A Question of Credibility

摘要

The headlines sent Democratic hearts racing: Former White House counterterrorism chief accuses the President of brushing off dire warnings of an imminent al Qaeda threat before September 11, then fixating on punishing Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein even though no proof existed that he was involved in the terrorist attacks. This is explosive stuff in an election year, and critics of the White House wasted no time arguing that the allegations by former official Richard Clarke were yet more evidence that the Bush Administration habitually bends the truth for political gain. After all, they charge, the President's minions lied about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction, misled Congress about the soaring cost of the Medicare prescription-drug bill, and continue to mislead Americans by issuing wildly optimistic economic predictions that insist three rounds of tax-cutting will restore the nearly 2 million-plus jobs lost during George W. Bush's tenure.