A Nation of Tin Foil Hats

I suppose that's what we've become.That must be it. We've all gone mad and are buying into the whining of a few Bush-haters. How else could you explain this official, masthead editorial from the New York Times?

Seriously, though. This is big. unfortunately, it's still not very vindicating. Even given the fact that this of indictment has risen from the mouths of individuals, on to the blogs and into the commentary and reportage of some independent journalists, to more and more nationally visible OpEd pages, and finally into official, newspaper sanctioned editorials.

What took so long? How is it that the free press in America had so shirked its mandate to dutifully and honestly serve and inform the public? Indeed, a paper such as the Times, whose front page and selected reporters are complicit in bringing this nation to war, is just now starting to see what they have wrought (though I don't for a minute think that they'll ever fess up to playing as large a role as they have).

At least they're speaking up. From the editorial pages, anyway. Now, if they could just get their "objective" "news" divisions up off their knees, offer a bath cloth, and tell them to get back to work, then we'd be in business. Anyway, here's a taste of the editorial itself:

On Monday, Mr. Cheney said Mr. Hussein "had long-established ties with Al Qaeda." Mr. Bush later backed up Mr. Cheney, claiming that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a terrorist who may be operating in Baghdad, is "the best evidence" of a Qaeda link. This was particularly astonishing because the director of central intelligence, George Tenet, told the Senate earlier this year that Mr. Zarqawi did not work with the Hussein regime.

The staff report issued by the 9/11 panel says that Sudan's government, which sheltered Osama bin Laden in the early 1990's, tried to hook him up with Mr. Hussein, but that nothing came of it.

This is not just a matter of the president's diminishing credibility, although that's disturbing enough. The war on terror has actually suffered as the conflict in Iraq has diverted military and intelligence resources from places like Afghanistan, where there could really be Qaeda forces, including Mr. bin Laden.

Mr. Bush is right when he says he cannot be blamed for everything that happened on or before Sept. 11, 2001. But he is responsible for the administration's actions since then. That includes, inexcusably, selling the false Iraq-Qaeda claim to Americans. There are two unpleasant alternatives: either Mr. Bush knew he was not telling the truth, or he has a capacity for politically motivated self-deception that is terrifying in the post-9/11 world.