Why the Administration needs to make the case of the Saddam Al Qaeda Linkage….

This was a comment left on a post of mine and my response that I sent by email. I am working on my writing as I understand that sometimes I leave bits out that define my position more clearly…sorry.
Pierre, ask yourself this- If Saddam was willing to spend $25k on a Palestinian self-detonator, why do you think he wouldn’t be offering even bigger rewards to jihadis who would off themselves against US targets? To believe he would ONLY finance the Pali’s is delusional.Alan Macomber

Thank you for your reply.
You misunderstand my point. I have done the homework and do know of the connections between Al Qaeda and Saddam, Rumsfeld doesnt have to detail the connections for my benefit. He and the Administration have to say it for the benefit of the average person who doesnt spend hours a day reading everything they get their hands on. They are the ones who are being spoon fed by outlets such as MSNBC and ABC that the connections between Al Qaeda and Saddam are at worst spurious, at best casual. By constantly repeating the mantra that Saddam funded a reward system for Pals who like to blow themselves up the administration is allowing ABC and NBC and those unnamed Intelligence sources to define the relationship of Al Qaeda and Saddam. Sure they are staying on message a favorite tactic of the Bush Administration but by doing so they allow others to define the relationships in such a fashion as to make it appear that there were no alliances between Saddam and Al Qaeda.

The Administration needs to be a bit more aggressive and get the message out that there were longstanding links, indeed there was even circumstantial evidence linking Saddam to 9/11 and they need to keep hammering those points home. Yes for a second or two the Press and un-named sources will hammer them but that is their own fault for not putting this message out from the beginning. The Administration has more credibility than the press and more information, they can blow them out of the water if they choose. For instance the Feith Memo was a terrific attempt by someone inside of the Administration to shift the burden of proof to the Press and the Un-Named sources, it should have been followed up with even more evidence, instead it was allowed to die.

Its all well and good to make a case based on the UN resolutions to convince countries that they need to back us. The people of the US though dont respect the UN, to have them behind you the case had to be made that Saddam was a continuation of the war on terror and the Administration failed miserably to convince anyone of that, indeed when asked directly both President Bush and Rumsfeld took great pains to say there were no links between Saddam and 9/11 as if the only evidence that the American people would accept was courtroom quality evidence. The Administration confused the press with the American people, the press will only accept courtroom quality, actually I dont believe the press would EVER believe that linkage, the American people on the other hand are sensible. On top of that the Administration could have explained as James Woolsey has done so often that Intelligence doesnt often if ever offer courtroom quality evidence.

UPDATE: Consider that no army or even combination of armies can defeat us on the battlefield, the only way we can be defeated is by crushing the morale of the Americans at home. This is why it is so important for the Administration to make a compelling case that will resonate with the American people not the UN. The American people are worried about terror, by not accepting the attempt by the National Media and those UnNamed Intelligence sources to delink Al Qaeda and Saddam the Administration strengthens the weakest link in our war on terror, the morale of the American People.

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