Where incompetence will suffice…
Personally, I’m inclined to ascribe both to Washington Post reporter Anne Kornblut. In a page one news story, she accuses Sarah Palin of asserting “that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda plan the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.”
There’s just one problem that’s not what Gov. Palin said… What she said was:
You’ll be there in service to the same cause of freedom from tyranny and from violence. You’ll be there to defend the innocent from the enemies who planned, carried out, and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.
Here’s the video Gov. Palin’s speech:
Interestingly enough the the Post’s editors seem to be walking back, at least partially, Kornblut’s distortion. The first two paragraphs of her story originally read:
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Sept. 11 — Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would “defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.”
The idea that Iraq shared responsibility with al-Qaeda for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, once promoted by Bush administration officials, has since been rejected even by the president himself. On any other day, Palin’s statement would almost certainly have drawn a sharp rebuke from Democrats, but both parties had declared a halt to partisan activities to mark Thursday’s anniversary.”
They now read:
FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska, Sept. 11 — Gov. Sarah Palin linked the war in Iraq with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would “defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.”
The idea that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda plan the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a view once promoted by Bush administration officials, has since been rejected even by the president himself. But it is widely agreed that militants allied with al-Qaeda have taken root in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion.
Exit question: Is it me or is the media so far in the tank for Obama that they should be wearing scuba gear?
As an aside… I don’t recall the Bush administration ever specifically linking Iraq under Saddam Hussein to 9-11. I do remember them correctly pointing out his support of terrorist activities/groups.