Stevens On Whether Saddam And Iraq Had 9/11 Role: ‘I Believe They Did’
Stevens On Whether Saddam And Iraq Had 9/11 Role: ‘I Believe They Did’
Last night, convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) faced Anchorage mayor and Senate candidate Mark Begich in their last debate before Tuesday’s election. During the debate, Stevens twice insisted that he had “not been convicted of anything” — though, of course, he was found guilty of all seven counts of making false statements on his Senate disclosure forms.
Waving away his conviction wasn’t Stevens’ only bizarre moment in the debate. Discussing Iraq, Stevens insisted that Saddam Hussein had played a role in the 9/11 attacks:
MODERATOR: Knowing what you know now, do you think that the country of Iraq and Saddam Hussein played a role in the 9/11 attack on the United States?
STEVENS: I know more than you think I know, and I believe they did.
BEGICH: I don’t believe they did.
Perhaps Stevens is taking a cue from Cheney in doubling down on insisting a link existed between Iraq and 9/11. He wants Alaskans to believe he knows something they don’t, but it’s Stevens whose facts are wrong:
– The Sept. 11 commission found no “collaborative relationship” between Iraq and al Qaeda and said there was “no cooperation” between the two. [6/17/04]
– A Senate Intelligence Committee report found that Saddam Hussein issued a general order that Iraq should not deal with al Qaeda, and found that the Iraqi regime never attempted to facilitate a relationship with bin Ladin. [9/10/06]
– A Pentagon report looking into ties between Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and al Qaeda showed no connection between the two, after reviewing 600,000 Iraqi documents. [3/13/08]
What’s more, the White House knew that its repeated claims of collaboration between Iraq and al Qaeda were unfounded. A recent book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind claimed that, after the Iraq war began, the White House ordered the CIA to forge a “backdated, handwritten letter” from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein, in an attempt to tie Hussein to the 9/11 attacks.
UPDATE: Watch video of Stevens’ comments here:
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No one cares what convicted felons think.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:45 amI was never convicted, Irqa was involved in 9/11 and pigs fly…i’v seen it.
Tell your tall tales from the jail cell. You’ll have plenty of time to get the story straight….lol.
Hurry up and put this man behind bars before he tries to destroy this country further.
IDIOT!!! and anyone who supports this ass!!!!
October 31st, 2008 at 10:46 amWe know he was convicted more than he knows he was convicted.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:48 aminside job
October 31st, 2008 at 10:50 am@4, wearechange Says:
inside job
October 31st, 2008 at 10:50 am
that’s the guy Benazir Bhutto told David Frost was the assassin of OBL in Tora Bora in late 2001.
Quite a piece. Never read that particular one before. The author seems plausible enough…
I’ve ALWAYS suspected Cheney, the bushevik overseeing the whole S intelligence portfolio, knew everything about the plot except the flight numbers and the date planned for the attacks…
Cheney, one of the original signers of the PNAC declaration, knew they needed a “Pearl Harbor” event, and was just hoping it wouldn’t be TOO bad…Bush isn’t a good enough actor to have pretended the shock he manifested in that Florida schoolroom. He didn’t know…But Cheney? Darth Knew!
October 31st, 2008 at 10:58 amSaddam made him lie on his disclosure forms! Saddam did it!
October 31st, 2008 at 10:58 am“I know more than you think I know…”
That may very well be true because I think you don’t know sh!t.
The jury, however, thought you knew more than you said you knew.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:59 amStevens believes they were hidden in tubes!
October 31st, 2008 at 11:00 amSTEVENS: I know more than you think I know, and I believe they did.
Wow! I will lose faith in “the people” if this addled old man is re-elected.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:03 amyes and while he (saddam) lived in his internet-toobes making weapons of mass distraction to kill the entire world but himself.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:04 amPresident Barack Obama.
Senator Begich, D-AK.
Its all good.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:04 amGee, Ted, you also believed the second story added on to your house at no expense to you was not a bribe.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:05 amOk so here’s a Constitutional question:
If Stevens wins the election and Bush pardons him in his final days, can Stevens serve his term in the Senate?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:05 amLong known to be one of the most corrupt men in the US Senate I just bet he will be reelected. Alaskans and Texans have too much in common.
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October 31st, 2008 at 11:07 amtoasterhead says: If Stevens wins the election and Bush pardons him in his final days, can Stevens serve his term in the Senate?
Why not?
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October 31st, 2008 at 11:09 amSo Stevens is not only a crook, he’s an idiot. Or a liar.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:09 amI hope this guy flys the GOP banner for all it’s worth.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:15 amHe’s the poster child of why the party is tanking.
Ted, you deserve one hell of an “atta boy” for everything you are doing. Keep it up!
misshusseinmolly Says:
So Stevens is not only a crook, he’s an idiot. Or a liar.
Maybe he is just old and a little bit feeble-minded. Kinda like McSame.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:16 amAlright Alaska. You owe us one. You stuck us with Palin PLEASE vote this moron out of office.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:17 am“Stevens On Whether Saddam And Iraq Had 9/11 Role: ‘I Believe They Did’”
– - You’re a convicted felon and can no longer vote for anything. Now STFU and go play with the Internet tubes.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:17 amhussein toasterhead Says
October 31st, 2008 at 11:05 am
Ok so here’s a Constitutional question:
If Stevens wins the election and Bush pardons him in his final days, can Stevens serve his term in the Senate?
___________________________________________________________
Constitutionally, he’d be able to, since the pardon would not only wipe out the conviction, it would expunge the charge from his record as well — making it as if the whole sordid mess had never happened (as far as the law is concerned).
A better question might be whether Stevens could serve effectively. My guess is that the Republicans (who would be struggling with being even more of a minority party than they are now) would probably treat him with all the affection they would give a skunk at a church picnic. The seniority advantage he would normally bring to the table (and the reason Alaskans keep re-electing him) would be pretty much wiped out by the rest of his party treating him like toxic waste (Republicans won’t do well this election, and they need a scapegoat). I expect censure at the very least if he stays.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:17 amSTEVENS: I know more than you think I know
I would certainly hope so , seeing as I how I believe you’re a know-nothing fu(king imbecile ………
October 31st, 2008 at 11:17 amI still don’t understand how Stevens is still walking around a free man. If he was convicted on all seven counts, why isn’t he behind bars? If nothing else, shouldn’t he be spending time in a sanitarium after making insane statements like this?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:18 amgreenpagan Says:
Why not?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:09 am
_______
I was under the impression that a convicted felon couldn’t legally take the oath of office, but I don’t know how a pardon applies to that – does it nullify the conviction, or just commute the sentence?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:18 amIf you believe in forever,
October 31st, 2008 at 11:19 amthen life is just a one night stand,
if there’s a rock & roll heaven,
I know they have one hell of a band
Is there three “e’s” in geezer, or only two?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:19 amWayne A. Schneider Says:
Gee, Ted, you also believed the second story added on to your house at no expense to you was not a bribe.
Didn’t it occur to Ted or anyone else, that it might seem a tad odd for an oil company to be doing home remodeling projects?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:24 am@5, tokin librul:
bush was probably only exposed to the plot narrative in a “marvel universe” kind of “what if?” scenario — either a briefing for a war game or as some potential scenario… probably was fed just enough information to keep him up complicit… strictly a need to know operation. most likely architects were cheney/wolfowitz. and any of foot soldiers who had enough of the pieces to understand the puzzle were probably killed in black-on-black coverup assassinations, with the assassins having no idea whom they killed, or why.
i read somewhere (on a intelligence community forum) that the whole controlled demolition theory could’ve been pulled off by as few as 7 operators, including the architects. and all they had to do to link it to islamo-facism was get a handful of the alleged hijackers onboard the planes; the piloting and impact would “take care of itself” .
October 31st, 2008 at 11:27 amNote to Begich: you don’t have to just believe Saddam wasn’t involved, just use the words of Our Dear Leader.
“No, we’ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th,” Bush said.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:27 amNice article, wearechange. Hadn’t seen that one before. Knowing Ted, it wouldn’t surprise me if he had the same kind of knowledge about 9/11 that, say, Denny Hastert has. After all, money’s money, no matter where it comes from, right?
Ted’s claim that he hasn’t been convicted suggests that he’s going off the rails a bit. Interesting that even Ted Stevens convinced himself that he wasn’t entirely corrupt.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:30 amincidentally, they just need to repeat the meme… over and over. the average dimwits they target with these lies aren’t expected to know about habush, nor would they be inclined to research it. it fits their worldview too neatly, and people need to believe this war was for something… sad, huh?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:32 amStevens has certainly been convicted. The “case” isn’t pending; only the appeal is pending. If his appeal fails, he will be sentenced in Feb. By the way, the Dem running against him doesn’t sound like much of a jewel either.
Regarding 911, that article (back in 2004!) is simply one or two more dots to connect. We’ve always had the choice to accept one of two “conspiracy theories.” The first is the government’s. The other is more likely the truth – that the 911 attacks were an inside job with assistance from the outside. I don’t believe that the appointed “top” guys in either the CIA or FBI (Tenet or Mueller) had a clue either, any more than Bush did. Cheney certainly did, however.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:32 amlet me add to that.. not just “for something other than oil” which we pay exorbitant amounts for anyway, so how could it be about the oil?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:40 amConstitutionally, he’d be able to, since the pardon would not only wipe out the conviction, it would expunge the charge from his record as well — making it as if the whole sordid mess had never happened (as far as the law is concerned).
Actually, a pardon is forgiveness of the crime and the penalty associated with it. But it doesn’t expunge the record. It is also considered an admission of guilt. Doesn’t sound like Stevens would accept a pardon, even if offered.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:44 amFor our sake, I hope when Senator Ted takes up his new residence in Leavenworth, that someone remembers to send along all of his needed medications. Can you imagine the blather that would spew from his convicted mouth if he was off his meds for a couple days?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:46 amCorrect me if I’m wrong but isn’t it true that convicted felons cannot vote? If true how than can a convicted felon run for the senate?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:50 amYou gotta have some sympathy for Republicans these days… when facts have such a pronounced liberal bias, that wipes out all their best campaign slogans.
Jeez, if voters were more attentive, they’d be really screwed!
October 31st, 2008 at 12:00 pmJust got to wonder about Ted, and all of his crazy convictions.
October 31st, 2008 at 12:06 pmUncle Fester Lurks Says:
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t it true that convicted felons cannot vote? If true how than can a convicted felon run for the senate?
In some states, convicted felons voting rights are restored after they’ve served their time; most states don’t. In some states, convicted felons cannot run for office; most states allow this. But for the federal government, there are absolutely no restrictions.
October 31st, 2008 at 12:10 pmSTEVENS: “I know more than you think I know,…”
We know you don’t know we know how crooked you have always been.
October 31st, 2008 at 12:16 pm– The Sept. 11 commission found no “collaborative relationship” between Iraq and al Qaeda and said there was “no cooperation” between the two
But, that’s because the commission did not have the secret information that Ted Stevens had. Probably because it’s all in his egotistical head.
I am so glad that Alaska is waking up and will send Ted Stevens packing. The last poll I saw after his CONVICTION was that he is now behind by 6.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:08 pmUncle Fester Lurks Says:
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t it true that convicted felons cannot vote? If true how than can a convicted felon run for the senate?
Alaska has found Stevens eligible to vote. Their law says something like there has to be moral turpitude involved in their crime.
tur·pi·tude
1. vile, shameful, or base character; depravity.
2. a vile or depraved act.
I think that pretty much describes Stevens and his w horing for money. But the State of Alaska disagrees.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:11 pmMan, now I just feel sorry for the senile old guy. http://straighttalkonmccain.blogspot.com/
October 31st, 2008 at 1:13 pm“not been convicted of anything”
Sounds like he’s trying to pull a Palin here.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:25 pmCan he serve while he is on probation or in jail?
October 31st, 2008 at 1:34 pm.
Stevens thinks he knows all he needs to know but his unknown knowns are still a mystery…
.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:16 pmStevens continued, “The fact is, I believe Alaskans are stupid enough that you can lie about plain facts right to their faces and they’ll still vote for you as long as you bring the pork. I mean, just look at that Palin woman.”
October 31st, 2008 at 2:56 pmPlease make a quick advertisment
Republican Mindset
October 31st, 2008 at 3:12 pm3 PM: Convicted and found guilty on all counts
7 PM: I haven’t been convicted of anything.
Hey Ted you MORON you can believe that fairies sneak in at night while you sleep and nibble your toes for all I care but if you want someone else to join in your hallucination then you really ought to, you know, COUGH UP SOME EVIDENCE.
October 31st, 2008 at 3:42 pm