Weapons of Mass Destruction:
Who Said What When
May 29, 2003, CounterPunch Wire
Every day Saddam remains in power with
chemical weapons, biological weapons, and the development of
nuclear weapons is a day of danger for the United States.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-CT,
September 4, 2002
Simply stated, there is no doubt that
Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
Dick Cheney August 26, 2002
If we wait for the danger to become clear,
it could be too late.
Sen. Joseph Biden D-Del.,
September 4, 2002
Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving
facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.
George W. Bush September
12, 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
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 January 28,
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
Iraq both poses a continuing threat to
the national security of the United States and international
peace and security in the Persian Gulf region and remains in
material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations
by, among other things, continuing to possess and develop a significant
chemical and biological weapons capability, actively seeking
a nuclear weapons capability, and supporting and harboring terrorist
organizations.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY,
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.
George Bush February 8, 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 March 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 18, 2003
We are asked to accept Saddam decided
to destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably
absurd.
Tony Blair, Prime Minister
18 March, 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 Fleisher 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
I have no doubt we're going to find big
stores of weapons of mass destruction.
Kenneth Adelman, Defense
Policy Board , 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 March 22, 2003
We know where they are. They are in the
area around Tikrit and Baghdad.
Donald Rumsfeld March 30,
2003
Saddam's removal is necessary to eradicate
the threat from his weapons of mass destruction.
Jack Straw,
Foreign Secretary 2 April, 2003
Obviously the administration intends
to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction U.S. forces
find -- and there will be plenty.
Neocon scholar Robert Kagan
April 9, 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
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
Before people crow about the absence
of weapons of mass destruction, I suggest they wait a bit.
Tony Blair 28 April, 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
We'll find them. It'll be a matter of
time to do so.
George Bush May 3, 2003
I am confident that we will find evidence
that makes it clear he had weapons of mass destruction.
Colin Powell May 4, 2003
I never believed that we'd just tumble
over weapons of mass destruction in that country.
Donald Rumsfeld 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 May 6, 2003
U.S. officials never expected that "we
were going to open garages and find" weapons of mass destruction.
Condoleeza Rice 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 May 13, 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 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 May 26, 2003
They may have had time to destroy them,
and I don't know the answer.
Donald Rumsfeld 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.
Paul Wolfowitz May 28, 2003
Weapons of Mass Destruction....fools bray
Posted By: SisKelani
What I want to know why the US is not being transparent about their search of WMD into Iraq, and why won't they let a group of UN inspectors in to add a little validity to their discoveries when (note I said when, not if) they find WMD....
Also I find it at the same time hilarious and sad how the story BEFORE going to war continually changed, and then during the war it changed several more times, and now that it is "over" (I am not STUPID enough to think that it is totally over yet, but for lack of a better term, OVER, is going to have to work) the story is changing again.
First there was reliable and valid intelligence that they had WMDs. Yeah right!!
Then it was, we need more time to find them because Iraq is a big place.
Now it is, Saddam was a master at hiding weapons.
They should really find a LIE and stick with it... all this is very pathetic.
