Doug Miller wrote:
...

Your reality check bounced, Charlie. Bush *never* claimed that Saddam
Hussein
was linked to the 9/11 attacks.


I think you are correct. The strategy employed in his speeches
was to rapidly shift back and forth between the two to create
that impression in people who weren't paying attention.

OTOH, sometimes others in his administration did _literaly_
refer to Saddam Hussein bieng responsible for the attacks
under circumstances that appear to have been a slip of the
tongue. ISTR CHeney doing that once during the debate,
and my brother watched a RUmsfeld news conference in
which he consistently said 'Saddam' when the context of
his statements made it clear that he was taling about
Al Queda or bin Laden. As we get older, our brains tend
to flip bits and produce errors of that sort in our
speech. Then again, it may also provide some clue about
the mindset of the speaker.

Then there was the person who said that on September 12,
2001 Bush told him to find (not just look for, but _find_)
evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the attacks.

--

FF