Drew Brees believed he was making a trenchant point on Twitter when he likened the NFL's "bounty" investigation to the U.S. military's fruitless search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

If Brees was attempting to be provocative, well, mission accomplished. But after further consideration -- and a dollop of bad press -- the New Orleans Saints quarterback felt the need to clarify.

My WMD comment has nothing to do with politics or our brave military. Merely an analogy to show how media influences public perception - Drew Brees (@drewbrees) June 19, 2012

I apologize if the WMD comment offended anyone. Especially our military. There is no one I respect more than our service men and women - Drew Brees (@drewbrees) June 19, 2012

Brees is as media savvy as they come in the game, so his backtracking isn't a surprise. President George W. Bush's insistence that Saddam Hussein was harboring WMDs was the impetus for a war. Brees clearly didn't mean any disrespect by it, but it was a pretty heavy analogy to draw.