Lies my government told me or How to sell an illegal war.

by ChrisSal

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

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

The world is also uniting to answer the unique and urgent threat posed by Iraq.
– George W. Bush, Nov. 23, 2002

We know for a fact that there are weapons there.
– White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, Jan. 9, 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

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

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

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

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

But make no mistake - as I said earlier - we have high confidence (I thought there was no doubt?) 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

Then, all of a sudden...

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 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

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

Let’s not forget tying Saddam to 9/11

On November 7, 2002, President Bush said that Saddam Hussein” is a threat because he is dealing with Al Qaeda. . . . A true threat facing our country is that an Al Qaeda-type network trained and armed by Saddam could attack America and not leave one fingerprint.”

“Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaeda” (2003 SOU)

In his February 5, 2003 address to the United Nations, Secretary Powell stated that “what I want to bring to your attention today is the potentially much more sinister nexus between Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network, a nexus that combines classic terrorist organizations with modern methods of mass murder. Iraq today harbors a deadly terrorist network headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi an associate and collaborator of Osama bin laden and his al-Qaeda lieutenants.”

On July 24, 2003, Vice President Cheney cited Iraq’s “ties to terrorist groups” as a justification for the war.

In his “victory” speech on the USS Lincoln, Bush proclaimed “We have removed an ally of Al Qaeda.”

President Bush sent a letter to Congress on 3/19/03 saying that the Iraq war was permitted specifically under legislation that authorized force against “nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.”

Vice President Cheney said on 9/14/03 “I think it’s not surprising that people make that connection” between Saddam and 9/11—he had no evidence to back up his claim. (91) In September 2003, Cheney claimed US success in Iraq is “a major blow right at the heart of the . . . geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9-11.”

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