Corollary to Iraq DOES NOT = 'war on terror'

Ever heard the breathless argument some offer that Iraq DOES NOT = 'war on terror'?

If one was to use a similar argument, the corollary, 'war on terror DOES NOT = Iraq, can be used to counter a recent statement made by Harry Smith of the CBS 'Early Show'.

To set it up, Mr. Smith was interviewing terrorism analyst Michael Scheuer after the Bill Clinton/Fox News interview. Mr. Scheuer is a CBS New Analyst and former leader of the CIA's Bin Landen unit.

Pay close attention to Harry Smith's closing remarks in light of the devastating analysis Michael Scheuer offers against President Clinton.

From NewBusters (emphasis added):

...Harry Smith: "Elizabeth Palmer live in Pakistan this morning, thank you. I'm going to go back now to Michael Scheuer once again. Let's talk about what President Clinton had to say on Fox yesterday. He basically laid blame at the feet of the CIA and the FBI for not being able to certify or verify that Osama bin Laden was responsible for a number of different attacks. Does that ring true to you?"

Michael Scheuer: "No, sir, I don't think so. The president seems to be able, the former president seems to be able to deny facts with impugnity. Bin Laden is alive today because Mr. Clinton, Mr. Sandy Berger, and Mr. Richard Clarke refused to kill him. That's the bottom line. And every time he says what he said to Chris Wallace on Fox, he defames the CIA especially, and the men and women who risk their lives to give his administration repeated chances to kill bin Laden."

Harry Smith: "Alright, is the Bush administration any less responsible for not finishing the job in Tora Bora?"

Michael Scheuer: "Oh, I think there's plenty of blame to go around, sir, but the fact of the matter is that the Bush Administration had one chance that they botched, and the Clinton Administration had eight to ten chances that they refused to try. At least at Tora Bora our forces were on the ground. We didn't push the point. But it's just, it's an incredible kind of situation for the American people over the weekend to hear their former president mislead them."


Harry Smith: "And, and, and with this also further revelation that, in fact, the war in Iraq has only exacerbated the terrorist situation. Michael Scheurer, we thank you so much for your time this morning."