The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #97835   Message #1955678
Posted By: Teribus
02-Feb-07 - 11:27 AM
Thread Name: BS: Maliki doesn't want more U.S. troops
Subject: RE: BS: Maliki doesn't want more U.S. troops
Now I know that Ron is not going to provide the information requested, so here is the part of the interview that Ron says I am so reluctant to bring into the broad light of day:

From the September 8, 2002 Meet the Press:

Russert: "One year ago when you were on Meet the Press just five days after September 11, I asked you a specific question about Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Let's watch:"

Russert on the September 16, 2001 Meet the Press: "Do we have any evidence linking Saddam Hussein or Iraqis to this operation?"
Cheney: "No."

Russert then asked on the 2002 show: "Has anything changed, in your mind?"
Cheney: "Well, I want to be very careful about how I say this. I'm not here today to make a specific allegation that Iraq was somehow responsible for 9/11. I can't say that. On the other hand, since we did that interview, new information has come to light. And we spent time looking at that relationship between Iraq, on the one hand, and the al-Qaeda organization on the other. And there has been reporting that suggests that there have been a number of contacts over the years. We've seen in connection with the hijackers, of course, Mohamed Atta, who was the lead hijacker, did APPARENTLY travel to Prague on a number of occasions. And on at least ONE OCCASION, we have REPORTING that places him in Prague with a senior Iraqi Intelligence Official a few months before the attack on the World Trade Center. The debates about, you know, WAS HE THERE OR WASN'T HE THERE, again, it's the intelligence business."
Russert: "What does the CIA say about that? Is it credible?"
Cheney: "It's credible. But, you know, I THINK A WAY TO PUT IT WOULD BE IT'S UNCONFIRMED AT THIS POINT."

The big difference between us Ron, is that I find it incredibly easy to understand what the Dick Cheney is saying in that interview. You apparently do not.

The timing of the interview is within the time period in which you claim that no member of the Bush Administration categorically denied that any link between the 911 attacks and Iraq. Well Ron in the course of that interview broadcast on 8th September, 2002, any member of the American population listening to the programme would have heard Dick Cheney say on two occasions that there was no link between the 911 attacks and Iraq.

It is obvious from what your Vice-President is saying that the subject of Atta's visits to Prague are still very much under investigation - that Ron, is why he has to be careful about how he answers the question. The outcome of that investigation is as yet not known, therefore there was nothing in this "new information" that would prompt the Vice-President from changing his mind about the answer he gave on 16th September, 2001:

"Russert on the September 16, 2001 Meet the Press: "Do we have any evidence linking Saddam Hussein or Iraqis to this operation?"
Cheney: "No."

That was broadcast on 8th September, 2002 Ron - Now what part of that answer (No) do you not understand?