[First, a cheap plug for my blog Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races.]
Jim "In Denial" Inhofe may have just crossed the line from "In Denial" to "On Another Planet." First, he denies the existence of global warming, calling it the "greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people." Then, he insinuates that he may be a proud Holocaust denier.
Now, at a fundraiser with Dick Cheney, Inhofe denies that weapons of mass destruction was the issue behind U.S. involvement in Iraq:
(Much more below the fold.)
Inhofe, speaking to the press before Cheney's arrival, lambasted Democrats for Thursday's Senate vote to begin withdrawal from Iraq by Oct. 1 and the press for "mischaracterizing" the reasons for U.S. involvement.
"The whole idea of weapons of mass destruction was never the issue, yet they keep trying to bring this up," Inhofe said.
When asked why Gen. Colin Powell, then U.S. secretary of state, told the United Nations in 2003 that such weapons posed an imminent danger, Inhofe replied: "I can't answer that. In fact, I've never been one of the real strong fans of General Powell."
Pressed for an explanation, Inhofe said weapons of mass destruction were "incidental" to the decision to invade Iraq.
"The media made that the issue because they knew Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass destruction. So we knew that they were there. But that was incidental to the fact we were going after terrorist camps."
I know what you're saying: Colin Powell, that notorious liberal Democrat!
Granted, George W. Bush keeps changing the reasoning behind the Iraq War. Though, on March 6, 2003, Bush did say in no uncertain terms:
Our mission is clear in Iraq. Should we have to go in, our mission is very clear: disarmament.
And he did reiterate that (while expanding on it) on March 22, 2003:
And our mission is clear, to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.
For Inhofe to say something like "The whole idea of weapons of mass destruction was never the issue" clearly indicates that either he's detached from reality or he simply doesn't care about inconsequential things like "the truth."
By the way, regarding Inhofe's comment:
The media made that [WMDs] the issue because they knew Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass destruction. So we knew that they were there. But that was incidental to the fact we were going after terrorist camps.
There are so many things wrong with saying that, it's like the "Plan 9 from Outer Space" of Iraq assessments.