So today comes the story that Russian President Putin is claiming Russian intelligence warned the U.S. that Iraq may have been planning terrorist attacks "after 9/11, up to the time the Iraq War started".

Pardon me if I observe that this is just a tad vague.

You see, I seem to recall (though I haven't been able to dig up a reference yet) that there were stories shortly before the war that Iraq might retaliate for an invasion by launching terrorist attacks against the U.S. So I guess I'd like to know a little more regarding exactly when these plans for terrorism were cooked up.

I'll also note that Putin provided very few details, beside the fact that he claimed to know of no Iraqi involvement in any terrorism against the U.S.

So basically, we have vague word from Russian intelligence (any more accurate than our own before the war? I wonder...) sometime before we attacked Iraq that Iraq might have planned for terrorist attacks against the U.S.

You may also color me skeptical that Iraq would have carried out such attacks itself without provocation, knowing full well that we'd probably trace them back to where they came from. In fact, it was just this objection that prompted responses from the administration that Iraq might give weapons of mass destruction to al Qaeda, rather than risk such an operation itself.

Although I'm sure the administration will play this for all it's worth, at this point I'd have to say there's just not much "there" there...

Looks like the administration is once again on the defensive, struggling to re-write history as their own words come back to haunt them. It's so nice when the press gives up the "he-said-she-said" noncommittal "reporting" for "he-said-he-said".

Anyway, what I'm referring to, of course, is the administration's major players insisting that the press is mischaracterizing the 9/11 Commission's finding that Iraq and al Qaeda had no "collaborative relationship". They're insisting that the 9/11 Commission did not refute the assertion that there was a link between Iraq and al Qaeda. This, of course, is completely correct -- and completely irrelevant to the point at hand.

The administration did far, far more than assert Iraqi officials and al Qaeda representatives once said "hello" to each other -- and the fact that they're now claiming otherwise is an outright lie. Not just "misleading", mind you: the administration referred to Saddam and al Qaeda as "allies", and asserted to Congress "I have also determined that the use of armed force against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."

This administration is certainly the most dishonest I've seen in my lifetime. It is to be hoped that their lies will be self-evident, as most Americans seem to have felt the case was made that Iraq and al Qaeda were working together.

Looks like the 9/11 Commission put it all together and tied it with a bow. They released a report today that had two major findings:

Al Qaeda originally envisioned a "9/11" attack that was potentially much worse, and they still desire to carry out devastating attacks

Iraq had no ties to al Qaeda

The moral of the story: al Qaeda is the enemy, and this administration decided to duck that fight in favor of fulfilling a dream of attacking Iraq.

If America is attacked by al Qaeda again (and we know they very much want to do so), the Bush administration's Iraq War, sold on lies, will be a major contributing factor.