Bush just trotted out one of his Stepford Aides to give a press briefing on Homeland Security the growing threat of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Fran Townsend, Bush's Homeland Security Advisor, gave a robotic reading from declassified portions of a National Intelligence Estimate that was long on rhetoric but short on intelligence.

The bottom line is that al-Qaida is stronger in Iraq because our invasion of Iraq has weakened them, or something. It was mostly incoherent, except that we must stay in Iraq to keep us safe here.

Townsend also reiterated the alleged "link" between al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks, and asserted that because al-Qaida is now in Iraq they have access to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons, and they will not hesitate to use them against us.

Here's the AP report.

(*Oh, and in case you didn't get the headline joke... although it's not really a laughing matter.)