Sunday, June 5, 2016

Weapons Of Mass Destruction -Who Said What

By Stan G. Kain
October 3, 2003

The U.S. led weapons inspection team, headed by CIA adviser, David Kay, has filed their report with Congress.  Kay says, "We have not found at this point, actual weapons.  It does not mean we've concluded there are no actual weapons.  It means at this point in time, and it's a huge country with a lot to do, that we have not yet found any weapons."  President Junior, meanwhile, is busy defending his attack on Iraq.  He's telling the world that it's not the weapons that are important, rather the potential to have a weapons program.  Is that a change in his position?

The United Nations led inspectors could not find any weapons in Iraq.  They were forced to leave the country before completing their investigation, so we could attack Saddam Hussein.  Now, Mr. Kay and his group of 1,400 people, spending a lot of money, have been unable to find any weapons.  Mr. Kay thinks he needs another six to nine months just to look.  President Junior would like another thirteen months to keep the voters hoping he's right.  After all, there's an election at stake.  The U.S. military, scouring Iraq has also come up empty handed.

So, now we're supposed to forget what the Bush Administration had to say, when trying to get U.N. and U.S. support to initiate war on Iraq.  There's a good chance President Junior will get away with that, if he can just focus voters on the potential threat, rather than what he really said.  Memory fades and quotes are soon forgotten.  As a refresher for Bush Administration statements of fact, regarding Iraq, I'd like to offer some earlier statements used to garner support for this costly war.  Do you remember these "facts," of not so long ago?

"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."
-Vice President Dick Cheney, VFW Nat'l Convention, August 26, 2002

"There is a mountain of evidence that Saddam Hussein is gathering weapons for the purpose of using them.  And adding additional information is like adding a foot to Mount Everest."
-Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, Response to the Press, September 2002

"Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons. 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."
-President George W. Bush, Speech to the U.N. General Assembly, October 5, 2002

"The Iraqi regime...possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons.  We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, Sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas."
-President George W. Bush, Cincinnati, Ohio speech, October 7, 2002

"After eleven years during which we have tried containment, sanctions, inspections, even selected military action, the end result is that Saddam Hussein still has chemical and biological weapons and is increasing his capabilities to make more.  And, he is moving ever closer to developing a nuclear weapon."
-President George W. Bush, Cincinnati, Ohio speech, October 7, 2002

"Iraq could decide on any given day to provide biological or chemical weapons to a terrorist group or to individual terrorists,...The War on Terror will not be won until Iraq is completely and verifiably (sic) deprived of weapons of mass destruction."
-Vice President Dick Cheney, Denver address to National Guard, December 1, 2002

"If he declares he has none (weapons of mass destruction), then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world."
-Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, Response to questions from the press, December 4, 2002

"The President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would not assert as plainly and bluntly as they have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction if it was not true, and if they did not have a solid basis for saying it."
-Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, Response to questions from the press, December 4, 2002

"We know for a fact that there are weapons there."
-Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, Press briefing, January 9, 2002

"I am absolutely convinced, based on the information that's been given to me, that the weapon of mass destruction which can kill more people than an atomic bomb-that is, biological weapons-is in the hands of the leadership of Iraq."
-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MSNBC Interview, January 10, 2003

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.  Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production."
-President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28, 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."
-President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003

"We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more."
-Secretary of State Colin Powell, Remarks to U.N. Security Council, February 5, 2003

"There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more.  And he has the ability to dispense these lethal poisons and diseases in ways that can cause massive death and destruction.  If biological weapons seem too terrible to contemplate, chemical weapons are equally chilling."
-Secretary of State Colin Powell, Addresses the U.N. Security Council, February 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."
-President George W. Bush, Radio Address, February 26, 2003

"In Iraq, a dictator is building and hiding weapons that could enable him to dominate the Middle East and intimidate the civilized world-and we will not allow it."
-President George W. Bush, Speech to American Enterprise Institute, February 26, 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...But the suggestion that we are doing this because we want to go to every country in the Middle East and rearrange all of its pieces is not correct."
-Secretary of State Colin Powell, Interview with Radio France International, February 28, 2003

"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraqi regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
-President George W. Bush, Address to the Nation, March 17, 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."
-General Tommy Franks, Press Conference, March 22, 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

"I have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass destruction."
-Defense Policy Board Member Kenneth Adelman, Washington Post, March 23, 2003

"We know where they are (WMD's).  They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."
-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Press Conference, April 9, 2003

"We simply cannot live in fear of a ruthless dictator, aggressor and terrorist such as Saddam Hussein, who possesses the world's most deadly weapons."
-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Speech to American Israel Political Action Committee, March 31, 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."
-Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, Press Briefing, April 10, 2003

"I have absolute confidence that there are weapons of mass destruction inside this country.  Whether we will turn out, at the end of the day, to find them in one of the 2,000 or 3,000 sites we already know about or whether contact with one of these officials who we may come in contact with will tell us.  "Oh, well, there's actually another site," and we'll find it there, I'm not sure."
-General Tommy Franks, Fox News, April 13, 2003

"We'll find them.  It'll be a matter of time to do so."
-President George W. Bush, Remarks to Reporters, May 3, 2003

"I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction thare and the evidence will be forthcoming.  We're just getting it just now."
-Secretary of State Colin Powell, Remarks to Reporters, May 4, 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."
General Richard Myers, NBC Today Show Interview, May 26, 2003

"They may have had time to destroy them, and I don't know the answer."
-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Remarks to Council on Foreign Relations, May 27, 2003

"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."
-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Vanity Fair Interview, May 28, 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."
-Major General Keith Dayton, Press Conference, May 30, 2003

"This wasn't material I was making up, it came from the intelligence community."
-Secretary of State Colin Powell, Press briefing, June 2, 2003

"No one ever said that we knew precisely where all of these agents were, where they were stored."
-National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, Meet the Press, June 8, 2003

"A British scientist and biological weapons expert, who has examined the trailers in Iraq, told The Observer last week: "They are not mobile germ warfare laboratories.  You could not even use them for making biological weapons.  They do not even look like them.  They are exactly what the Iraqis said they were-facilities for the production of hydrogen gas to fill balloons."
-Unnamed British Weapons Expert, The Observer, June 15, 2003

Yes, some very interesting quotes and reminders for all of us.  We're led to believe there were thousands of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.  Now, they're like looking for a needle in a haystack.  The Iraqis keep telling us the weapons don't even exist and their story is looking more credible all the time.  In fact, at times, I think I know where "Baghdad Bob" went to work after the fall of Iraq.

While domestic issues are ignored, President Junior and his geriatric Reaganites are busy buying time.  They have an election to sell.  I wonder how long our close allies, the United Nations and American voters are willing to wait.  Recent polls indicate there is a change in the air.  Democrats are hoping the change will continue through the next Presidential election.

If you have questions or comments, please email Stan.

Ⓒ 2003 Stan G. Kain



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