I've always been skeptical of the 911 Commission as constituted with Jamie Gorelick as a sitting Commissioner instead of a witness before the Commission. Notwithstanding, the Commission did report that while operational ties could not be definitively established, Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda did share ideological objectives. Like, you, I've been puzzled as to why the Administration hasn't been more forceful in responding to the MSM's erroneous painting of the "no connection to al-Qaeda" litany...

It's becoming harder and harder for the mantra to stick, as thousands of audiotapes and bona fide documents from Saddam's government are surfacing in translation. Much of what we suspected and the Intelligence Community believed to be true is now being corroborated.

Using WWII as an analogy, I don't remember it ever being proven that Japan and German had "operational" ties. Yet they were considered enemies of western civilization, since they shared ideological objectives.

President Bush has had the foresight to address the economic and political conditions that are giving rise to hopelessness in the Mideast. This is not an effort that will be over in the next 60 minutes. I trust his judgment and vision in this matter, and pray for its success.

Meanwhile, ABC News, in publishing several important memos this last week from the Saddam Hussein government, felt compelled to downplay and qualify each of them via "editorial notes" at the end of each excerpt. God forbid we should be able to interpret or analyze what we've just read for ourselves!!!

Let's just declare victory and come home. 187 million dollars a day, plus lives.

dbogdan - Germany, Italy, and Japan were signatories of a mutual pact that helped earn them the name - the Axis. Italian troops operated under German command. And Germany smuggled several advanced technoligies to Japan including rockets and jet aircraft.

That being said - the chant the MSM keeps up denying this reality (among many others) is typical. Jump to quick conclusions with no facts based on whatever position hurts Bush. Then, when facts become apparent - ignore them. They are clearly doing an active diservice to the people of the United States.

Jump to quick conclusions with no facts based on whatever position hurts Bush.

LOL

This site does nothing but jump to quick conclusions with no facts based on whatever HELPS Bush.

Cripes.

The name of the company is Halliburton. Named after the founder Erle P. Halliburton.

H-A-Double L-I-B-U-R-T-O-N.

Two L's.

{Ed note: who care?}

For the sake of argument, I'll cede the point that Kahn posits regarding the "sharing of technology," as referenced above. I specifically did not include Italy in my original post, because I understand that Germany and Italy did, in fact, share more than ideological objectives and tactics in their quest for world domination. Tha ability to share more than ideological objectives for Germany and Italy was largely made possible by the opportunity of geography. The German-Japan connection as cited by Kahn was contrained by geography and time in the WWII era, and is therefore an exercise in false comparison for the following reasons: a) the technology cited in Kahn's posting was very, very infantile in the stage of development in 1943, compared to the relatively down-and-dirty technology of nerve gas and bio-agents of destructive nature that have been tried-and-true since before WWI; b) Realistically, smuggling components of "advanced technologies" like "rockets" and "jet aircraft" in 1943, for example, took months of transport time alone and, again, were at the time, risky and unproven ventures from the technological perspective (remember the V1 rockets exploding over England toward the end of WWII?);
c) The sort of jet factories and rockets existing in 1943 in Germany or Japan were how highly advanced? Remember - at the time we're talking about, our species hadn't managed to put a person, much less a ballistic missle into orbit - notwithstanding our stellar ability to drop bombs on cities from propeller-driven aircraft above, with increasingly morbid accuracy... In the case of Saddam Hussein and his arguable WMD program, all he had to do was lob a few short-range missles to the west (a few hundred miles) and hope for chaos to ensue. Oh! Wait a minute! He did that in Gulf War I...

At any rate, comparing the factual "mutual pact" that existed between Japan, Germany and Italy in 1943 - a point I absolutely cede - to the mutual "we hate the great Satan USA" affiliations in the mideast in the 1990s and through the turn of the century, with all the advances of technology is a bit of a stretch. Whatever Germany "smuggled" to Japan surely took weeks back then, and the ROI (that's 'Return On Investment' to the economically challenged) was negligible. The foundations of technology that were borne of Germany's efforts, however, paid great fruit to the USA's space program, once we managed to employ the pick of the litter of Hitler's advanced weapons team in the form of Werner von Braun and company... Can somebody say "NASA?"

The continuing return on that technology investment is what makes nations like Iraq and Iran more dangerous, in that what was considered "cutting edge" or "advanced technology" in the context of 1945 is now publically and commercially available almost anywhere in the world today, if the buyer has the cash... And transporting "dangerous cargo," such as nuclear fissile material, takes days, if not hours, depending on how the shipper paid UPS/FEDEX/USPS/"Your Carrier Name Here"...

As for "jumping to conclusions," I can honestly state that I'm surprised that anyone who reads my comments could interpret them as somehow "jumping to conclusions." I began my comments with an explicit skepticism about the 911 Commission Report, and a puzzled questioning of the Administration's posture vis-a-vis criticism. I then attempted to take a "wait and see" attitude about the coming release of bona-fide Hussein-era document translations. To my knowledge, no one has stated their belief that these document are not valid, right? And I think I'm safe in positing that the antique media has taken a clear position that there was no provable "connection" between Saddam Hussein's government and al-Qaeda until after 2003, when George Bush invaded the place. From that point, I suggested that it might be possible that this particular point of view might be hard to defend, in view of the ongoing release of the translation of hundreds of certifiable Saddam-era government documents. I'm not buying it hook, line, and sinker, but I relish the opportunity to gain a different perspective into the dynamics that were involved in Saddam's Iraq.

Again, I state, that I support our President, and Commander-in-Chief and applaud his ability to look beyond the strategic challenges of today with an eye toward a bigger prize in the events of our common future...

I can only say to Mark that I echo his sentiment that...

"...hopefully, some day even those who are shrieking loudest against it will understand what a sublime act of courage and generosity our effort is..."

Amen, Mark.

God Bless our Commander-in-Chief and God Bless our Troops in harm's way...

P.S. Don't forget that George W. Bush used the term "Axis of Evil" to describe the loose nexus of affiliation that exists between several nation-states around the globe. Clearly, those nations share an agenda that, if successful, would be of great negative to our way of life. They might not share tactical or operational expertise, but they share a common goal of undermining this country's dominance in world affairs - sometimes through acceptably violent means. So... just because we can't prove that they are engaging in a conspiracy to attack this nation, we shouldn't be trying to "connect the dots" whereve possible? I'm not sure I understand...

dbogdan,

And we should remember that while Japan joined the Axis in 1940, it did not participate in the Nazi invasion of the USSR...showing that the pact wasn't exactly iron clad.

These documents are very interestig. As far as the Seven - Eleven Commission, it is evident that there reports are flawed. They missed Able Danger and the Jamie Gorlick wall. But bear in mind one thing, the Seven-Eleven Commission was not chartered to look at any ties between 9-11, Iraq, and Al-Qaeda. The Democrat Chairman admitted this, but did say that there were ties. This is confirmed by the Senate report which states that there were operatinal ties.

So, the liberal soup of the day argument, as outlined by Jabba the hut, Sissy Matthews, that there were no ties is flat out wrong. Its as wrong as saying that Bush fired General Konsiski. Even CNN admitted this was not true.

With all these documents being released, its just too funny that the Demorats can not dispute these documents. Now, they turned to Charles Addict Sheen to say that he saw explosives at the Towers, or whatever gibberish.

Come on now, I am glad the documents are out, not that they will do anything but get stuffed back on page 16 of the New york Times or something, but werent we all aware of the connection Saddam had to Al-Quaida when Zarqowi went to Iraq for surgery after we blew his leg off in Afghanistan? Why Iraq? Dont they have surgeons in Jordan? Unless we raise total hell about this the MSM will bury the story and no one will be the wiser!

typical of the radcons.....if you say it often enough, passionately enough, and loud enough....you can get the brain-dead, incapable of independent thought, and unabl;e to think for themselves to believe your pratings.

dbogdan - No, I agreed with you on the current situation. Just wanted to point out that the Axis was no secret. Don't forget that Germnay declared war on us because we declared war on Japan. Thats far from a coincidence.

Anyways - I wasn't saying that you were wrong about the press now, just saying your analogy was flawed.

qatmando - Typical. Insults with no facts to back you up. Just hatred. Hatred, is THAT the message of the Democratic party? Tell me please, but I can't find any OTHER common theme.

According to the Sun story, "...Mr. Kerrey said he believed America's understanding of the deposed tyrant's relationship with Al Qaeda would become much deeper as more captured Iraqi documents and audiotapes are disclosed...."

I might be reading too much into Mr. Kerrey's comments, but they represent the first chinks in the rigid wall of denial that the liberals have put up since before September 11th. As more documents become translated, a clearer picture of the types of mutual arrangements will be more and more difficult to brush off. And Marie2¢ raises a good point that Musab al-Zarqawi had established semi-residency in Baghdad prior to our invasion.

As bloggers, we are in a fortunate position of being able to shine some light into aspects of issues surrounding 911 such as Operation Able Danger, the infamous "Gorelick wall," the ongoing leaks from the intelligence community to the antique media outlets and similar other issues precisely because the antique media refuses to address or acknowledge that the issue even exists. Once the blogosphere has framed the issue to the point where it bubbles up into a "can't ignore any longer" status, the antique media is further hard pressed to report on the issue with their chosen spin. Of course, that won't stop them from trying, but their attempts to spin become even more obvious in the effort!

A perfect example of how this works was the recent "Bush Gone Wild - the Helen Thomas smackdown" episode that played out earlier this week. The simultaneous chiding of the press by the President has put the antique media off its stride, and they have now been relegated to using the "plausible deniability" defense on their reporting of the War on Terror in general, and the Iraqi theatre specifically, because the tone was set by President Bush. Even as they struggle to regain control of setting the agenda, they show how duplicitous they can be.

Isn't it funny how, in describing the President's performance and demeanor in that press conference, all these different journalists used the term "towel snapping?"

But back to the point. The antique media will continue to make up news to support their political point of view and ignore what doesn't fit into their predetermined set of beliefs of what must surely be the "Truth."

If it makes anyone feel any better, I can quote [Agent] Fox Muldar: "The truth is out there..."

Let's translate as much as we can, and see where the chips fall. While we're at it, let's haul out all the documentation of the Able Danger Program and see what bones start rattling...

Who cares if the Gray Wench (NYTimes) puts any effort into reporting them. Who reads the New York Times, anyway? Of those who do, who believes any of what they read?

It was "GodOfBiscuit" who stated, "This site does nothing but jump to quick conclusions with no facts based on whatever HELPS Bush." that caused me to respond with my "who's jumping to conclusions?" rant above! I'm still waiting for a citation of case in point, but won't be holding my breath.

I understood that Kahn agreed with me in principle, and now that I further analyze my quick analogy of Axis of Evil to Axis Powers WWII, there are some obvious weaknesses or failure to carry across in the analogy. I should have further qualified the analogy in retrospect, but I felt confident enough to run it by you guys to see if it would "play in Peoria," as it were...

Did anyone else notice that this particular thread of discussion seems particulary under-represented by our colleagues on the far left? Where are Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid's minions in the blogosphere, such as Barney2000, Maf53, TiredOfLies, and their motley pack of camp followers?

I would venture to say that the facts that are surfacing might be too much for them to bear, for they smack down the foundations of many of their arguments over the past several years just as surely as President Bush put the smackdown on Helen Thomas last week. Weeehhhh!!!!

I'm still swelled up over that one!!

Let's just declare victory and come home. 187 million dollars a day, plus lives.

Let's just declare stupidity illegal, apprehend Joe, and send his sorry arse to Gitmo for some tough love...

This site does nothing but jump to quick conclusions with no facts based on whatever HELPS Bush.

Gee, limpbiscuit, sort of like what your site does, and Kos, And DU, and all the other kook sites that parrot the MSM with one result in mind. This site isn't MSM, dope.

One thing this site has that yours doesn't--participants. Know what I mean, Jeffro?

Now, they turned to Charles Addict Sheen to say that he saw explosives at the Towers, or whatever gibberish.

Tina, I heard the Sheen sound bites on Friday, on many radio shows. They were priceless! He actually commented that the planes that flew into the towers were "unlike any jetliners" he'd ever flown on. I've seen the video hundreds of times; I've seen the stills of these planes, and they sure look like your garden-variety commercial jetliners to me.

I am disappointed; Charlie was one of my favourite comedians. I guess he's fianlly matured into "daddy" Sheen...

Yeah, I was hoping that Charlie somehow escaped the moonbattery of his family..but..guess not..I have a little soft spot for him..he did something incredibly nice for my son several years ago.
those young actors all grew up together.., the Penn's.etc. ..parent's Red Diaper babies, etc. no wonder they turned out like they have.

Annie, I won't boycott Charlie, on TV, for being a kook. I just won't pay high prices to see any movies he may happen to be in. I like him in sitcoms, and although Two-and-a-Half Men ain't the greatest show in the world, that little kid on there is a riot, IMHO.

Osama and Saddam were mortal enemies. Osama hated Saddam because Saddam murdered Muslims. Osama tried many times to help overthrow Saddam, but Saddam's powerbase was just too strong.
Saddam tried on many occasions to kill Osama for trying to overthrow his country. Saddam had agents infiltrate Osama's organization to kill him.
At first Osama looked at the U.S. removal of Saddam with great joy, but the cost of civilian lives was too high

Assid,

I guess that is what you get from wathing too much al-Jazzeera.

As it is, Osama has murdered thousans of Moslems, so I don't see why he's better than Saddam...both are murdering, inhuman brutes who are bound for the nether regions after death, unless they change their ways.

You might want to try a logical trick here - if Osama was fighting us because the cost in blood was too high in Iraq, then why is his chosen tactic blowing up unarmed Iraqis?

I like it very much