Palin admits questions about 9/11 and Iraq

NEW YORK, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, in her first paid TV appearance, admitted she had questions about the origins of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attackers.

Palin, appearing Fox News's "The O'Reilly Factor," told host Bill O'Reilly that she was uncertain about whether Iraq was involved in the planning of the terrorist attacks when she was prepping for the 2008 vice presidential debate against Democrat Joe Biden, Politico reported Wednesday.

Fox News announced Tuesday that it signed Palin as a paid contributor and as an occasional host.

Palin, 45, was discussing the new book "Game Change," written by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, of which she said several sections were "a lie" or "made up."

One passage she didn't dispute, however, was her questioning the history of the attack, she said.

"I did talk a lot to (campaign strategist) Steve Schmidt about the history of the war and where the attackers could have come from," Palin said. "I do admit to asking questions about that."

Palin told O'Reilly she was excited about working with Fox News to present "the fair and balanced news that voters of America deserve," she said.

"Fair and balanced" is the conservative news network's tag line. Palin has ripped other media outlets and journalists as distorting her views or too liberal.