Three Years Ago Today, Bush Misled Us Into War

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http://thinkprogress.org/cincinnati-bungles/

 

 

 

Three Years Ago Today, Bush Misled Us Into War

 

Three years ago today, President Bush visited Cincinnati to deliver a

major address outlining the reasons for war, just as Congress was

considering whether to vote in favor of giving Bush the authorization

to attack Iraq. On October 7, 2002, Bush made a number of misleading

and exaggerated statements about the Iraqi threat.

 

We've conducted a line-by-line debunking of Bush's 2002 speech that

demonstrates how the American public was misled into the Iraq war. See

the full report here.

 

 

OCTOBER 7, 2002: Bush Misled Us Into War

 

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Three years ago today, President Bush visited Cincinnati to deliver a

major address outlining the reasons for war, just as Congress was

considering whether to vote in favor of giving Bush the authorization

to attack Iraq. On October 7, 2002, Bush made a number of misleading

and exaggerated statements about the Iraqi threat.

Threat of Nuclear Weapons

 

Bush: " Knowing these realities, America must not ignore the threat

gathering against us. 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. " [bush remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: Duelfer Report: Saddam Was Not Planning to Restart Nuclear

Program. " Saddam Husayn ended the nuclear program in 1991 following

the Gulf war. ISG found no evidence to suggest concerted efforts to

restart the program. Although Saddam clearly assigned a high value to

the nuclear progress and talent that had been developed up to the 1991

war, the program ended and the intellectual capital decayed in the

succeeding years. " [Duelfer Report, Key Findings]

 

* FACT: Senate Intelligence Committee Reported That Intelligence

Estimates Said Iraq Did Not Have Nuclear Weapons. The Senate

Intelligence Committee reported, " After reviewing all of the

intelligence provided by the Intelligence Community and additional

information requested by the Committee, the Committee believes that

the judgment in the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), that Iraq

was reconstituting its nuclear program, was not supported by the

intelligence. The Committee agrees with the State Department's Bureau

of Intelligence and Research (INR) alternative view that the available

intelligence `does not add up to a compelling case for

reconstitution.' " [senate Intelligence Committee Report, Conclusion #27]

 

* FACT: Bush Administration Rhetoric Was " Significant Shift " From

Intelligence Estimate. " The [senate Intelligence Committee] report

said the CIA made a `significant shift' in its position two months

after Cheney began stating publicly that Iraq had actively

reconstituted its nuclear weapons program. The intelligence estimate,

which echoed the administration's public claims, `was not supported by

the intelligence' and relied on misstatements, concealment of doubts

and suppression of evidence. " [Washington Post, 7/10/04]

Saddam Had WMD

 

Bush: " [iraq] possesses and produces chemical and biological

weapons…Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to

weapons of mass destruction. " [bush remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: Duelfer Report: Saddam Was Not Planning to Restart Nuclear

Program. " Saddam Husayn ended the nuclear program in 1991 following

the Gulf war. ISG found no evidence to suggest concerted efforts to

restart the program. Although Saddam clearly assigned a high value to

the nuclear progress and talent that had been developed up to the 1991

war, the program ended and the intellectual capital decayed in the

succeeding years. " [Duelfer Report, Key Findings]

 

* FACT: David Kay Said No WMD Stockpiles In Iraq. Weapons Inspector

David Kay told the US Senate that " … it is highly unlikely that there

were large stockpiles of deployed militarized chemical and biological

weapons there… I think there are no large — were no large stockpiles

of WMD. " [Kay Testimony, 1/28/04]

 

* FACT: Duelfer Report: Iraq Had No Strategy or Plan After Sanctions.

Duelfer: " The regime had no formal written strategy or plan for the

revival of W.M.D. after sanctions. " [CNN, 1/12/05]

Iraqi Scientists Reconstituting Nuclear Weapons

 

Bush: " The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear

weapons program. Saddam Hussein has held numerous meetings with Iraqi

nuclear scientists, a group he calls his `nuclear mujahedeen,' his

nuclear holy warriors. " [bush remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: Scientists Were Working On Non-Nuclear Projects. Despite

Bush's allegation that Hussein met often with Iraqi scientists, he

" did not disclose that the known work of the scientists was largely

benign. Iraq's three top gas centrifuge experts, for example, ran a

copper factory, an operation to extract graphite from oil and a

mechanical engineering design center at Rashidiya. " [Washington Post,

8/10/03]

 

* FACT: Scientist Said Weapons Didn't Exist After 1991. " A scientist

who headed Iraq's nuclear programme said deposed Iraqi leader Saddam

Hussein had given up all weapons of mass destruction in the wake of

the 1991 Gulf War. `There was no capability. There was no chemical or

biological or any what are called weapons of mass destruction,' Jaffar

Dhia Jaffar said in what BBC television called his first-ever

broadcast interview. Speaking in Paris, where he now lives, Jaffar —

who ran Saddam's nuclear programme for 25 years — said there was `no

development' of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons `at any time

after 1991.' He said he knew that for a fact `because I am in touch

with the people concerned.' " [Agence France Press, 8/12/04]

Aluminum Tubes To Produce Weapons

 

Bush: " Iraq has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes and

other equipment needed for gas centrifuges, which are used to enrich

uranium for nuclear weapons. " [bush remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: Senate Intelligence Report Found Aluminum Tubes Were Not Being

Used To Reconstitute Nuclear Weapons. The Senate Intel Committee

found, " Numerous intelligence reports provided to the Committee showed

that Iraq was trying to procure high-strength aluminum tubes. The

Committee believes that the information available to the Intelligence

Community indicated that these tubes were intended to be used for an

Iraqi conventional rocket program and not a nuclear program. " [senate

Intelligence Committee Report, Conclusion #29]

 

* FACT: No Evidence That Iraq's Nuclear Program Was Being

Reconstituted. According to a study by the Carnegie Endowment for

International Peace, " Iraq's nuclear program had been dismantled and

there was no convincing evidence of its reconstitution. " [CEIP: " WMD

In Iraq, " 1/2004]

 

* FACT: Duelfer: Aluminum Tubes Not For Nuclear Weapons. Duelfer:

" That is my judgment that those — those tubes were most likely

destined for a rocket program. " [Duelfer hearing, 10/7/04]

Iraq Developing UAVs

 

Bush: " We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a

growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be

used to disperse chemical and biological weapons across broad areas.

We're concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using these UAVs for

missions targeting the United States. " [bush remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: Air Force Reported That It Was Not Convinced About Drones. The

Wall Street Journal reported that, " In making its case for war with

Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration painted a much more

threatening picture of Iraqi drones than was justified, according to

Air Force intelligence estimates now coming to light….The Air Force,

which has expertise in designing such unmanned aerial vehicles, or

UAVs, was never convinced Baghdad had developed drones capable of

effectively distributing chemical and biological weapons as the White

House claimed. " [Wall Street Journal, 9/10/03]

 

* FACT: UN Chief Weapons Inspector Said No Evidence of Iraqi UAV

Program Existed. The Washington Post reported, " The United Nations'

chief weapons inspector has concluded there is no evidence that Saddam

Hussein's government ever developed unpiloted drones capable of

dispersing chemical and biological weapons agents on enemy targets. "

[Washington Post, 9/5/04]

Iraq/Al Qaeda Relationship

 

Bush: " We know that Iraq and the Al Qaida terrorist network share a

common enemy: the United States of America. We know that Iraq and Al

Qaida have had high-level contacts that go back a decade. " [bush

remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: 9-11 Commission Report: No " Collaborative Operational

Relationship " Between Iraq/al Qaeda. " We have seen no evidence that

these or the earlier contacts ever developed into a collaborative

operational relationship. Nor have we seen evidence indicating that

Iraq cooperated with al Qaeda in developing or carrying out any

attacks against the United States. " [9-11 Commission Final Report,

7/22/04]

 

* FACT: Senate Intelligence Committee: No " Established, Formal "

Relationship Between Iraq/al Qaeda. " The Senate Intelligence

Committee's report said CIA analysts were reasonable in their

conclusion that there was no `established, formal' relationship

between Iraq and Al Qaeda, nor proof that the two had collaborated in

attacks. The committee noted that no new information had emerged since

the CIA's key reports to suggest otherwise. " [Los Angeles Times, 7/10/04]

Zarqawi Presence In Iraq

 

Bush: " Some Al Qaida leaders who fled Afghanistan went to Iraq. These

include one very senior Al Qaida leader who received medical treatment

in Baghdad this year and who has been associated with planning for

chemical and biological attacks. " [bush remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: Zarqawi Operated In Area Outside Saddam's Control. Zarqawi was

widely regarded to be the " leader " of Ansar al-Islam prior to the war

against Iraq. However, according to the AP, " Ansar al-Islam operated

in a region of northern Iraq that was outside of Saddam's control

before the war. It was bombed by U.S. warplanes during the fighting. "

[AP, 1/24/04]

 

* FACT: Zarqawi Operated Independently of Saddam. In a statement to

the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2004, " CIA Director

George J. Tenet described Zarqawi's network among other groups having

`links' to al Qaeda but with its own `autonomous leadership… own

targets [and] they plan their own attacks.' Although Zarqawi may have

cooperated with al Qaeda in the past, U.S. officials say it is

increasingly clear he had been operating independently of Osama bin

Laden's organization. " [Washington Post, 6/16/04]

Bush Linking Iraq to 9/11

 

Bush: " Some citizens wonder, `After 11 years of living with this

problem, why do we need to confront it now?' And there's a reason. We

have experienced the horror of September the 11th. " [bush remarks,

10/7/02]

 

* FACT: Bush Distanced Himself From Connection Between Saddam and 9/11.

Bush: " This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were

orchestrated between Saddam and Al Qaida. " [bush, 6/17/04]

 

Bush: " We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the

September 11th. " [bush, 9/17/03]

Plan For War

 

Bush: " If we have to act, we will take every precaution that is

possible. We will plan carefully. " [bush remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: Secret Joint Chiefs Report: Pentagon Planners Not Given Time

To Plan for Reconstruction In Post-War Iraq. In August 2003, a Joint

Chiefs of Staff prepared a secret report called " Operation Iraqi

Freedom Strategic Lessons Learned. " The report, described by the

Washington Times, blamed " setbacks in Iraq on a flawed and rushed

war-planning process that `limited the focus' for preparing for

post-Saddam Hussein operations. " The Washington Times noted that the

Joint Chiefs report " reveals discrepancies in the planning process. It

says planners were not given enough time to put together the best

blueprint for what is called Phase IV—the ongoing reconstruction of

Iraq. " [Washington Times, 9/3/03]

 

* FACT: Pentagon Ignored Early State Department Predictions Of

Post-War Problems. A New York Times report found that, " A yearlong

State Department study predicted many of the problems that have

plagued the American-led occupation of Iraq. " The study was produced

by experts on Iraq from various fields, yet " several officials said

that many of the findings in the $5 million study were ignored by

Pentagon officials " until after the war. [New York Times, 10/19/03]

 

* FACT: Bush Admitted Miscalculations. George Bush admitted in an

interview that " he made a `miscalculation of what the conditions would

be' in postwar Iraq. " [Washington Post, 8/31/04]

War With Iraq Link To War on Terror

 

Bush: " Some have argued that confronting the threat from Iraq could

detract from the war against terror. To the contrary, confronting the

threat posed by Iraq is crucial to winning the war on terror. " [bush

remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: War In Iraq Hurt War On Terror. Former Bush counterterrorism

coordinator Richard Clarke believes that by going to war in Iraq, " we

delivered to Al Qaeda the greatest recruitment propaganda imaginable. "

Clarke testified before the 9/11 commission and said that " by invading

Iraq, the president of the United States has greatly undermined the

war on terrorism. " [Newsweek, 4/12/04; Clarke 9/11 Commission

Testimony, 3/24/04]

Al Qaeda Members Trained In Bomb-Making In Iraq

 

Bush: " We've learned that Iraq has trained al Qaeda members in

bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases. " [bush remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: 9-11 Commission Report Said Iraq-Al Qaeda Link Was False.

" Although there have been suggestions of contacts between Iraq and Al

Qaeda regarding chemical weapons and explosive trainings, the most

detailed information alleging such ties came from an Al Qaeda

operative who recanted much of his original information. " [9-11

Commission Report, footnote p.470]

 

* FACT: Bush Admin Questionable Rhetoric Cited As Facts. A Senate

report prepared by the C.I.A. in September 2002 on " Iraqi Ties to

Terrorism " described claims that Iraq had provided " training in

poisons and gases " to al Qaeda members, but " it cautioned that the

information had come from `sources of varying reliability.' " By

contrast, " Most public statements by Mr. Bush and other administration

officials on the matter described the assertions as matters of fact. "

[New York Times, 7/30/04]

Iraq's Long-Range Missiles

 

Bush: " Iraq possesses ballistic missiles with a likely range of

hundreds of miles – far enough to strike Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey,

and other nations – in a region where more than 135,000 American

civilians and service members live and work. " [bush remarks, 10/7/02]

 

* FACT: Inspectors Findings Disprove Bush Claims. " Inspectors have

found that the Al Samoud-2 missiles can travel less than 200 miles —

not far enough to hit the targets Bush named. Iraq has not accounted

for 14 medium-range Scud missiles from the 1991 Persian Gulf War, but

the administration has not presented any evidence that they still

exist. " [Washington Post, 3/18/03]