No one has abused the non-existent “link” between al Queda and Saddam Hussein more than Dick “Go F— Yourself” Cheney. So, when a 9/11 Commission staff report explained that there was no connection between the two, Cheney lashed out and insisted he knows more than the Commission does. In an interview on CNBC, Cheney was asked if had information that the 9/11 panel was unaware of. Cheney replied, “Probably.”
Yesterday, the Commission responded with a firm, “No, you don’t.”
The commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks said yesterday that it has had access to the same information on alleged ties between al Qaeda and Iraq as Vice President Cheney, who suggested last month that the panel may not have been privy to all available intelligence when it found limited links between the two.
The one-sentence statement, issued by Chairman Thomas H. Kean (R) and Vice Chairman Lee H. Hamilton (D), continues the debate over the findings on Iraq by the Sept. 11 commission, which issued a report last month concluding that Iraq and al Qaeda had limited contacts but had not developed a “collaborative relationship.”
A day later, in a June 17 television interview, Cheney said he believed there was a “general relationship” between Iraq and al Qaeda and said he “probably” had information that the commission had not seen. Commission officials asked the administration to give the panel any additional evidence, but they have said since that none has been provided.
“After examining available transcripts of the Vice President’s public remarks, the 9-11 Commission believes it has access to the same information the Vice President has seen regarding contacts between al Qaeda and Iraq prior to the 9-11 attacks,” Kean and Hamilton said in their statement yesterday.
So, was Cheney’s office embarrassed by yet another example of his deceit? Actually, just the opposite.
Cheney spokesman Kevin Kellems said the vice president welcomed the commission’s statement because it “puts to rest a non-story.”
The Commission has now publicly contradicted two significant statements by the vice president: his assertion that there was an important link between Iraq and al Queda and the notion that he has secret information that bolsters his beliefs. On both counts, he’s been proven wrong.
The idea that Cheney would “welcome” being smacked around like this is unpersuasive spin, even for him.