Cognitive Dissonance

Think Progress - Karl Rove: ‘I Wish The Iraq War Never Existed,’ It Was ‘Osama Bin Laden’s Idea’

On a visit to Ohio yesterday, White House senior political adviser Karl Rove claimed he never wanted the war in Iraq: “I wish the war were over,” Rove said. “I wish the war never existed... History has given us a challenge.” ...In June 2002, Rove was giving PowerPoint presentations candidates advising them to “focus on the war” in their fall campaigns.

In August 2002, Rove was chairing the White House Iraq Group, whose mission was to “develop a strategy for publicizing the White House’s assertion that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the United States.” ...In September 2002, Time reported that when friends asked whether Bush planned to invade Iraq, Rove was been known to reply, “Let me put it this way: If you want to see Baghdad, you’d better visit soon.”

Rove also claimed yesterday that it was bin Laden, not President Bush, who decided to launch the Iraq war: In a question-and-answer period after his speech, Rove was asked whose idea it was to start a pre-emptive war in Iraq. “I think it was Osama bin Laden’s,” Rove replied.