Way back in 2003, Dick Cheney, using the kind of rhetorical slight of hand that’s made his mendacity famous, said that “it’s not surprising that people make” the “connection” between Saddam Hussein and the attacks of Sept. 11. Unfortunately, considering the ridiculous claims that Republicans continue to make, it’s still not surprising.
A Republican congressman from North Carolina told CNN on Wednesday that the “evidence is clear” that Iraq was involved in the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.
“Saddam Hussein and people like him were very much involved in 9/11,” Rep. Robin Hayes said.
Told no investigation had ever found evidence to link Saddam and 9/11, Hayes responded, “I’m sorry, but you must have looked in the wrong places.”
We know this isn’t true. It’s not “sort of” true if we parse the words just so, this wasn’t a verbal gaffe, and it contradicts the assertions of every knowledgeable source on the subject, including the president. Hayes went on national television and made a preposterous claim about the attacks that is demonstrably false. (C&L, of course, has the video.)
When told that the 9/11 Commission came to the opposite conclusion, Hayes said he has access to evidence others do not. Considering the scope of the 9/11 Commission, it sounds as if Hayes is suggesting that Congress failed to fully cooperate with the investigation, as was required by law.
What’s more, it’s important to note that Hayes is the Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities. In light of the circumstances, it seems to me Dems can and should demand that Hayes step down from his committee post.
Hearing blatant falsehoods about Saddam Hussein’s non-existent connection to 9/11 has become tiresome. But tediousness is exasperated by the lack of consequences. If a Dem says something controversial about the war, the right goes apoplectic until the Dem backs down, the media has raised a fuss, and the RNC has fully exploited it for fundraising purposes.
And yet here’s an experienced lawmaker and a leading official on a House panel on terrorism repeating obvious misstatements of fact on CNN. The grand total of newspaper stories published today about Hayes’ dishonesty is zero.
As far as I can tell, no one’s called for Hayes to explain himself, or apologize for misleading a national television audience, or to step down from his post on a powerful committee dealing with terrorism.
Until these guys start facing some kind of consequences for their dishonesty, they’ll keep on lying — because they know they can get away with it.