http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/3711/Bush_Argues_Iraq-al_Qaeda_ConnectionBush Argues Iraq-al Qaeda Connection
President Tells Troops AQ in Iraq Part of Network Behind 9/11
President Bush spoke at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, SC on Tuesday. The following is an excerpted portion of the speech in which the President lays out his reasoning for equating Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda with al Qaeda in Iraq.
There's a debate in Washington about Iraq, and nothing wrong with a healthy debate. There's also a debate about al Qaeda's role in Iraq. Some say that Iraq is not part of the broader war on terror. They complain when I say that the al Qaeda terrorists we face in Iraq are part of the same enemy that attacked us on September the 11th, 2001. They claim that the organization called al Qaeda in Iraq is an Iraqi phenomenon, that it's independent of Osama bin Laden and that it's not interested in attacking America.
That would be news to Osama bin Laden. He's proclaimed that the "third world war is raging in Iraq." Osama bin Laden says, "The war is for you or for us to win. If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever." I say that there will be a big defeat in Iraq and it will be the defeat of al Qaeda. (Applause.)
Today I will consider the arguments of those who say that al Qaeda and al Qaeda in Iraq are separate entities. I will explain why they are both part of the same terrorist network -- and why they are dangerous to our country.
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