Reporting on the Colorado Senate's recent passage of a nonbinding resolution opposing President Bush's plan to escalate the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, The Gazette of Colorado Springs uncritically reported Republicans' unsubstantiated claim that “the U.S. must remain in Iraq to achieve stability in a war begun by terrorists.” As Colorado Media Matters has noted, the notion that the war in Iraq had “begun” with the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has long been discredited. In fact, Bush himself admitted in September 2003 that there is “no evidence” former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had anything to do with the 9-11 attacks.

Democratic Sens. Ron Tupa (Boulder) and Ken Gordon (Denver) sponsored Senate Joint Memorial 002, which the Senate passed strictly along party lines (20-14) on March 29. It states that while “Colorado supports and honors its servicemen and servicewomen and will support Congress in ensuring that there are sufficient resources made available to support the United States' armed forces so long as they remain in Iraq and Afghanistan ... it is not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq, particularly by escalating the United States' military force presence in Iraq.”

Referring to a March 29 debate on the bill, the Gazette article by Ed Sealover reported, “Democrats claimed America's occupation of Iraq is leading to more deaths without solutions, while Republicans said the U.S. must remain in Iraq to achieve stability in a war begun by terrorists.”

The Republicans' claim that the war in Iraq was “begun by terrorists” echoed a claim Bush made in his January 28, 2003, State of the Union address that "[e]vidence 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," the terrorist organization identified as responsible for the 9-11 attacks. Bush again implied a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda in a March 21, 2003, letter to congressional leaders immediately following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. According to the letter, "[T]he use of armed force against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001." Further statements from Bush alleging a collaborative link between Iraq and Al Qaeda or its leader, Osama bin Laden, along with similar statements from Vice President Dick Cheney, were later proved untrue.

As Media Matters for America noted, the 9-11 Commission found that Iraq and Al Qaeda had no “collaborative and operational relationship,” and a September 8, 2006, Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded that Saddam's government “did not have a relationship, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward [Iraqi Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab Al-] Zarqawi and his associates.”

Furthermore, at an August 21, 2006, press conference at which he was asked, “What did Iraq have to do with ... [t]he attack on the World Trade Center?” Bush replied, “Nothing.”

From Ed Sealover's article, “Senate opposes buildup of troops,” in the March 30 edition of The Gazette of Colorado Springs:

DENVER -- The ongoing conflict in Iraq was compared to the quagmire in Vietnam and to the great moral struggle of World War II. The presence of more U.S. soldiers in Iraq was vilified as a hindrance to peace and extolled as the only path toward ending the fighting.

After a 90-minute debate Thursday, however, the discussion in the Colorado Senate ended exactly as anticipated, with Democrats casting a party-line vote for a resolution to oppose President Bush's buildup of troops in the war-torn region.

[...]

Sponsors, Democratic Sens. Ron Tupa of Boulder and Ken Gordon of Denver, said Colorado needs a voice on such an important national issue and should send the message that the state does not want more of its residents fighting in a war that can't be won.

Many Republicans shot back that the state has no place in the debate. But Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, said the General Assembly must speak for dissenters without a voice, especially those serving in Iraq.

“Soldiers, Marines, sailors, regardless of their rank, take orders from those above them. ... It's against the law for them to challenge those orders,” the first-year lawmaker said. “Who does the commander in chief report to? He reports to us. That's why it's important to have this debate.”

Democrats claimed America's occupation of Iraq is leading to more deaths without solutions, while Republicans said the U.S. must remain in Iraq to achieve stability in a war begun by terrorists.