Regarding the blowing of smoke Don:

What you stated:
Then Bush and Company attacked Iraq, claiming that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks

What I pointed out:
No one in the current US Administration has EVER "claimed" that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks

Now which of those statements is true?

Bev and Jerry's post asked you:
We don't think Bush and Company ever actually accused Sadaam Hussein of being responsible for the 9/11 attacks, did he?

To which you responded:
Right, Bev and Jerry. To be fair to Bush, I don't recall hearing him ever actually saying outright that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11.

That then begs the question - Why did you say so in the first place then - "Then Bush and Company attacked Iraq, claiming that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks," - should you continue to repeat than claim, you are stating something that you know, and have admitted to knowing, to be untrue. In my book that is telling a lie, it does not even fall into the realm of gross misrepresentation.

On Afghanistan, during the Soviet ocupation, the US backed and aided the Mujahadeen (Sp?), one of whose groups were the Taliban, they did not solely back the Taliban. After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan the previously united Mujahadeen fractured and reverted to their clan based groups, warlord fought warlord. The one group that did not fit that pattern were the Taliban, who consisted of Pashtun Afghani's and foreigners united by religious dogma. They continued to receive financial aid from sympathisers abroad, but that aid was not directed at any rebuilding programme within Afghanistan. That aid had sole purpose of establishing the Taliban as the defacto rulers of Afghanistan by force of arms. In that situation (internal conflict) who were the US Administration of the time to deal with?