What They Thought
They Knew and When They Thought They Knew It
Just for the
record, here are some of the statements about Iraq’s weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) made by representatives of the Bush administration
as they ratcheted up the pressure for war in 2002 and 2003. Simply
stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass
destruction. (Dick Cheney, speech to VFW National Convention,
Aug. 26, 2002) Right
now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the
production of biological weapons. (George W. Bush,
speech to UN General Assembly, Sept. 12, 2002) No
terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security
of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam
Hussein in Iraq. (Donald Rumsfeld, testimony to Congress,
Sept. 19, 2002) Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud. (George W. Bush, October 7, 2002) The
world is also uniting to answer the unique and urgent threat posed by
Iraq. (George W. Bush, Nov. 23, 2002) If
he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once
again misleading the world. (White House spokesman Ari Fleischer,
press briefing, Dec. 2, 2002) We
know for a fact that there are weapons there. (White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, Jan. 9, 2003) What
we know from UN inspectors over the course of the last decade is that
Saddam Hussein possesses thousands of chemical warheads, that he possesses
hundreds of liters of very dangerous toxins that can kill millions of
people. (White House spokesman Dan Bartlett, CNN interview, Jan. 26, 2003) Our
intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials
to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve agent….
The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought
significant quantities of uranium from Africa. (George W. Bush,
State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003) We
know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction,
is determined to make more. (Colin Powell, remarks
to UN Security Council, Feb. 5, 2003) We
have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi
field commanders to use chemical weapons - the very weapons the dictator
tells us he does not have. (George W. Bush, radio address, Feb.
8, 2003) If
Iraq had disarmed itself, gotten rid of its weapons of mass destruction
over the past 12 years, or over the last several months since [UN Resolution]
1441 was enacted, we would not be facing the crisis that we now have
before us. (Colin Powell, interview with Radio France International, Feb. 28,
2003) So
has the strategic decision been made to disarm Iraq of its weapons of
mass destruction by the leadership in Baghdad?….I think our judgment
has to be clearly not. (Colin Powell, remarks to UN Security Council,
March 7, 2003) Intelligence
gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq
regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons
ever devised. (George W. Bush, address to the U.S., March 17, 2003) The
people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live
at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons
of mass murder. (George W. Bush, address to U.S., March 19, 2003) Well,
there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq
has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly…..All
this will be made clear in the course of the operation, for whatever
duration it takes. (White House spokesman Ari Fleisher, press
briefing, March 21, 2003) There
is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass
destruction. And….as this operation continues, those weapons will be
identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and
who guard them. (Gen. Tommy Franks, press conference, March
22, 2003) I
have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass destruction.
(Defense Policy Board member Kenneth Adelman, The Washington Post,
March 23, 2003) One
of our top objectives is to find and destroy the WMD. There are a number
of sites. (Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clark, press
briefing, March 22, 2003) We
know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and
east, west, south, and north somewhat. (Donald Rumsfeld,
ABC interview, March 30, 2003) Obviously
the administration intends to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction
U.S. forces find - and there will be plenty. (Robert Kagan, The
Washington Post, April 9, 2003) But
make no mistake - as I said earlier - we have high confidence that they
have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about and
it is about. And we have high confidence it will be found. (White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, April 10, 2003) We
are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi scientists
and people within the Iraqi structure, that perhaps he destroyed some,
perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them. (George W. Bush,
NBC interview, April 24, 2003) There
are people who in large measure have information that we need….so that
we can track down the weapons of mass destruction in that country. (Donald Rumsfeld, press briefing, April 25, 2003) We'll
find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so. (George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, May 3, 2003) I'm
absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and
the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it just now. (Colin Powell, remarks to reporters, May 4, 2003) I'm
not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam Hussein
– because he had a weapons program. (George W. Bush,
remarks to reporters, May 6, 2003) We
said what we said because we meant it…..We continue to have confidence
that WMD will be found. (White House spokesman Ari Fleischer,
press briefing, May 7, 2003) Before
the war, there's no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein had weapons
of mass destruction, biological and chemical. I expected them to be
found. I still expect them to be found. (Gen. Michael Hagee, Commandant of
the Marine Corps, interview with reporters, May 21, 2003) Given
time, given the number of prisoners now that we're interrogating, I'm
confident that we're going to find weapons of mass destruction. (Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, NBC Today Show
interview, May 26, 2003) Do
I think we're going to find something? Yeah, I kind of do, because I
think there's a lot of information out there." (Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton, Defense Intelligence Agency, press conference,
May 30, 2003) You
remember when Colin Powell stood up in front of the world, and he said
Iraq has got laboratories, mobile labs to build biological weapons....They're
illegal. They're against the United Nations resolutions, and we've so
far discovered two [the labs were later judged to not contain any such
weapons, that they most likely were used for weather balloons]. And
we'll find more weapons as time goes on, But for those who say we haven't
found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong.
We found them. (George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, May 31, 2003) The
backpedaling begins:) We
never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction
in that country. (Donald Rumsfeld, Fox News interview, May
4, 2003) U.S.
officials never expected that "we were going to open garages and
find" weapons of mass destruction. (Condoleeza Rice,
Reuters interview, May 12, 2003) I
just don't know whether it was all destroyed years ago - I mean, there's
no question that there were chemical weapons years ago - whether they
were destroyed right before the war [or] whether they're still hidden.
(Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, Commander 101st Airborne, press briefing,
May 13, 2003) I
don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that
Iraq had nuclear weapons. [SEE NEXT QUOTE] (Donald Rumsfeld,
Senate appropriations subcommittee on defense hearing, May 14, 2003) We
believe [Hussein] has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons. (Dick Cheney, NBC's Meet the Press, March 16, 2003) They
may have had time to destroy them, and I don't know the answer. (Donald Rumsfeld, remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations, May
27, 2003) It
was a surprise to me then - it remains a surprise to me now - that we
have not uncovered weapons, as you say, in some of the forward dispersal
sites. Believe me, it's not for lack of trying. We've been to virtually
every ammunition supply point between the Kuwaiti border and Baghdad,
but they're simply not there. (Lt. Gen. James Conway, 1st Marine Expeditionary
Force, press interview, May 30, 2003) I
think some in the media have chosen to use the word 'imminent.’ Those
were not words we used. We used 'grave and gathering' threat. [SEE NEXT
QUOTE] (White House spokesman Scott McClellan, press briefing, Jan. 31, 2004) This
is about an imminent threat. (White House spokesman
Scott McClellan, press briefing, Feb. 10, 2003) After
being asked whether Hussein was an “imminent” threat: Well, of course
he is (White House spokesman Dan Bartlett, CNN interview, Jan. 26, 2003) After
being asked whether the U.S. went to war because officials said Hussein’s
alleged weapons were a direct, imminent threat to the U.S.: Absolutely.
(White House spokesman Ari Fleischer,
press briefing, May 7, 2003) And
finally, some truth:) We
urge you to... enunciate a new strategy that would secure the interests
of the U.S. and our friends and allies around the world. That strategy
should aim, above all, at the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from
power. (Letter to President Clinton, signed by Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and others,
Jan. 26, 1998, http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm) The
U.S. should assert its military dominance over the world to shape “the
international security order in line with American principles and interests,”
push for “regime change” in Iraq and China, among other countries, and
“fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theater wars….While
the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification,
the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends
the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.” (“Rebuilding America’s
Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century,” The Project
for the New American Century [members include Cheney and Rumsfeld],
Sept. 2000) Judge
whether good enough [to] hit S.H. [Saddam Hussein] at the same time.
Not only UBL [Osama bin Laden]….Go massive. Sweep it all up. Things
related and not. (Donald Rumsfeld notes, Philadelphia Daily News, Sept. 11, 2001) For
bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction,
[as justification for invading Iraq] because it was the one reason everyone
could agree on. (Paul Wolfowitz, Vanity Fair interview,
May 28, 2003) From
the very beginning, there was a conviction, that Saddam Hussein was
a bad person and that he needed to go. Going after Saddam was topic
"A" ten days after the inauguration - eight months before
Sept. 11. (former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, CBS’ 60 Minutes, Jan. 11,
2004) I
don't think they [WMD] existed. What everyone was talking about is stockpiles
produced after the end of the last [1991] Gulf War, and I don't think
there was a large-scale production program in the '90s. (David Kay, former chief weapons inspector of the UN Special Commission
on Iraq, Reuters, Jan. 24, 2004) Intelligence
“analysts never said there was an imminent threat" from Iraq before
the war. (CIA Director George Tenet, speech, Feb.
5, 2004 |