Timing of Iraq war commander Gen. David Petraeus' testimony the Congress is a cheap attempt by President George W. Bush and his administration to draw a non-existent link between Iraq and 9/11, families of the victims of the Sep 11, 2001 terror attacks claimed today.
"The timing of this testimony is another attempt by government officials to force a non-existent connection between the events of 9-11 and this administration's disastrous policy of invasion and war in Iraq," a statement by September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows read. "The 9-11 Commission found there was no operational or cooperative relationship between Al Qaeda and Iraq. It is widely understood today that this administration's actions in Iraq have in fact created a terrorist sanctuary where none previously existed, at a cost of more American lives than were lost on 9-11, tens of thousands maimed and wounded, and over 100,000 Iraqi dead."
Both Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney claimed that Saddam Hussein had long established ties with Al Qaeda, and justified the invasion of Iraq as a part of of the global war on terror.
Bush was later forced to admit that there was no link between the Iraq's late dictator and Osama bin Laden's terror network.
"Six years after September 11, 2001, politicians, from the White House to the halls of Congress, continue to abuse the memory of our loved ones who died in that attack by attempting to invoke their and our suffering to further this administration's political goals," Peaceful Tomorrows added. "As we have stated on previous occasions, we ask any and all politicians and candidates for office to respect the memory of the innocent lives lost on 9-11 by refraining from using the 9-11 sites, memorials, and anniversaries for political ends, either explicitly or as political 'backdrop.'"
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