CHENEY HAD NO NEW INFORMATION ON IRAQ-AL QAEDA TIES

The 9-11 Commission today released a short statement to say that the Commission has seen the same information that Cheney has regarding Iraq-al Qaeda ties, and they stand by their previous Statement #15 that there were no collaborative ties. Here is the Commission's press release today:

"After examining available transcripts of the vice president's public remarks, the 9/11 commission believes it has access to the same information the vice president has seen regarding contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq prior to the 9/11 attacks," the commission said.

Cheney, as I pointed out earlier, also seems to just make things up in order to support his position. This guy likes keeping secrets, making significant policy decisions by colluding with corporate executives who might be impacted most by the new policy, and misrepresenting his own statements as it is politically beneficial. For example, from CNN--

Th[e Commission's] statement comes in the wake of an interview Cheney gave last month on CNBC. During that interview, Cheney said "we don't know" whether Iraq was involved in the attacks. Asked whether he had information the panel did not, the vice president said, "Probably."

After Cheney's statement on CNBC, the commission asked the vice president to come forward with any additional information he could provide about any ties between al Qaeda and Iraq.

Contrast that with what Cheney's spokesman said today, from the AP link above:

Cheney's spokesman, Kevin Kellems, denied that the commission asked the vice president for additional information.

Kellums said the vice president was satisfied the panel had all relevant information to make an accurate determination. Cheney's main concern was about some media reports suggesting that al-Qaida and Iraq had no ties whatsoever, he said.

"We are pleased with today's statement from the 9-11 commission, which puts to rest a non-story," Kellems said. "As we have said all along, the administration has provided the commission with unprecedented access to sensitive information so they can perform their mission."

Kellems added that Cheney "did not criticize the commission's work" and said, "We look forward to reading the commission's final report."

Clearly, either the spokesman is not on the same page with Cheney, or (more likely) Cheney is attempting to worm his way out of his ridiculous comment on CNBC.