An example of the subtle yet rigorous intellect that has made Richard Perle the shining star of the Neocons.
WOODRUFF: Your initial reaction, Richard Perle, when you first heard about 9/11,
did you assume that Saddam Hussein was somehow connected?
PERLE: No, I didn't, certainly not. I had no reason to think that, no evidence to support that. It wasn't immediately obvious, although it became obvious fairly quickly that it was probably al Qaeda.
But I think Richard [Clarke] is quite wrong in suggesting that the war against Saddam Hussein is not part of the war on terror. It's fundamental to the war on terror because, look, what happened...
WOODRUFF: Where is the link between al Qaeda and...
PERLE: Let me explain the link, because it's a geopolitical link -- although there were links between Iraqi intelligence and al Qaeda.
We know that al Qaeda were trained in Saddam's facilities at Salman Pak. But the link is a much more fundamental one than that.
When you looked up after September 11th and said, "What would this have been if there had been weapons of mass destruction, chemical or biological weapons or nuclear material," and then you said, "We've got to make sure that doesn't happen," and you looked around and said, "Who has the capacity to deliver that kind of horrific weapon to the terrorists," you got a short list, and ___ was at the head of that list.
Set aside the fact that Perle frames the issue as geopolitics, when in fact Al Queda is the classic ideologically driven, non-state, asymmetrical combatant. Set aside the fact that there is nothing close to a logical implication in Perle's answer; to borrow Richard Clarke's analogy, it's as if FDR would have determined that you have to be close to the United States to attack us, so the response to Pearl Harbor would have been to invade Mexico. Let's just see if you can correctly fill in the blank by naming the country that, on September 11, 2001, was considered to have the most troublesome capacity and inclination to use horrific weapons of mass destruction. Was it:
A. China
B. Egypt
C. India
D. Iran
E. Iraq
F. Libya
G. North Korea
H. Pakistan
I. Russia
J. Sudan
K. Syria
The answer is D--Iran.
If you read the CIA's "Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology
Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions,
1 July Through 31 December 2000", released to Congress on September 7, 2001, you see that the CIA's greatest concern was directed toward Iran. If you guessed D, congratulations.
If you guessed E--Iraq, go back and read the question. You most likely filled in the blank with what you thought Richard Perle's answer would be. You would be correct in that Richard Perle did say Iraq. However, you made the error of providing an answer that may be correct, but not for the question that has been asked. In fact, this is the same error the Bush administration has made in formulating its policies toward terrorism, Iraq, and just about everything else that can be imagined.
Don't worry, we won't hold it against you.