Recent columns by Bill O’Reilly attempt to convince readers that our president has been truthful with the American people, and had just made mistakes in believing faulty intelligence. In doing so, O’Reilly has not been completely forthcoming. O’Reilly cited four independent sources as verification for his position.
First, he included Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair with Bush so that he could include Lord Butler’s investigative report. How disingenuous! This investigation did not concern itself at all with the action’s of the American president, just the prime minister. It neither condemns nor absolves Bush of anything.
Second, the 9/11 commission did not report on the Iraq/WMD question at all, but debunks the administration’s favorite myth: that there was a link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida.
Third, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report does not refer to Bush positively or negatively, it deals strictly with the intelligence community and the reports the intelligence community generated.
The fourth source was Vladimir Putin. I did not investigate what Putin (former head of the Soviet KGB) had to say. To use a top communist to support his position might be an indicator of O’Reilly’s desperation.
Brian Levin
Camano Island
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