From today's Center for American Progress:

RUMSFELD RESORTS BACK TO CONNECTING IRAQ AND 9/11: At his daily Pentagon briefing Monday, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was asked why the mission in Iraq is vital to American interests? He answered: "The reason it seems to me, one only has to go back and think about September 11th where we lost 3,000 innocent men, women and children and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars." He was then asked "Has [the war] still been worth the cost in your opinion?" Rumsfeld answered: "Well, think back what 9/11 cost us. September 11th cost us 3,000 lives and hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars. That's what it cost the American people and it seems to me that free people have to be free...And the only way to deal with terrorists is to take the battle to them, so I do think it's worth it." Of course, President Bush last month admitted that Saddam had no connection to 9/11, refuting claims by his own Vice President and members of his Administration. And while Condoleezza Rice claimed on 9/16/03, “We have never claimed that Saddam Hussein ... had either direction or control of 9/11" - the fact remains that the subtle and fear-mongering hints like Rumsfeld's continue unabated.