NYT: Bush Distorts Qaeda Links, Critics Assert

[babylonsister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/world/middleeast/13qaeda.html?_r=3&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Bush Distorts Qaeda Links, Critics Assert


By MICHAEL R. GORDON and JIM RUTENBERG
Published: July 13, 2007

BAGHDAD, July 12 — In rebuffing calls to bring troops home from Iraq, President Bush on Thursday employed a stark and ominous defense. “The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq,” he said, “were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th, and that’s why what happens in Iraq matters to the security here at home.”

It is an argument Mr. Bush has been making with frequency in the past few months, as the challenges to the continuation of the war have grown. On Thursday alone, he referred at least 30 times to Al Qaeda or its presence in Iraq.

But his references to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and his assertions that it is the same group that attacked the United States in 2001, have greatly oversimplified the nature of the insurgency in Iraq and its relationship with the Qaeda leadership.

There is no question that the group is one of the most dangerous in Iraq. But Mr. Bush’s critics argue that he has overstated the Qaeda connection in an attempt to exploit the same kinds of post-Sept. 11 emotions that helped him win support for the invasion in the first place.

[bryant69]

1. Glenn Greenwald was talking about this today

As an example of the Times rarely functioning as an actual newspaper; not just parroting the Administration's claims, but examining said claims, putting them in context.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[babylonsister]

4. I had posted Greenwald's article criticizing NYT; I find it interesting that

in this one, the NYT's repeating what critics assert, not their own observations. Maybe one day...

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

2. And this article is on the first page online! Yes! Thanks for posting sister! nt

[EFerrari]

3. BushCo has always done this. Why are they noticing now? n/t

[bdamomma]

5. "folks"????? are these your kin folk bushie? what a sick man.

[pinto]

6. Good article. And many of the factions that oppose the recent AQ presence in Iraq

*also* oppose our occupation and the pending oil revenue law. See this UPI article from 7/9:

Analysis: Iraq (near) united in opposition

http://www.upi.com/Energy/Analysis/2007/07/09/analysis_iraq_near_united_in_opposition/8192/

[Warren Stupidity]

7. They almost stated the obvious.

Bush is a liar. He is lying. When he said "The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th" he lied. He did not distort. He did not bend the truth. He did not 'oversimplify'. He lied.

Even worse, his lie was staged and planned with a coordinated bullshit campaign noted earlier this month to pronounce every insurgent killed or captured 'al qaeda'. Suddenly we had a barrage of 'al qaeda' conflicts. Only one journalist from McClatchy bothered to point out that this appeared to be a deliberate disinformation campaign from our military propaganda outfits, and now it is clear that it was the set up for the latest lie from the criminal idiot in the white house.

Y'all can cheer the neocon times for "Bush Distorts Qaeda Links, Critics Assert" but they are continuing to play 'he said she said' while one side is playing fast and loose with facts and the other side is making an honest case based on real evidence. It is Moore vs Gupta again, and they do it all the time.