Tuesday, September 12, 2006

FactCheck.Org Calls Terror Ad Misleading

FactCheck.org checks up on the new terrorism ad running here in Missouri.

Here's its summary:

"The pro-Bush group Progress for America is running a TV ad appealing directly to Americans' fear of terrorists, saying bluntly "These people want to kill us." That's true enough. But the ad falsely attributes the recent thwarting of a hijack plot to the President's warrantless NSA wiretaps, when it was actually British authorities who uncovered it. The ad also distorts the position of Iraq war critics, implying they propose to withdraw from "the Middle East" and not just Iraq," writes Director Brooks Jackson.

"And in a bit of bad luck, the ad cites the case of al-Qeda affiliate Zarqawi as evidence of the success of Bush's anti-terror campaign – one day before the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report saying Saddam Hussein considered him an outlaw and tried to have him arrested."

For the group's full analysis, and a point-by-point list of "misleading claims," click here.

FactCheck.Org describes itself as a non-partisan, non-profit consumer advocate for voters. The Annenburg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenburg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

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