[Vision2020] 935 False Statements Made Before War

[Glenn Schwaller]

Well I guess it's comforting to know the Bush administration was standing
alone in their beliefs on stopping Hussein and his WMD program . . .


"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal,
murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a
particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to
miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his
continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction
... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is
real..."
   - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003* *

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority
to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe
that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real
and grave threat to our security."
   - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002* *

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to
develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That
is our bottom line."*
*   - President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We
want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction program."
   - President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security
of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."
*   - *Madeline Albright, Feb 1, 1998* *

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times
since 1983."
*   - *Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S.
Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate,
air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to
the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction
programs."
         Letter to President Clinton.
          Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998
* *

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass
destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he
has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
*   - *Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass
destruction and palaces for his cronies."
*   - *Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999* *

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a
threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate
of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e
means of delivering them."
*   - *Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical
weapons throughout his country."
*   *- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002* *

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to
deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in
power."
*   - *Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002* *

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing
weapons of mass destruction."
*   - *Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002* *

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are
confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and
biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to
build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence
reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
*   - *Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002* *

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively
to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the
next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated
the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
*   - *Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002* *

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that
Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons
stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also
given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members
... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will
continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare,
and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
*   - *Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002* *

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam
Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for
the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
*   - *Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002



Seeya slipping round town Moscow

GS




On Jan 23, 2008 11:52 AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> >From the Army Times at:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/36gyfa
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
>
> Study: 935 false statements made before war
>
> By Douglass K. Daniel - The Associated Press
> Posted : Wednesday Jan 23, 2008 13:12:55 EST
>
> A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President
> Bush
> and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about
> the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001
> terrorist attacks.
>
> The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated
> campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process,
> led
> the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
>
> The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public
> Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.
>
> White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the
> study Tuesday night but reiterated the administration's position that the
> world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.
>
> "The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of
> intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel said.
>
> The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found
> that
> in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and
> administration
> officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had
> weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had
> links to al-Qaida or both.
>
> "It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass
> destruction or have meaningful ties to al-Qaida," according to Charles
> Lewis
> and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff
> members, writing an overview of the study. "In short, the Bush
> administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information
> that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action
> against Iraq on March 19, 2003."
>
> Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the
> administration
> during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security
> adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary
> of
> State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White
> House
> press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.
>
> Bush led with 259 false statements - 231 about weapons of mass destruction
> in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida, the study found. Powell was
> second with 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
> and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.
>
> The center said the study was based on a database created with public
> statements over the two years beginning Sept. 11, 2001, and information
> from
> more than 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.
>
> "The cumulative effect of these false statements - amplified by thousands
> of
> news stories and broadcasts - was massive, with the media coverage
> creating
> an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to
> war," the study concluded.
>
> "Some journalists - indeed, even some entire news organizations - have
> since
> acknowledged that their coverage during those pre-war months was far too
> deferential and uncritical. These mea culpas notwithstanding, much of the
> wall-to-wall media coverage provided additional, 'independent' validation
> of
> the Bush administration's false statements about Iraq," it said.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow, Idaho
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the
> tranquil
> and steady dedication of a lifetime."
>
> --Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.
>
>
>
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