue>"there was no terrorism in Iraq before we went to war?"<font color=black>
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Stephen F. Hayes is a staff writer at The Weekly Standard and author of The Connection: How al Qaeda's Collaboration with Saddam Hussein has Endangered America (HarperCollins).
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