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It's Thursday - Let the game begin......

Mar 3, 2004 5:16PM PST

"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 Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [the USA], but what happens there matters a
great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will
use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is
the greatest security threat we face."
- Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 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

"We 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, signed by Sen. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John
Kerry, and 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

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons
programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear
programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In
addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless
using the cover of a elicit missile program to develop longer-range
missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
- Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others,
December 5, 2001

"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
mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass
destruction and the 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

"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

"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

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years,
every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and
destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity.
This he has refused to do"
- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), 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

"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

But Bush mislead us, right?

President Bush didn't become President Bush until Jan., '01... almost half of those quotes were made before that date.

The way I see it... even if the WMD's had been found... he would be faulted for invading Iraq in the first place... if he hadn't invaded and Saddam had passed along or used WMD's in the future... he would be faulted for that... in my estimation... it really doesn't matter what he did, didn't do, or what he says... he will be faulted for it!

Hopefully we'll all still be around in November to see how it goes...

Discussion is locked

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I wonder, Del...
Mar 3, 2004 5:30PM PST

Del, I wonder how long it'll take Dave K. to say "Nixon". (grin)

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Re:It's Thursday - Let the game begin......
Mar 3, 2004 10:16PM PST

It is interesting that most of these quotes, save Pres.Clintons, were made while Bush was trying to make a case for attacking Inaq and were probably based on the info that was put out by the Bush administration at the time. We know now that that was incorrect.

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Information put out by the Bush Administration?
Mar 4, 2004 10:11PM PST

No MK, Kerry, for example, saw the same intelligence put out by that community.

Evie Happy

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Re:Information put out by the Bush Administration?
Mar 4, 2004 10:20PM PST

Evie, Your point being????

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I took your post ...
Mar 4, 2004 10:22PM PST

... to mean that those quotes don't mean much because they were "fooled" by the Bush Administration into believing the intelligence. That's not the case. Intelligence officials testified directly to the Intelligence Committee in the Senate. Kerry, Levin and that cadre have no leg to stand on in their current anti-war stances.

Evie Happy

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True only to a point, MK!
Mar 5, 2004 1:52AM PST

Where your analysis falls short is that the individuals quoted were also basing their beliefs on data that had been provided the U.S by the governments of (among others) Great Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the Russian Federation and Israel, all of whose leaders had made similar statements during that time frame.

In addition, we were citing the findings of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC). In his last report to the UN Security Council prior to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, UNMOVIC head Hans Blix (remember him?) was still claiming that UNMOVIC could not account for large quantities of WMD's and their precursor chemicals, as well as a sizeable amount of WMD-related equipment that UNMOVIC knew beyond doubt Iraq had purchased. Of course, the UN still doesn't know what happened to most of the money Saddam took in under the UN's Oil for Food Program, either!

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Good collection Del, worth a
Mar 4, 2004 2:47AM PST

keeper as a bookmark for the additional countdown guff that is sure to come in SE.

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Great Research! I saved your post to disk! [nt]
Mar 4, 2004 2:56AM PST

[nt]