Iraq War: Ouch!

This is a quote that's hard to forget. I just used it a couple of days ago, in fact.

President Bush, State of the Union address 01/28/03:

Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own.

Dana Priest, Washington Post 01/14/04:

In hiding after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein penned a directive warning his followers not to join forces with Islamic jihadists and other foreign fighters seeking to make Iraq their new battlefield, according to a document found with Hussein when he was captured, U.S. government officials said last night.

The document, which the CIA believes to be authentic, appears to be written to leaders of the Iraqi resistance and, as such, undercuts the argument of Bush administration officials that Hussein was working closely with al Qaeda and other religious extremists, a view not shared by most U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies. ...

Al Qaeda members in secret CIA detention centers abroad have told interrogators in the past year that Osama bin Laden had rejected the idea of working with Hussein, who as president of Iraq led one of the most secular governments in the Middle East.

For war fans and Bush fans, that's "ouch" and "double-ouch."