THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON IRAQ

[midwayer]

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM — MINORITY STAFF
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION
MARCH 16, 2004
IRAQ ON THE RECORD
THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON IRAQ
PREPARED FOR REP. HENRY A. WAXMAN


snip

Statements by President Bush. Between September 12, 2002, and July 17,
2003, President Bush made 55 misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq in 27 separate public appearances. On October 7, 2002, three days before the congressional votes on the Iraqi war resolution, President Bush gave a speech in
Cincinnati, Ohio, with 11 misleading statements, the most by any of the five
officials in a single appearance. Some of the misleading statements by President Bush include his statement in the
January 28, 2003, State of the Union address that “the British government has
learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium
from Africa”; his statement on October 2, 2002, that “the Iraqi regime is a threat
of unique urgency”; and his statement on May 1, 2003, that “the liberation of Iraq
. . . removed an ally of al Qaeda.”

Statements by Vice President Cheney. Between March 17, 2002, and January
22, 2004, Vice President Cheney made 51 misleading statements about the threat
posed by Iraq in 25 separate public appearances.
Some of the misleading statements by Vice President Cheney include his
statement on September 8, 2002, that “we do know, with absolute certainty, that
he is using his procurement system to acquire the equipment he needs . . . to build
a nuclear weapon”; his statement on March 16, 2003, that “we believe he has, in
fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons”; and his statement on October 10, 2003, that
Saddam Hussein “had an established relationship with al Qaeda.”

Statements by Secretary Rumsfeld. Between May 22, 2002, and November 2,
2003, Secretary Rumsfeld made 52 misleading statements about the threat posed
by Iraq in 23 separate public appearances.
Some of the misleading statements by Secretary Rumsfeld include his statement
on November 14, 2002, that within “a week, or a month” Saddam Hussein could
give his weapons of mass destruction to al Qaeda, which could use them to attack
the United States and kill “30,000, or 100,000 . . . human beings”; his statement
on January 29, 2003, that Saddam Hussein’s regime “recently was discovered
seeking significant quantities of uranium from Africa”; and his statement on July
13, 2003, that there “was never any debate” about whether Iraq had a nuclear
program.

Statements by Secretary Powell. Between April 3, 2002, and October 3, 2003,
Secretary Powell made 50 misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq in
34 separate public appearances.
Secretary Powell sometimes used caveats and qualifying language in his public
statements. His statements that contained such cautions or limitations were not
included in the database. Nonetheless, many of Secretary Powell’s statements did
not include these qualifiers and were misleading in their expression of certainty,
such as his statement on May 22, 2003, that “there is no doubt in our minds now
that those vans were designed for only one purpose, and that was to make
biological weapons.”
IRAQ ON THE RECORD: THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S PUBLIC STATEMENTS ON IRAQ
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM — MINORITY OFFICE
iv

Statements by National Security Advisor Rice. Between September 8, 2002,
and September 28, 2003, National Security Advisor Rice made 29 misleading
statements about the threat posed by Iraq in 16 separate public appearances.
Although Ms. Rice had the fewest public appearances and the fewest misleading
statements, she had the highest number of statements — 8 — that were false.
These false statements included several categorical assertions that that no one in
the White House knew of the intelligence community’s doubts about the
President’s assertion that Iraq sought to import uranium from Africa.

snip

President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Powell,
and National Security Advisor Rice repeatedly made misleading statements about
the threat posed by Iraq. They made these statements in 125 separate public
appearances. The total number of misleading statements made by the five
officials is 237.
The 237 misleading statements were made in a variety of forums. On 53
occasions, the five officials gave interviews in which they made claims that were
misleading. They also made misleading statements in 40 speeches, 26 press
conferences and briefings, 4 written statements and articles, and 2 appearances
before Congress.
The misleading statements began at least one year before the start of the war in
Iraq,

snip

VI. CONCLUSION
Because of the gravity of the subject and the President’s unique access to classified information, members of Congress and the public expect the President and his senior officials to take special care to be balanced and accurate in describing national security threats. It does not appear, however, that President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Powell, and National Security Advisor Rice met this standard in the case of Iraq. To the contrary, these five officials repeatedly made misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq. In 125 separate appearances, they made 11 misleading statements about the urgency of Iraq’s threat, 81 misleading statements about Iraq’s nuclear activities, 84 misleading statements about Iraq’s chemical and biological capabilities, and 61 misleading statements about Iraq’s relationship with al Qaeda.



http://www.house.gov/reform/min/pdfs_108_2/pdfs_inves/pdf_admin_iraq_on_the_record_rep.pdf

[gristy]

1. I was not aware of this document

Thanks for posting.

[OKNancy]

2. Nor I

This is a good summary and good ammunition. Leave it to Waxman to put out something so succinct ( and damning to the administration)

[chelaque liberal]

6. I believe Truthout had it, Buzzflash, Commondreams?

I read it at the time it was published and those are my daily reads, besides DU. Of course, the corporate media didn't touch it.

This is another example of how difficult it is to stay informed. Of course, the corporate media didn't cover this. If regular DUer's missed it, what are the chances the average American who get's their "news" from Fox would know about it?

[Q]

12. The Minority Report that MOST Americans will never see....

...especially before November. They won't see it because the corporate media won't show it to them, won't discuss it or allow an open debate.

- Bush* is untouchable.

[skooooo]

3. "minority office" and "minority staff" means..

...this was put out by the democrats???

[chelaque liberal]

4. Rep Henry Waxman(D)

[acmavm]

5. This is some pretty damning material. So, would someone please

explain to me why we should have to wait until after the elections for a finding as to whether or not the bush* administration 'exaggerated' the intelligence to justify attacking Iraq? Seems like there's already enough material to work with already.

[midwayer]

7. Just one more

piece of ammo for Democrats in justifying our cause regarding the neocons attempt to cover their tracks.

But, it will not allow the American people to make an INFORMED decision as to whom they vote for.

[jackofhearts]

9. Why must we wait?

Because the Nazis are in control of the process and know that it will make things even harder than they already are to take the election. So they will stall and stonewall any controversial effort they can. This is how they work.

The republicans have become an enemy of the state.

[Q]

13. Why? Democrats agreed...

...not to 'pursue' any of this information until after the election.

[midwayer]

8. This document

is linked in this latest article by Karen Kwiatkowski


http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski82.html

[KharmaTrain]

10. Waxman's Laying The Noose...It's Up To Us Now

These are the basic facts that should be archived and held dearly by members here as eventually someone will have to face the music for this adventurism. My hopes are this will be next year and Rep. Waxman is setting up one hell of a great case for prosecutions and indictments.

Barring some miracle, this Iraq misadventure is going to get worse and messier in the months ahead. The 'objectives' of 'democracy' for Iraq is a total sham, terrorism has been increased, not decreased...making this war a greater danger to our national security than the opposite...no WMD and all the profiteering. It's a matter of time for the blame game to really begin, and Waxman's giving up the goods to prevent those who will attempt to escape responsibility from doing so.

Yep, this regime lied, lied and lied in its zeal for a war of profit and exploitation. Their big money contributors have made billions in contracts (either directly or indirectly through military procurements) off this war and anyone and everyone who willing took part in the planning and "management" of this invasion must be held responsible.

I know I'm dreaming, but there's a sense in me that there's gonna be a "Who Lost Iraq" debate coming ahead, and this is the first document, hopefully of many (including the Edmonds materials) that will blow the lid off this regime to the point of a major Congressional inquiry. Of course, the key to all of this happening is retaking the Congress, and the way things are going right now, it's not an impossibility.

Rep. Waxman is setting up our work for us...now we have to get him the majority in the House...something that is vital if we're going to rid this country of the Chickenhawks and shame them back into the Heritage Institute or prison stripes!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

11. Holy crap, batman!! This is POWERFUL stuff and should be used...

...in Dem talking points and ads asap!

Thank you, Congressman Waxman!

[jburton]

14. kick n/t