Interesting quotes

[kallend 2,026]

Interesting quotes following the Duelfer report that Iraq had no WMDs since 1991:

''So just because we can't find them and Saddam Hussein had 12 years to hide them doesn't mean he didn't have them and didn't use them.'' House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

''Had we had a few months more we would have been able to tell both the CIA and others that there were no weapons of mass destruction (at) all the sites that they had given to us.'' Former chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix.

"Unfortunately, there is no way to spin the fact that we have occupied Iraq now for 18 months and no WMD have been found. In short, we invaded a country, thousands of people have died, and Iraq never posed a grave or growing danger.'' Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

"I have had to accept that the evidence now is there were no stockpiles of actual weapons ready to be deployed", Tony Blair, British PM

Looks like Bush supporters are living in Fantasyland. At least Blair is being honest.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[tunaplanet 0]

They're almost as interesting as these.....

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"[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.
- (D) Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

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

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

"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 | Source

Forty-two

[TheAnvil 0]

Hindsight is bliss. We're there. We're staying there for a while. The issue at hand is how to deal with the situation there.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[kallend 2,026]

Quote

Hindsight is bliss. We're there. We're staying there for a while. The issue at hand is how to deal with the situation there.

Right. First get rid of the moron who led us into the mess.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kallend 2,026]

You continue to live in Fantasyland.

You are in denial about WMDs
You are in denial abut Iraq - al Qaeda links
You are in denial about management of the peace
You are in denial about the deficit
You are in denial about unemployment

There exists hard evidence in each of these areas of Bush's incompetence and policy failures.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[MC208B 0]

you liberal whack jobs never cease to amaze me. You always resort to name calling

The president of the United States is no moron professor. Then again, he is not as smart as you since you are the worlds greatest authority. Hmmm....guess I resorted to name calling there too!

[billvon 2,989]

>you liberal whack jobs never cease to amaze me. You always resort to name calling . . .

While that quote is truly priceless, please avoid name calling on this board.

[lawrocket 3]

You know, Professor, everyone thought the same thing. Tuna is merely saying that Bush was not alone in his beliefs, and these beliefs and intelligence preceded his administration. There is blame to go across the spectrum on that one.

Why not have a simple way of looking at this. I do. Bush staked his presidency on the war in Iraq and the "war on terror."

How do you think he's doing with them? Did the gamble pay off? Or, should he lose everything.

Fairly simple to me, really, without all these side issues of who said what.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[MC208B 0]

name calling? I thought it was a compliment to the perfesser

Lighten up Bill, I know it sucks for you that W is going to be reelected, but chill pal

[MC208B 0]

Bill, got confused I guess. Liberal whack job wasn't directed exclusively at Kallend, it's directed at all the liberal whack jobs here. I consider myself a right wing whacko and don't feel attacked when the libs around here say something to that effect, maybe I have thicker skin than you?!?

A personal attack might be something like calling Kallend a moron, right? It's only okay to call the president that tho

The compliment part of my earlier post was that Kallend is the worlds greatest authority and, well, he is!

[billvon 2,989]

>A personal attack might be something like calling Kallend a moron, right?

Or a liberal whack job. A good rule of thumb is if you wouldn't say it to a jumper you don't know, you probably shouldn't say it here.

[MC208B 0]

I do say that to jumpers at my DZ, but to please you, I ewill not say it here ever again! Feel free to call me a right wing nutcase tho

[kallend 2,026]

Quote

you liberal whack jobs never cease to amaze me. You always resort to name calling

The president of the United States is no moron professor. Then again, he is not as smart as you since you are the worlds greatest authority. Hmmm....guess I resorted to name calling there too!

I just referred to an unnamed moron that led us into this mess.

You, by your reply, acknowledged that we have indeed been led into a mess and identified the moron. You told us that the responsible moron is the President of the United States.

The truth will set you free

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kallend 2,026]

Quote

You know, Professor, everyone thought the same thing. Tuna is merely saying that Bush was not alone in his beliefs, and these beliefs and intelligence preceded his administration. There is blame to go across the spectrum on that one.

Why not have a simple way of looking at this. I do. Bush staked his presidency on the war in Iraq and the "war on terror."

How do you think he's doing with them? Did the gamble pay off? Or, should he lose everything.

Fairly simple to me, really, without all these side issues of who said what.

Bush may not have been alone in his beliefs, but Bush and his cronies WERE the ones that decided to invade before the Blix and Baroudi and the UNMOVIC team had finished the job that they were doing very effectively. Pretty much everyone else was done with sabre rattling once the inspectors were back in and doing their job.

Bush and his cronies were the ones who ignored the UNMOVIC reports and believed their own propaganda.

Bush and his cronies were the ones that jumped the gun and invaded while diplomacy was still working.

The buck stops in the Oval Office, not in the Senate building.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[nacmacfeegle 0]

"Why not have a simple way of looking at this. I do. Bush staked his presidency on the war in Iraq and the "war on terror."
How do you think he's doing with them? Did the gamble pay off?"

Has he caught Bin Laden, or destroyed Al Quaeda?
Has anyone been charged, brought to trial, sentenced, and subsequently incarcerated for terrorist offences associated with 9/11?

Is Iraq (or even the world) a safer place to be, right now, than it was 2 years ago, will it get any safer in the immediate future? If not, when? In time for the forthcoming Iraqi elections? I really can't see it.

No, ergo the 'war on terror' is failing, Bush and Blair are losing credibilty and respect both at home and abroad, if that means losing everything, then yes, potentially they will. But if I lost my job, I wouldn't call it 'losing everything'.

Along the way to this sorry situation, belief in the competence of the international intelligence community has been shattered, our leaders' integrity has been called into question, respect for the UN has been diminished, and wedges driven between long standing allies.

We now have double standards for negotiating with the likes of Iran and North Korea over their weapons programmes.

If you can measure all that, and call it a success, you are far more optimistic than I.

--------------------

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

You know, Professor, everyone thought the same thing. Tuna is merely saying that Bush was not alone in his beliefs, and these beliefs and intelligence preceded his administration. There is blame to go across the spectrum on that one.

Except that all of those beliefs were being successfully addressed through containment, not invasion. None of those quotes say anything about invasion or force until after Bush's bogus claims and push for war.

The blame resides solely in the court of the person who asked for and received the power to go to war. Not those that he convinced to give it to him.

[MC208B 0]

Quote

Quote

Hindsight is bliss. We're there. We're staying there for a while. The issue at hand is how to deal with the situation there.

Right. First get rid of the moron who led us into the mess.

Which moron are you referring to here John? Rummmy? Rice?!?

Bush is a jerk, not a moron (over the Iraq mess) but he still gets my vote

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

Which moron are you referring to here John? Rummmy? Rice?!?

yes, please. But Bush's misplaced loyalty which many cite as "character" won't allow him to replace these people even though they led him astray.

If Bush would have canned Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz and admitted his mistake in taking the advice of people who have been pushing for invasion of Iraq since 1993, I'd have a whole hell of a lot more respect for him.

[MC208B 0]

He can't get rid of anyone, they own him!!!

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

If you can measure all that, and call it a success, you are far more optimistic than I.

Call me a pessimist. Who ever said I was going to vote for Bush?

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[kallend 2,026]

I wrote

Right. First get rid of the moron who led us into the mess.

You replied

The president of the United States is no moron professor.


Now you ask

Which moron are you referring to here John? Rummmy? Rice?!?


Seems like you already answered your own question with your first reply.

I'm not sure either Rummy or Rice is a moron, although they have suspect judgment to work for Bush.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[sunman 0]

Tuna, you have a good point. Yes, many democrats have said over and over that Saddam is a threat, we need to disarm him, blah blah blah. However, none of them actually did anything about it because there was no viable exit strategy. It was this administration who launched us into this unnecessary war, and them alone. I know Kerry voted for the authority to go to war. I know he said that Saddam is a threat. But it was Bush and his administration who actually made the decision to do it WITHOUT sufficient evidence of WMD, WITHOUT the backing of the UN or the world, and WITHOUT any clue of what the hell they were getting themselves into.

We will be in Iraq for a long, long time. It doesn't matter if our intentions were good, because you just can't occupy a Muslim land and kill Muslims without a jihad. Until we at least try to understand our enemy and stop labeling them all as terrorists, we cannot and will not win.

[kallend 2,026]

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
- Dick Cheney, speech to VFW National Convention, Aug. 26, 2002

Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.
- George W. Bush, speech to UN General Assembly, Sept. 12, 2002

No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
- Donald Rumsfeld, testimony to Congress, Sept. 19, 2002

The world is also uniting to answer the unique and urgent threat posed by Iraq.
- George W. Bush, Nov. 23, 2002

If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, Dec. 2, 2002

We know for a fact that there are weapons there.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, Jan. 9, 2003

What we know from UN inspectors over the course of the last decade is that Saddam Hussein possesses thousands of chemical warheads, that he possesses hundreds of liters of very dangerous toxins that can kill millions of people.
- White House spokesman Dan Bartlett, CNN interview, Jan. 26, 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…. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
- George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003

We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more.
- Colin Powell, remarks to UN Security Council, Feb. 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 W. Bush, radio address, Feb. 8, 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.
- Colin Powell, interview with Radio France International, Feb. 28, 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, remarks to UN Security Council, March 7, 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 W. Bush, address to the U.S., March 17, 2003

The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder.
- George W. Bush, address to U.S., March 19, 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.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleisher, press briefing, March 21, 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.
- Gen. Tommy Franks, press conference, 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, The Washington Post, 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, press briefing, March 22, 2003

We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat.
- Donald Rumsfeld, ABC interview, March 30, 2003

Obviously the administration intends to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction U.S. forces find - and there will be plenty.
- Robert Kagan, The Washington Post, April 9, 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.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, 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 W. Bush, NBC interview, April 24, 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, press briefing, April 25, 2003

We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so.
- George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, May 3, 2003

I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it just now.
- Colin Powell, remarks to reporters, 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, remarks to reporters, May 6, 2003

We said what we said because we meant it…..We continue to have confidence that WMD will be found.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, May 7, 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, interview with reporters, 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, NBC Today Show interview, May 26, 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."
- Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton, Defense Intelligence Agency, press conference, May 30, 2003

You remember when Colin Powell stood up in front of the world, and he said Iraq has got laboratories, mobile labs to build biological weapons....They're illegal. They're against the United Nations resolutions, and we've so far discovered two [the labs were later judged to not contain any such weapons, that they most likely were used for weather balloons]. And we'll find more weapons as time goes on, But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong. We found them.
- George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, May 31, 2003

The backpedaling begins:

We never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country.
- Donald Rumsfeld, Fox News interview, May 4, 2003

U.S. officials never expected that "we were going to open garages and find" weapons of mass destruction.
- Condoleeza Rice, Reuters interview, 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, press briefing, May 13, 2003

I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons. [SEE NEXT QUOTE]
- Donald Rumsfeld, Senate appropriations subcommittee on defense hearing, May 14, 2003

We believe [Hussein] has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.
- Dick Cheney, NBC's Meet the Press, March 16, 2003

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

It was a surprise to me then - it remains a surprise to me now - that we have not uncovered weapons, as you say, in some of the forward dispersal sites. Believe me, it's not for lack of trying. We've been to virtually every ammunition supply point between the Kuwaiti border and Baghdad, but they're simply not there.
- Lt. Gen. James Conway, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, press interview, May 30, 2003

I think some in the media have chosen to use the word 'imminent.’ Those were not words we used. We used 'grave and gathering' threat. [SEE NEXT QUOTE]
- White House spokesman Scott McClellan, press briefing, Jan. 31, 2004

This is about an imminent threat.
- White House spokesman Scott McClellan, press briefing, Feb. 10, 2003

After being asked whether Hussein was an “imminent” threat: Well, of course he is
- White House spokesman Dan Bartlett, CNN interview, Jan. 26, 2003

After being asked whether the U.S. went to war because officials said Hussein’s alleged weapons were a direct, imminent threat to the U.S.: Absolutely.
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, press briefing, May 7, 2003

And finally, some truth:

We urge you to... enunciate a new strategy that would secure the interests of the U.S. and our friends and allies around the world. That strategy should aim, above all, at the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from power.
- Letter to President Clinton, signed by Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and others, Jan. 26, 1998, http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm

The U.S. should assert its military dominance over the world to shape “the international security order in line with American principles and interests,” push for “regime change” in Iraq and China, among other countries, and “fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theater wars….While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.”
- “Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century,” The Project for the New American Century [members include Cheney and Rumsfeld], Sept. 2000

Judge whether good enough [to] hit S.H. [Saddam Hussein] at the same time. Not only UBL [Osama bin Laden]….Go massive. Sweep it all up. Things related and not.
- Donald Rumsfeld notes, Philadelphia Daily News, Sept. 11, 2001

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, Vanity Fair interview, May 28, 2003

From the very beginning, there was a conviction, that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go. Going after Saddam was topic "A" ten days after the inauguration - eight months before Sept. 11.
- former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, CBS’ 60 Minutes, Jan. 11, 2004

I don't think they [WMD] existed. What everyone was talking about is stockpiles produced after the end of the last [1991] Gulf War, and I don't think there was a large-scale production program in the '90s.
- David Kay, former chief weapons inspector of the UN Special Commission on Iraq, Reuters, Jan. 24, 2004

Intelligence “analysts never said there was an imminent threat" from Iraq before the war.
- CIA Director George Tenet, speech, Feb. 5, 2004

"(Saddam) had a lot of intent," Kay said in a television interview. "He didn't have capabilities. Intent without capabilities is not an imminent threat.", US inspector David Kay, Oct 2004

"Saddam Hussein did not possess stockpiles of illicit weapons at the time of the U.S. invasion in March 2003 and had not begun any program to produce them.", Charles Duelfer, chief US weapons inspector, Oct. 2004

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[PhillyKev 0]

"Hussein ended his nuclear program in 1991 and there was no evidence he tried to restart it."

-Duelfer 10/6/2004

[billvon 2,989]

ABOARD USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CNN) -- From the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, President Bush announced in a nationally televised address that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended." - CNN, May 2, 2003

U.S. and Iraqi officials have promised a series of major military operations to retake other parts of the country ahead of the elections due by Jan. 31. - ABC News, Oct 4, 2004