Conventional wisdom, once set, is difficult to budge even under the pressure of persuasive proof to the contrary. This is especially true when the conventional wisdom reinforces the common narrative of the main stream media. One axiom of conventional wisdom is that there was no relationship between Saddam Hussein's Iraq regime and al Qaeda. The existence of a relationship would increase the probability that Iraq might provide logistical or even chemical weapons expertise to al Qaeda. On the other hand, the absence of any relationship between al Qaeda and Iraq would minimize the potential threat posed by Iraq to the United States.
Al Qaeda and its leaders Usama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri issued a fatwa in 1998 declaring war on the United States, urging Muslim's to kill Americans wherever possible. Indeed, it was the ``individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it.'' Pursuant to this fatwa, al Qaeda operatives managed to kill 3,000 Americans with terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
The conventional wisdom that al Qaeda and Saddam's Iraq were not allied or cooperating was buttressed by the preliminary, tentatively and carefully worded conclusion of the 9/11 Commission's that it could find evidence of no ``collaborative operational relationship'' between the two. However, as is want with media shorthand the headlines became, ``9/11 panel sees no link between Iraq, al-Qaida.''
In the political aftermath of the Iraq War, it is often conveniently forgotten that the Clinton Administration and other Democrats first made the strong case for an Al Qaeda and Iraqi relationship.
Before the Iraq War, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice-Chairman, Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) saw a ``substantial connection between Iraq and al Qaeda.'' Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CN) reported that, ``I've seen a lot of evidence on this. There are extensive contacts between Saddam Hussein's government and al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.'' Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) ``[Saddam Hussein] has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001.'' The Clinton Administration's legal indictment in Federal Court against bin Laden in 1998 claimed, ``Al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government, and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the government of Iraq.''
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