Conyers Challenges Bush's "World is Safer" Conclusion

Washington, DC - Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) today openly questioned President Bush's war justification that the world is safer without Saddam Hussein in power. The second-most senior member of the House of Representatives, Conyers pointed to the recent evidence of coordination between Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Iraqi insurgency leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the recent prevalence of Syrian-based terrorists to show how the world's safety is getting more - not less - dangerous. He issued the following statement:

"Day after day, the president's case for invading Iraq slips farther and farther into the realm of fiction. Last year, he campaigned vigorously on the rationale that overthrowing Saddam Hussein has made the world a safer place. Today, the evidence has stacked up to the contrary.

Yesterday, we learned that the mastermind behind the September 11 terrorist attacks has urged his newfound Iraqi ally to broaden their scope, suggesting that the insurgency leader consider targeting Americans on U.S. soil. Not only has the insurgency steadily grown in strength and number since we invaded Iraq, but now there is reason to believe that the terrorist network in Iraq has the capability of becoming a major collaborator in Al Qaeda's world of terrorism.

Meanwhile, we are watching the rest of the Middle East become a hotbed for terrorism and instability. U.S. officials believe that Syrian-based terrorists are responsible for Friday's suicide bombing in Israel. CIA Director Porter Goss testified last week that our invasion of Iraq has helped recruit and galvanize Islamic extremists across the region. As long as Al Qaeda views Iraq as a "safe haven" for terrorists, the President's war is failing.

Iraq has been nothing but a diversion from a competently fought war on terrorism. We've taken a nation that did not present a credible threat to our safety and created one. It's time for the president to admit his mistakes get back to safeguarding the United States and world against terrorism."

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