A reminder for those conned by those we trust

Echidne reports on a declassified report from the Republican-controlled US Senate that there were no links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.

None. Zero. Nil.

And, he wasn't building nukes, or even chemical or biological weapons. No WMD either.

This is old, old news to those who have been paying attention, and it was obvious way back in 2002 except to those unsophisticated and childish enough to think that all bad guys are in on it together. The American right, which swallowed the story of al Qaeda and Saddam being buddies for years, have changed their tune and are dismissing the report as "old news".

But not for the two thirds of self-proclaimed Republicans who still believe that Saddam was allied with al Qaeda.

The people we trust to protect us, the Bushes, Blairs and Howards, lied to us. They lied about the terrorism threat, they lied about Saddam's WMDs, and they continue to lie to us as they keep stripping us of civil liberties.

Billmon points out that the mere fact that this has come out of the Republican Senate indicates a sea-change in American politics. Although they fell short of actually doing their job, a non-partisan investigation into the events leading up to the war, some of the Republican committee members actually voted with the Democrats to remove the most egregious Republican spin. This is a strong indicator that the Republican's Svengali, Karl Rove, is having trouble keeping all his plates spinning in the air.