Cheney And Bush Try To Get Iraq Story Straight

Vice President failed to get important email on change of administrations claims about Iraq and 9/11

The Bush administration found itself with egg on its face this week after Vice President Dick Cheney appeared on a weekend talk show and expressed views contrary to those expressed by President Bush just two days later. The gaffe has left some pundits struggling to explain the contraditions.

Appearing on "Meet the Press" Sunday morning, Vice President Cheney again reiterated to Tim Russert that Iraq did indeed have weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq had links with Al Qaeda. Cheney even strongly insinuated, as various Bush administration officials have in the past, a link between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

No weapons of mass destruction have ever been discovered in Iraq and no links between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein have ever been proven to exist.

President Bush on Tuesday of this week, for the first time, backed off his administration's claims as to the existence of WMDs in Iraq and ties to the 9/11 terrorists, most of whom were from Saudi Arabia. The change in position prompted many to wonder how the Vice President could, just two days earlier, assert contrary positions on a nationally televised news program.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan attempted to straighten out the confusion.

"An email was sent to all staffers on Friday that we were doing a one hundred eighty degree turn on Iraq, claims about the 9/11 terrorists, and WMDS," explained McClellan. "The Vice President was meeting with some Halliburton executives on Friday and didn't check his email."

Asked why the Bush administration was drastically changing its position after months of justifying the Iraqi War on the very claims asserted by the Vice President Sunday morning, McClellan was more circumspect.

"We just changed our minds," said McClellan, before abruptly choosing to end the press conference.

Polls reveal that close to 70% of Americans believe Iraq was directly involved with the 9/11 attacks, based on previous claims made by the Bush administration.

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