"Have You Forgotten?" Conservatives Erase 9/11 From Bush Record

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"Have You Forgotten?" Conservatives Erase 9/11 From Bush Record

July 14, 2011 4:42 pm ET by Oliver Willis

On yesterday's edition of The Five, Eric Bolling gave a decidedly skewed version of history when he said, "America was certainly safe between 2000 and 2008. I don't remember any terrorist attacks on American soil during that period of time."

Media conservatives have done this before.

In November of 2009, former Bush White House staffer Dana Perino said "we did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term."

Mary Matalin, former counselor to Vice President Cheney, claimed in December 2009 that President Bush "inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation's history."

In January of last year, Rudy Giuliani -- who was the mayor of New York City at the time of the 9/11 attacks -- told Good Morning America that "We had no domestic attacks under Bush."

Of course, 9/11 did happen eight months into Bush's term -- after he'd received a memo warning him "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S."

In a subsequent appearance on CNN, Giuliani said, "I usually say we had no domestic attacks, no major domestic attack under President Bush since Sept. 11" and "I did omit the words 'since Sept. 11.' I apologize for that."

But even the standard, and somewhat bizarre, conservative talking point that Bush somehow prevented terrorist attacks from occurring on American soil after 9/11 is false. Here's a list of terrorist attacks in the U.S. during Bush's presidency:

The Anthrax Attacks: In 2001, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, as well as to several news outlets (including the NY Post).

Attack Against El Al Ticket Counter At LAX: In 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet opened fire at an El Al Airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport killing two people and wounding four others before being shot dead. A 2004 Justice Department report stated that Hadayet's case had been "officially designated as an act of international terrorism."

DC Sniper: The state of Virginia indicted Washington, D.C.-area sniper John Allen Muhammad -- along with his accomplice, a minor at the time -- on terrorism charges for one of the murders he committed during a three-week shooting spree across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Muhammad was convicted, sentenced to death, and subsequently executed for the crime.

UNC SUV Attack: In March 2006, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill graduate Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar drove an SUV into an area of campus, striking nine pedestrians. According to reports, Taheri-azar said he acted because he wanted to "avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world." Taheri-azar also reportedly stated in a letter: "I was aiming to follow in the footsteps of one of my role models, Mohammad Atta, one of the 9/11/01 hijackers, who obtained a doctorate degree."