Robert Parry jumps on the same thing I did earlier today

i wasn't quite so gentle as to call it "misunderstanding..." while i didn't use the words, to me, it's more of an "aiding and abetting" issue...

Peter Bergen, an influential expert on al-Qaeda, says a long-term U.S. military presence is needed in Iraq to thwart the terrorist group’s strategic goals. But Bergen appears to be basing his conclusion on a misunderstanding of recent intercepted internal communiqués.

[...]

If the CIA is correct that bin Laden wanted Bush to stay in the White House, it would follow that bin Laden also wanted the United States to stay militarily in Iraq. It was obvious to everyone that Bush’s famous stubbornness would not let him admit a mistake and pull U.S. forces out of Iraq.

In recent week, Bush has pounded the same theme that Bergen does in the New York Times – that a U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq is what bin Laden wants.

yeah, ok, i also confessed earlier to the possibility i might be paranoid, and, if there was any doubt, what i am about to say next will prove it... however, i don't think that a prime space, nyt op-ed, appearing 13 days before the elections, shoring up president bush, is a coincidence... see... told ya... PARANOIA...!!

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