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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion July 29, 2004

     

Bush Administration Misleads About Afghanistan



Vice President Dick Cheney claimed yesterday that under the President's leadership we "closed down the training camps [in Afghanistan] where terrorists trained to kill Americans."1 His comments are not only bold, but a look at the record shows they are deliberately misleading. Just two weeks ago the Bush administration essentially contradicted the claim, warning Americans of an imminent attack on the U.S. homeland from terrorists operating in Afghanistan.

As CNN reported on July 8, Bush administration officials are warning that "a plot to carry out a large-scale terror attack against the United States in the near future is being directed by Osama bin Laden and other top al Qaeda members." According to the administration, these terrorists are operating in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.2

Unfortunately, in 2002, the Bush administration shifted key special forces out of Afghanistan, effectively removing them from the hunt for al Qaeda. These troops were sent to prepare for an Iraq invasion.3 That leaves the U.S. with only about 15,000 troops in Afghanistan hunting down al Qaeda, whom they now say are plotting an imminent attack against the country.4 Meanwhile, the Pentagon has designed plans to add troops to the 140,000 already stationed in Iraq5 - a country that never had any collaborative relationship with al Qaeda6 or connection to the 9/11 terrorist attacks7 (even though the Bush administration has claimed both).8

Sources:
  1. The Vice President Delivers Remarks at a Reception for Senatorial Candidate Bill Jones, WhiteHouse.Gov, 7/27/04.
  2. "Officials: Bin Laden guiding plots against U.S", CNN.com 7/08/04.
  3. "Shifts from bin Laden hunt evoke questions," USA Today, 3/28/04.
  4. "Afghanistan: 'Unrelenting Battle'," CBSNews.com, 5/26/04.
  5. "U.S. force in Iraq to grow as Marine deployment pushed up," USA Today, 6/08/04.
  6. "Administration Moves to Regain Initiative on 9/11", New York Times, 8/27/04.
  7. "Bush rejects Saddam 9/11 link", BBC News, 9/18/03.
  8. "Cheney Link of Iraq, 9/11 Challenged",The Boston Globe 9/16/03.



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