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Article: SPECIAL REPORT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Is Iraq the curveball that could dismiss the President? The report that confirmed Iraq had no WMD, Rumsfeld's denial that Saddam and al-Qa'ida were linked, and ex-proconsul Bremer's complaint of lack of manpower may irrevocably have tipped the campaign Kerry's way. Rupert Cornwell asks: is it three strikes and out for President Bush?
- Article from:
- The Independent on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 10, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 The Independent on Sunday. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Just maybe the dreaded "October Surprise" has already happened.
The phenomenon is part of US electoral lore, shorthand for some
unscripted bombshell event that at the climax of the campaign throws
the contest to one of the candidates. But in this volatile, close-
fought and ever more bitter US election, the job may have been done -
by a 1,000-page report bearing the distinctly unpromising title
"Comprehensive Report by the Special Adviser to the DCI on Iraq's
WMD."
In a sense, of course, Charles Duelfer, the man who for the past
nine months has led the search for Saddam Hussein's non-existent
weapons of mass destruction, did not deliver a surprise at all.
Everyone knew there were no ...