The memory hole was George Orwell’s negative image of a mid-20th century office building’s pneumatic tube system in 1984. Documents with facts that no longer fit Oceania’s meme of the day were simply tossed into it, where they would be instantly incinerated by scalding flames. It was based on the old adage, “In the Soviet Union, the future is known; it’s the past which is always changing.”
Since 9/11, the memory hole has gotten quite a workout by the mainstream media, as any connection between Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and terrorism has gone up in smoke, but fortunately, the Blogosphere isn’t quite as forgetful. We posted some examples last year of the press in the Clinton-era 1990s discussing Osama bin Laden’s connections with Saddam Hussein, and Christopher Hitchens has noted two more terrorists that Saddam gleefully sponsored–one of whom was the architect of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Fritz Hollings, the recently retired Democrat senator from South Carolina, entered yet another example into the Congressional record on September 12, 2002. Didn’t hear about it until Captain’s Quarters rediscovered it today? You’re not alone, despite its ready access via Google.
Update: Curt of Flopping Aces notes:
According those on the left Saddam never would have helped Osama. Here we have a editorial by Saddam’s own newspaper, which you know would never have been printed if Saddam disapproved, telling the world about Osama’s plan…and gleeful about it.
But still you will hear the left screaming, “there is no proof!”
Be sure to check out the other posts in his Connections series.
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