posted on February 3, 2004 10:39:24 AM new
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."
-- Dick Cheney, August 26 2002
"If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world."
-- Ari Fleischer, December 2 2002
"We know for a fact that there are weapons there."
-- Ari Fleischer, January 9 2003
"We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more."
-- Colin Powell, February 5 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."
-- Ari Fleischer, March 21 2003
"There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. 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, March 22 2003
"We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad."
-- Donald Rumsfeld, March 30 2003
"I think you have always heard, and you continue to hear from officials, a measure of high confidence that, indeed, the weapons of mass destruction will be found."
-- Ari Fleischer, April 10 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, April 25 2003
"I am confident that we will find evidence that makes it clear he had weapons of mass destruction."
-- Colin Powell, May 4 2003
"Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons."
-- George W. Bush, September 12 2002
"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent."
-- George W. Bush, State of the Union address, January 28 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 Bush, February 8 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 Bush, March 17 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 Bush, April 24 2003
"We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so."
-- George Bush, May 3 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, May 6 2003
We impeach liars, don't we?
You have the right to an informed opinion -Harlan Ellison
posted on February 3, 2004 12:13:55 PM new
Clone this, o bear of laughable ad homs. You don't like seeing the quotes?
"President Bush's national security adviser Wednesday said Saddam Hussein has sheltered al Qaeda terrorists in Baghdad and helped train some in chemical weapons development -- information she said has been gleaned from captives in the ongoing war on terrorism.
The comments by Condoleezza Rice were the strongest and most specific to date on the White House's accusations linking al Qaeda and Iraq.
The accusations followed those made by President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who earlier in the day said the United States has evidence linking Iraq and al Qaeda, but they did not elaborate. And the charges came as the White House sought to dispel accusations by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who blasted the administration for an "outrageous" effort to seek political gain from the Iraq debate.
Meanwhile, President Bush will meet with House Democrats and Republicans this morning at the White House to specifically discuss Iraq. Bush is expected to speak in the Rose Garden immediately following the meeting.
In an interview with PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," Rice said the U.S. government clearly knows "that there were in the past and have been contacts between senior Iraqi officials and members of al Qaeda going back for actually quite a long time."
VIDEO
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice says Iraq has sheltered al Qaeda terrorists and helped train some in chemical weapons development (September 26)
PLAY VIDEO
"We know too that several of the detainees, in particular some high-ranking detainees, have said that Iraq provided some training to al Qaeda in chemical weapons development," Rice said.
"So, yes, there are contacts between Iraq and al Qaeda. We know that Saddam Hussein has a long history with terrorism in general. And there are some al Qaeda personnel who found refuge in Baghdad," she said. "There clearly are contacts between al Qaeda and Iraq that can be documented."
At the same time, she cautioned that "no one is trying to make an argument at this point that Saddam Hussein somehow had operational control of what happened on September 11th, so we don't want to push this too far."
Rice added: "This is a story that is unfolding, and it is getting clear, and we're learning more. ... When the picture is clear, we'll make full disclosure about it."
"There clearly are contacts between al Qaeda and Iraq that can be documented," Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday in a PBS interview.
With the administration trying to build support at the United Nations and in Congress for possible military action against Iraq, the White House in recent days has sought to place its push to depose Saddam in the context of the war on terrorism, warning that Iraq could give nuclear, biological or chemical weapons to terrorist groups like al Qaeda -- the group responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans in four attacks September 11, 2001.
Bush Wednesday warned that al Qaeda could become "an extension of Saddam's madness."
"Both of them need to be dealt with," Bush told reporters at the White House. "You can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror."
Seeking to fend off criticism from Democrats, he called the Iraq issue "a legitimate national security concern."
"I view it as my main obligation -- that is to protect the American people," he said.
Speaking in Poland, Rumsfeld said U.S. officials shared information linking Iraq and al Qaeda with NATO defense ministers meeting in Warsaw.
"The deputy director of central intelligence briefed on that subject. I have no desire to go beyond saying the answer is yes," Rumsfeld told reporters. "
