Saddam and al Qaeda Two-step

Apparently, the press is just figuring out what we've all known for some time, that Saddam was linked to al Qaeda. Of course, they do it an article basking Vice President Cheney. In addition, they put in this nugget:

In making the case for war in Iraq (news - web sites), Bush administration officials frequently cited what they said were Saddam's decade-long contacts with al-Qaida operatives. They stopped short of claiming that Iraq was directly involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, but critics say Bush officials left that impression with the American public.

That statement isn't supported by the facts. The Washington Post has been polling on this issue since 2 days after 9/11, and found that the numbers were higher after 9/11 than they were now. In addition, the Administration gave no such statements in the 2 days after the attacks to give the impression that the AP claims but rather has gone out of its way to distance itself from the Saddam-9/11 connection (rightly or wrongly). The only ones that gave the impression that Saddam was involved in 9/11 was the press. Morons.