Operation: Lay the Groundwork, Part II

"The Iranian regime is today the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism." -- Donald Rumsfeld, 02/04/2006

Sound familiar?

"We clearly know that there were in the past and have been contacts between senior Iraqi officials and members of al Qaeda going back for actually quite a long time," Rice said. "We know too that several of the (al Qaeda) detainees, in particular some high-ranking detainees, have said that Iraq provided some training to al Qaeda in chemical weapons development." -- Condoleezza Rice, 09/25/2002

"We've learned that Iraq has trained al-Qaeda members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases ... Alliance with terrorists could allow the Iraqi regime to attack America without leaving any fingerprints." -- George Bush, 10/07/2002

"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaida." -- State of the Union Address, 1/28/2003

Just two weeks ago, Rove crawled out from his hole to lay out the GOP's strategy for this year's elections: paper over the party's corruption and disregard for the law by making the war on terror the central issue. And now, all of a sudden, the rhetoric changes from Iran's "blackmailing the world," and threats to Israel, to it being the leading state sponsor of terrorism. Given the parties involved, to suggest that that shift is a coincidence is either hopelessly naive, or an insult to the listener's intelligence.

So does anyone really believe Rummy when he says, "We must continue to work together to seek a diplomatic solution to stopping the development of (Iran's) uranium enrichment program?"

Didn't think so.