The decision comes amid heightened tensions with the U.S. over Iraq's alleged nuclear, biological and chemical weapons capabilities....

Iraq has denied such weapons exist, and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz last week said Mr. Bush's speech was 'full of lies.'

[See also: Additional resource here]
PBS - NewsHour, published 09-16-2002

Less than 24 hours after receiving Iraq's acceptance of weapons inspections, Hans Blix, chairman of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) held preliminary talks with Iraqi officials "about practical arrangements related to the resumption of inspections as a follow-up from earlier talks in Vienna in July of this year," the UN said. "UNMOVIC provided the Iraqi side with a list of such practical arrangements."

"Both sides believe it was a useful meeting and the Iraqi delegation welcomed the resumption of inspections," an UNMOVIC press statement said.

Iraq officials said they needed time to study the material and consult with Baghdad, the U.N. said. The two sides agreed that the next round of talks will take place in Vienna in the week beginning September 30.

(Two sides will meet again in Vienna in 10 days)
State Dept - Washington File , published 09-18-2002

President Bush said Saddam Hussein's offer to let U.N. inspectors back into Iraq is "his latest ploy," and said a strong U.N. resolution was still necessary....

Iraq delivered a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Sept. 16 saying it would allow the return of U.N. weapons inspectors. Bush said Hussein has used this delaying tactic time and again....

"And the United Nations, in order for the world to be a more peaceful place, must rise up and deal with this threat and hold him to account. That's what we expect out of the Security Council."

[See also: Additional resource here]
Dept of Defense - American Forces Press Service , published 09-18-2002

THE PRESIDENT: ...We talked about a resolution out of Congress and how it was important for us to work with Congress to pass a strong resolution. I told the members that within the next couple of days this administration will develop language as -- that we think is necessary....

Q: Mr. President ...Are you prepared to go it alone?

THE PRESIDENT: Listen, we're speculating about what nations are going to do. I'm convinced that when we continue to make the case about his defiance, his deception, his -- the fact that time and time again, dozens of times, he has told the world, oh, I will comply, and he never does -- that the nations which long for peace and care about the validity of the United Nations will join us.

And so we're going to work hard to continue to make the case.... he's developing weapons of mass destruction. We must deal with him.
President Discusses Iraq, Domestic Agenda with Congressional Leaders, published 09-18-2002

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld issued another call for tough action against the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein September 18, but continued to insist that President Bush has not yet decided whether to launch a military strike.

The Pentagon chief outlined the case for ousting the Iraqi leader from power in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, as the administration continued its all-out push to consolidate support behind its Iraq policy.

President Bush seeks swift approval -- before congressional elections in early November -- of a resolution authorizing him to use "all appropriate means" to oust Hussein.

Rumsfeld presented a litany of Iraq's actions in the past decade which, he said, demonstrate that no nation "poses a greater and more immediate threat to the security of our people, and the stability of the world, than the regime of Saddam Hussein."
State Dept - Washington File, published 09-18-2002

"A key piece of evidence in the Bush administration's case against Iraq is being challenged in a report by independent experts who question whether thousands of high-strength aluminum tubes recently sought by Iraq were intended for a secret nuclear weapons program....

There is no evidence that any of the tubes reached Iraq. But in its white paper on Iraq released to the United Nations last week, the Bush administration cited the seized shipments as evidence that Iraq is actively seeking to develop nuclear weapons."
Washington Post , published 09-19-2002

There are a number of terrorist states pursuing weapons of mass destruction -- Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, just to name a few -- but no terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Rumsfeld - Testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee regarding Iraq, published 09-19-2002

Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) told fellow senators that before the United States commits to war with Iraq, "there are critical questions that must be asked, and it is not unpatriotic to ask questions."

"After weeks of criticism from Congress and, indeed, from the countries of the world, President Bush went to the United Nations to press his case that Iraq posed a serious threat to the peace and security of the globe," Byrd said.

"But instead of offering compelling evidence that the Iraqi regime had taken steps to advance its weapons program to the point that it is necessary for the United States to deliver an unprovoked attack on a sovereign state -- namely, Iraq -- the President offered the U.N. more of a warning than an appeal for support."

Turning Rumsfeld's warning about not waiting to have a "smoking gun" before taking action, Byrd said his concern was that the United States, "in forcing war in Iraq, will end up shooting itself in the foot."

The United States, he added, "must not be hell-bent on an invasion until we have exhausted every other possible option to assess and eliminate Iraq's supposed weapons of destruction program."

America must not act alone, Byrd warned, "The United States must have the support of the world."

Noting that the Gulf War cost $61 billion, with many other nations contributing to the cost of that conflict, Byrd quoted the President's economic adviser as saying a new war with Iraq could cost as much as $200 billion.
State Dept - Washington File, published 09-24-2002

The United States sees the issue of Iraq and its defiance of the United Nations as "part of the war on terrorism," not a diversion from it, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told a group of journalists from NATO countries September 20.

While praising the help from the NATO allies in Afghanistan as "absolutely wonderful," Wolfowitz cautioned: "We're not going to win this war against terrorism simply by chasing down individual terrorists or by closing the door to particular plots. We're not going to win it on defense. We've got to make it clear that support for terrorism in an age of weapons of mass destruction is simply not something that any country can be in the business of and that's the heart of our issue with Iraq."

"When weapons of mass destruction can be delivered anonymously through terrorist networks, traditional notions of deterrence don't work. We're in a different world," Wolfowitz said.
Dept of Defense Transcript - Interview with NATO journalists, published 09-24-2002

The goal in Iraq is not inspections, but disarmament, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in an interview with The Sunday Times London September 21....

Saddam Hussein "has relationships with terrorists networks and there are al Qaeda currently in the country so he is a classic example of the nexus between a terrorist state and well advanced weapons of mass destruction programs and relationships with terrorists," he said.
Dept of Defense Transcript - Sunday Times London, published 09-22-2002

"Q. ...The Vice President yesterday said that you've managed to replace the world's sympathy on Iraq with fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. And you're using the issue to steer attention away from the inability to get Usama bin Laden.

The President. I'm confident that a lot of Democrats here in Washington, DC, understand that Saddam is a true threat to America. And I look forward to working with them to get a strong resolution passed.

Prime Minister Blair, first of all, is a very strong leader, and I admire his willingness to tell the truth and to lead."

[Note to reader: Neither leader responded specifically to the question regarding the issue of Osama bin Laden.]
President Urges Congress to Pass Iraq Resolution Promptly, published 09-24-2002

A thousand combat Marines are going ashore in Kuwait today for a long-planned desert warfare exercise that has taken on added significance because of the standoff between the U.S. and Iraq.

The troops, from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Pendleton, will train with Kuwaiti soldiers in the flat, sandy wasteland near the border with Iraq. The outskirts of Baghdad are only about 300 miles away.

[Original web page requires paid subscription to view]
Los Angeles Times, published 09-24-2002

Oman is building a 14,000-foot runway and serves as a hub for U.S. airlift operations, according to the center, noting that the B-1 bomber force operating in the region is probably based in Oman.
Baltimore Sun, published 09-24-2002

Mr Blair is confident that the 55-page dossier on weapons of mass destruction will convince many doubters.

He told colleagues: "Saddam is developing his weapons programme and doing it as fast as he can."

He has promised the dossier will not merely be a rebundling of known facts, but "as clear evidence as you could get that he is continuing with his weapons programme. The threat is real serious and continuing."

Mr Blair told colleagues: "If we and the UN move away from this issue, he will develop these weapons and when he can, he will launch an external attack in his neighbourhood."

In the cabinet meeting he said: "We are not talking about historic leftovers but an ongoing, continuing programme."

[For a text-only version of the UK dossier on Iraq, plus the Forward of Prime Minister Blair, please click here. In the forward, Tony Blair states: "And the document discloses that his military planning allows for some of the WMD to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them. I am quite clear that Saddam will go to extreme lengths, indeed has already done so, to hide these weapons and avoid giving them up."]
The Guardian, published 09-24-2002

"The lowering of the threat level is not a signal to government, law enforcement or citizens that the danger of a terrorist attack is passed," they said in a joint statement. "Returning to the elevated level of risk is only an indication that some of the extra protective measures enacted by government and the private sector may be reduced for the time being."

President Bush approved the change in terrorist threat levels September 24 after Ridge convened the Homeland Security Council earlier in the day and recommended the change, according to White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. "All these factors, intelligence, recent arrests, and the passing of the September 11 period allowed the president late this morning to make the decision to lower the threat," he said at a briefing.

[This Elevated (Yellow) Threat level remains in effect until Feb. 6, 2003 when it was raised to High (Orange) on Feb. 7, 2003]
Joint Statement of Attorney General John Ashcroft and Homeland Security Adviser Tom Ridge, published 09-24-2002

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: We clearly know that there were in the past and have been contacts between senior Iraqi officials and members of al-Qaida going back for actually quite a long time....

So, yes, there are contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida. We know that Saddam Hussein has a long history with terrorism in general. And there are some al-Qaida personnel who found refuge in Baghdad....

But, yes, there clearly are contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq that can be documented. There clearly is testimony that some of these contacts have been important contacts and there's a relationship here.
PBS - NewsHour , published 09-25-2002

Q: Mr. President, do you believe that Saddam Hussein is a bigger threat to the United States than al Qaeda?

PRESIDENT BUSH: That's a -- that is an interesting question. I'm trying to think of something humorous to say. (Laughter.) But I can't when I think about al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. They're both risks, they're both dangerous. The difference, of course, is that al Qaeda likes to hijack governments. Saddam Hussein is a dictator of a government. Al Qaeda hides, Saddam doesn't, but the danger is, is that they work in concert. The danger is, is that al Qaeda becomes an extension of Saddam's madness and his hatred and his capacity to extend weapons of mass destruction around the world.

Both of them need to be dealt with. The war on terror, you can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror. And so it's a comparison that is -- I can't make because I can't distinguish between the two, because they're both equally as bad, and equally as evil, and equally as destructive.
President Bush, Colombia President Uribe Discuss Terrorism, published 09-25-2002

The [Saddam Hussein] regime has long-standing and continuing ties to terrorist organizations. And there are al Qaeda terrorists inside Iraq.
President Bush Discusses Iraq with Congressional Leaders, published 09-26-2002

There's no doubt in my mind he wants to have a nuclear weapon, and he's got some capacity. I'm not saying he's got one yet, but he's developing the capacity, as we learned right after Desert Storm.
Remarks by the President at Senate Reception, published 09-26-2002

Rumsfeld: The knowledge that the intelligence community, the shared intelligence information among the coalition members, has of the al Qaeda relationship with Iraq is evolving. It's based on a lot of different types of sources of varying degrees of reliability. Some of it, admittedly, comes from detainees, which has been helpful, and particularly some high-ranking detainees.

Since we began after September 11th, we do have solid evidence of the presence in Iraq of al Qaeda members, including some that have been in Baghdad. We have what we consider to be very reliable reporting of senior level contacts going back a decade, and of possible chemical and biological agent training. And when I say contacts, I mean between Iraq and al Qaeda. The reports of these contacts have been increasing since 1998.

We have what we believe to be credible information that Iraq and al Qaeda have discussed safe haven opportunities in Iraq, reciprocal nonaggression discussions. We have what we consider to be credible evidence that al Qaeda leaders have sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire weapon of -- weapons of mass destruction capabilities. We do have -- I believe it's one report indicating that Iraq provided unspecified training relating to chemical and/or biological matters for al Qaeda members. There is, I'm told, also some other information of varying degrees of reliability that supports that conclusion of their cooperation.
Dept of Defense News Briefing , published 09-26-2002

This is not a partisan issue, folks. This is an issue that is important for America. This is an American issue, a uniquely American issue. And it's -- as I reminded the members, that -- I say uniquely American issue because I truly believe that now that the war has changed, now that we're a battlefield, this man poses a much graver threat than anybody could have possibly imagined. Other countries, of course, bear the same risk. But there's no doubt his hatred is mainly directed at us. There's no doubt he can't stand us. After all, this is a guy that tried to kill my dad at one time.
Remarks by the President at John Cornyn for Senate Reception, published 09-26-2002

I'm willing to give peace a chance to work. I want the United Nations to work. I want him to do what he said he would do. But for the sake of our future, now's the time, now's the time. For the sake of your children's future, we must make sure this madman never has the capacity to hurt us with a nuclear weapon, or to use the stockpiles of anthrax that we know he has, or V-X, the biological weapons which he possesses.
President Presses Congress for Action on Defense Appropriations Bill, published 09-27-2002

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said this morning the link between al Qaeda terrorists and Iraq is "accurate and not debatable."

Rumsfeld traveled here to discuss the on-going war on terrorism and the threat Iraq poses to the United States and its allies.

The secretary declined to give more details on the ties between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. He said he does not want to give away intelligence information that may help the enemy.

Rumsfeld said he is not here to sell war with Iraq to the American people, noting that President Bush has made no decision on possible military action.
Dept of Defense - American Forces Press Service , published 09-27-2002

The danger to our country is grave and it is growing. The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given. The regime has long-standing and continuing ties to terrorist groups, and there are al Qaeda terrorists inside Iraq. This regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year.
Radio Address by the President to the Nation, published 09-28-2002

Under the assumptions incorporated in its examples, CBO estimates that the incremental costs of deploying a force to the Persian Gulf would be between $9 billion and $13 billion. (See the explanation below of "incremental costs.") Prosecuting a war would cost between $6 billion and $9 billion a month--although how long such a war may last cannot be estimated.

After hostilities end, the costs to return U.S. forces to their home bases would range between $5 billion and $7 billion, CBO estimates. Further, the incremental cost of an occupation following combat operations would vary from about $1 billion to $4 billion a month. The estimates of monthly costs incorporate no assumptions about the duration of the conflict or the occupation. And CBO has no basis for estimating any costs for reconstruction or for foreign aid that the United States might choose to extend after a conflict ends.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO), published 09-30-2002

Myers: "This year alone Operation Southern Watch coalition aircraft have been fired upon 206 times, and Operation Northern Watch aircraft 200 times, for a total of 406 times year to date.

Interestingly, since Saddam Hussein sent his letter to the U.N. on September 16th, authorizing weapons inspection without conditions, Iraq has continued to fire on coalition aircraft -- 28 times in the North and 39 times in the South. And we have those numbers broken out for you on the slides here.

I'd like to note that the Iraqi violations are not limited to firings on coalition aircraft, either. Iraqi aircraft -- military aircraft are also violating the no-fly zone airspace, which they have done about seven times between January 1st and today. The most recent incident occurred on September 24th, when three Iraqi MiG-25s violated Operation Southern Watch airspace, flying deep into the no-fly zone area."

[Note to reader: This is a very long and detailed briefing on the current state of the air offensive in Iraq. See the link for more information,]
Dept of Defense News Briefing , published 09-30-2002

The leader of the London-based Iraqi National Congress, Ahmed Chalabi, met executives of three US oil multinationals to negotiate the carve-up of Iraq's massive oil reserves post-Saddam.

Disclosure of the meetings in October in Washington - confirmed by an INC spokesman - comes as Lord Browne, the head of BP, warned that British oil companies have been squeezed out of post-war Iraq even before the first shot has been fired in any US-led land invasion.
The Guardian, published 11-03-2002

"...intelligence showed Zarqawi was planning to use ricin in terrorist attacks in Europe.

The Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, and the White House again killed it. By then the administration had set its course for war with Iraq.

“People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president’s policy of preemption against terrorists,” according to terrorism expert and former National Security Council member Roger Cressey."
NBC News - Jim Miklaszewski, published 03-04-2004

Two highly classified intelligence reports [October, 2002 and January, 2003] delivered directly to President Bush before the Iraq war cast doubt on key public assertions made by the president, Vice President Cheney, and other administration officials as justifications for invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein, according to records and knowledgeable sources.

The first report, delivered to Bush in early October 2002, was a one-page summary of a National Intelligence Estimate that discussed whether Saddam's procurement of high-strength aluminum tubes was for the purpose of developing a nuclear weapon.

Among other things, the report stated that the Energy Department and the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research believed that the tubes were "intended for conventional weapons," a view disagreeing with that of other intelligence agencies, including the CIA, which believed that the tubes were intended for a nuclear bomb.

The disclosure that Bush was informed of the DOE and State dissents is the first evidence that the president himself knew of the sharp debate within the government over the aluminum tubes during the time that he, Cheney, and other members of the Cabinet were citing the tubes as clear evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program. Neither the president nor the vice president told the public about the disagreement among the agencies.
Murray Waas - The National Journal, published 03-02-2006

The Vienna talks concluded with agreement reported on practical arrangements for facilitating resumed inspections under existing mandates of the Security Council. On the question of access, it was clarified that all sites are subject to immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access. However, the Memorandum of Understanding of 1998 between Iraq and the UN Secretary-General establishes special procedures for access to eight presidential sites.
International Atomic Energy Agency, published 10-02-2002

The US yesterday rejected an agreement between Iraq and the United Nations on arms inspections, vowing to block the inspectors' return unless the security council agrees to back them with the threat of military force....

The US state department declared it would go into "thwart mode", vetoing the return of inspectors if another resolution establishing the new rules was not accepted....

President Saddam's science adviser, General Amir Al Sadi, who led the Iraqi team in Vienna, said: "We're happy to reach this agreement and we expect the advance party to arrive in Baghdad in about two weeks....

The new draft resolution being promoted by Washington insists that unconditional access should be granted to all sites, including the palaces....

In an apparent concession to international opinion and skeptics in the US Congress, President George Bush toned down his rhetoric on Iraq, suggesting that disarmament, not regime change, was his primary goal. "A military option is not the first choice. Disarming this man is because he poses a true threat to the United States, and we've just got to work together to get something done," he said.
The Guardian, published 10-02-2002

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice told members of the Manhattan Institute October 1 that "[t]he fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the World Trade Center were the bookends of a long transition period," and the world has now entered a new era where "9/11 crystallized our vulnerability....

We will break up terror networks, hold to account nations that harbor terrorists, and confront aggressive tyrants holding or seeking nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that might be passed to terrorist allies. These are different faces of the same evil....

For these reasons, President Bush is committed to confronting the Iraqi regime, which has defied the just demands of the world for over a decade. We are on notice. The danger from Saddam Hussein's arsenal is far more clear than anything we could have foreseen prior to September 11th. And history will judge harshly any leader or nation that saw this dark cloud and sat by in complacency or indecision."

[full text of speech available]
Remarks by Condoleezza Rice to Manhattan Institute at Waldof Atoria, published 10-02-2002

U.N. inspectors believe that Iraq could have produce[d] enough biological and chemical agent to kill millions of people. The regime has the scientists and facilities to build nuclear weapons, and is seeking the materials needed to do so.
Remarks by the President and House Leadership at White House, published 10-02-2002

Summary: Congress passes a Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of Force in Iraq which states, “(a) AUTHORIZATION. The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to (1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq.

133 Congressmen (roll call here) and 23 Senators (roll call here) opposed the measure.
Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq , published 10-02-2002

US and British warplanes enforcing "no-fly" zones over Iraq are performing "aerial" weapons inspections under a United Nations resolution, according to the United States Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.

Mr Rumsfeld's statement expands the stated mission of the air patrols, which had previously been justified as necessary to protect Iraqi Shi'ites and Kurds from air attacks by the Iraqi military.

"These are new interpretations," said Kenneth Pollack,
the director of research at Brookings Institution's Saban Centre for Middle East Policy. "The no-fly zones were established to enforce [UN resolution] 688 - to protect the Iraqi people from the depredations of the regime. This is the first time the US Government has ever tied them to enforcement of the inspection provisions of [UN resolution] 687."

[Original web page no longer available]
Washington Post, published 10-02-2002

State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker said on October 2 that UN weapons inspectors should have full access to all sites in Iraq, including so-called presidential palaces, and that a new UN resolution is needed to ensure this access, and Iraq’s compliance.

"We need a serious resolution that opens everything, any time, any place, anywhere. That’s what [chief UN weapons inspector] Dr. Blix and his team need, and without access to these facilities, I don’t think you could consider effective and thorough inspections that would take place," Reeker said.
State Dept Press Briefing , published 10-03-2002

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As many as four U.S. aircraft carriers are expected to be within striking distance of Iraq by the end of December, Navy officials said on Thursday, marking what may be the earliest possible moment for a full-scale U.S.-led attack....

A fifth carrier, the San Diego, California-based Nimitz, could also be in the Gulf region by late December, said Patrick Garrett, who has been tracking U.S. deployments for GlobalSecurity.org, a research group in Alexandria, Virginia.

And a sixth, the Yokosuka, Japan-based Kitty Hawk, also would be available to be sent there by the end of the year, he said.

[Original web page no longer available]
Reuters, published 10-03-2002

President Bush has authorized U.S. combat training for Iraqi opponents of Saddam Hussein, and the Pentagon has identified as many as 5,000 recruits for an initial training phase to begin next month, according to administration and military officials.

Bush authorized the training in a National Security Presidential Directive on Oct. 3 that also approved the expenditure of $92 million in Defense Department funds, officials said. Defense and State Department officials intend to brief Congress next week on plans to instruct the Iraqis in basic combat as well as specialized skills to serve as battlefield advisers, scouts and interpreters with U.S. ground troops in an invasion force.
Washington Post, published 10-19-2002

There is evidence that Iraq is making efforts to conceal its weapons of mass destruction programs in advance of the anticipated return of UN weapons inspectors, according to the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.

During an October 4 briefing at the Pentagon, Victoria Clarke told reporters that while she could not elaborate upon her statement, more information about Iraq's practice of deception and denial would be made available during the week of October 7.

[Note to reader: 10/7/2002 was the day of Bush's speech in Cincinnati, Ohio where he claimed with that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear program, etc.]
Dept of Defense News Briefing , published 10-04-2002

Summary: A new Central Intelligence Agency report says Iraq has the capacity to produce and weaponize a variety of biological weapons agents -- including anthrax -- for delivery "by bombs, missiles, aerial sprayers and covert operatives," giving the Iraqis the capability potentially to threaten the continental United States.

Since United Nations weapons inspections ended in 1998 the CIA report, titled: "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs," says the Iraqi regime "has maintained its chemical weapons effort, energized its missile program, and invested more heavily in biological weapons," with "most analysts" finding that Iraq is seeking to reconstitute its nuclear weapons program.

The report, released October 4, 2002 asserts that Iraq "has expanded its chemical and biological infrastructure under the cover of civilian production." It also suggests that Iraq has probably stockpiled "a few hundred metric tons" of chemical weapons agents.

[A link to the CIA's October, 2002 Release (1st of 3 releases related to the NIE -see July, 2003) may also be obtained here ]

[See also: July 7, 2004 entry for Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report on U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments - Conclusions countering findings in the CIA report: (PDF)]
The National Security Archive (Links to documents), published 07-09-2004

This is a man who told the world he would not have weapons of mass destruction -- your chemical, your biological or nuclear weapons. For eleven years he has lied.

On the one hand, he said he wouldn't have them -- he does....

When the inspectors were able to go into the country and have unfettered access, it was discovered that he was a short period away from owning a nuclear weapon.
Remarks by the President at Senate Reception, published 10-05-2002

The CIA memo, dated Oct. 5 and addressed to [Michael] Gerson [chief speechwriter], [Stephen J.] Hadley [deputy national security adviser] and others, objected to a sentence that the White House included in a draft of Bush's upcoming speech [Oct. 7 in Cincinnati], saying Hussein's "regime has been caught attempting to purchase" uranium in Africa.

[Original link at The Washington Post is a placeholder only, to view the archived page for a fee, go here.]
Washington Post (PDF), published 07-23-2003

The second memo, dated Oct. 6 and sent to [Stephen] Hadley and [Condoleezza] Rice, was brought to the White House's attention... by the CIA, the officials said. In response to another draft of the speech that had already deleted the uranium reference, the memo included fresh CIA objections to the charge, saying there was "weakness in the evidence" and that the attempted purchase "was not particularly significant," Hadley said.

[Original link at The Washington Post is a placeholder only, to view the archived page for a fee, go here.]
Washington Post (PDF), published 07-23-2003

...It [Iraq] possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. It has given shelter and support to terrorism, and practices terror against its own people.

Many people have asked how close Saddam Hussein is to developing a nuclear weapon. Well, we don't know exactly, and that's the problem.

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 mujahideen" -- his nuclear holy warriors."

If the Iraqi regime is able to produce, buy, or steal an amount of highly enriched uranium a little larger than a single softball, it could have a nuclear weapon in less than a year.

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.
Presidential Address to the Nation on Iraq , published 10-07-2002

The President himself, in his weekly radio address on September 14th, stated, “Saddam Hussein has the scientists and infrastructure for a nuclear-weapons program, and has illicitly sought to purchase the equipment needed to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon.” There was no confirmed intelligence for the President’s assertion....

The White House, meanwhile, had been escalating its rhetoric. In a television interview on September 8th, Condoleezza Rice, the national-security adviser, addressing questions about the strength of the Administration’s case against Iraq, said, “We don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud”—a formulation that was taken up by hawks in the Administration. And, in a speech on October 7th, President Bush said, “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.”

George Tenet clearly was ambivalent about the information: in early October, he intervened to prevent the President from referring to Niger in a speech in Cincinnati. But Tenet then seemed to give up the fight, and Saddam's desire for uranium from Niger soon became part of the Administration's public case for going to war.
The New Yorker - The Stovepipe, published 10-20-2003

Dear Mr. Chairman:

In response to your letter of 4 October 2002, we have made unclassified material available to further the Senate's forthcoming open debate on a Joint Resolution concerning Iraq. ...

Regarding Senator Bayh's question of Iraqi links to al- Qa'ida, Senators could draw from the following points for unclassified discussions: ...

We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and al-Qa'ida going back a decade.

[Notes to reader: There are five other 'bullet points' regarding the links to al Qaeda, in addition to the one above. The link below is to an easy-to-read web version of the letter. For a PDF of the page of the Congressional Record from which this letter is extracted, go here.
Tenet letter in response to Senator Graham, Select Committe on Intelligence, published 10-09-2002

And we see now with the discussion of Iraq and the danger that the Saddam Hussein regime poses to the world a focus on precisely that nexus between state support for terrorism and the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.
Dept of Defense Press Briefing, published 10-08-2002

A key, first-night maneuver for an attack on Iraq would involve aggressively pushing E-8 Joint-STARS ground-surveillance radar aircraft well into the western part of the country. During the 1990-91 Persian Gulf war, Joint-STARS orbits were kept inside Saudi Arabia.

The tactic would allow the 200-250-mi.-range radar to better monitor dispersal of mobile Scud launchers and antiaircraft missiles. The two major Scud launch boxes for attacking Israel during the gulf war were located in far western Iraq. One was centered on the H-3 air base complex near the border with Jordan; the second encompassed the H-1 and H-2 airfields along the Syrian border.
Aviation Week, published 10-08-2002

While President Bush marshals congressional and international support for invading Iraq, a growing number of military officers, intelligence professionals and diplomats in his own government privately have deep misgivings about the administration's double-time march toward war.

These officials charge that administration hawks have exaggerated evidence of the threat that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein poses - including distorting his links to the al-Qaida terrorist network - have overstated the amount of international support for attacking Iraq and have downplayed the potential repercussions of a new war in the Middle East. ...

"Analysts at the working level in the intelligence community are feeling very strong pressure from the Pentagon to cook the intelligence books," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A dozen other officials echoed his views in interviews with Knight Ridder. No one who was interviewed disagreed.

Rumsfeld said Sept. 26 that the U.S. government has "bulletproof" confirmation of links between Iraq and al-Qaida members, including "solid evidence" that members of the terrorist network maintain a presence in Iraq.

The facts are much less conclusive. ...

In fact, the officials said, there's no ironclad evidence that the Iraqi regime and the terrorist network are working together, or that Saddam has ever contemplated giving chemical or biological weapons to al-Qaida, with whom he has deep ideological differences.

None of the dissenting officials, who work in a number of different agencies, would agree to speak publicly, out of fear of retribution. But many of them have long experience in the Middle East and South Asia, and all spoke in similar terms about their unease with the way that U.S. political leaders are dealing with Iraq.
Knight Ridder, published 10-08-2002

"U.N. weapons inspectors have sent a letter to Iraq spelling out the agreements reached with Iraq in their recent meetings in Vienna, including "immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access" to sites...

The letter... notes that the eight presidential sites are still covered by a special agreement -- a 'memorandum of understanding,' or MOU.

The MOU-which the United States wants to see negated-sets out the special handling for presidential sites, including advance notice.

[See also: MOU link here]
CNN - World, published 10-09-2002

President Bush's case against Saddam Hussein, outlined in a televised address to the nation on Monday night, relied on a slanted and sometimes entirely false reading of the available US intelligence, government officials and analysts claimed yesterday.

Officials in the CIA, FBI and energy department are being put under intense pressure to produce reports which back the administration's line, the Guardian has learned. In response, some are complying, some are resisting and some are choosing to remain silent.

"Basically, cooked information is working its way into high-level pronouncements and there's a lot of unhappiness about it in intelligence, especially among analysts at the CIA," said Vincent Cannistraro, the CIA's former head of counter-intelligence. ...

There is also profound scepticism among US intelligence experts about the president's claim that "Iraq has trained al-Qaida members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases". ...

A source familiar with the September 11 investigation said: "The FBI has been pounded on to make this link."
The Guardian, published 10-09-2002

Washington -- The House of Representatives has voted to give President Bush the authority he has sought to mount military action against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, and the Senate appears poised to follow suit swiftly.

By a 296-133 vote, the House acted October 10 to authorize the president to launch a unilateral, preemptive attack on Iraq -- if efforts to work through the United Nations fail -- to strip Hussein of his existing weapons of mass destruction and block development of a potential nuclear threat.

Meanwhile, the Senate voted to cut short debate on its companion resolution, virtually guaranteeing final passage in that chamber, possibly later in the day and almost certainly no later than October 11.

[See also: Complete Text of House Resolution here]
State Dept - Washington File, published 10-10-2002

As it makes its case against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration has for now dropped what had been one of the central arguments presented by supporters of a military campaign against Baghdad: Iraq's links to al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.

Although administration officials say they are still trying to develop a strong case tying Hussein to global terrorism, the CIA has yet to find convincing evidence despite having combed its files and redoubled its efforts to collect and analyze information related to Iraq, according to senior intelligence officials and outside experts with knowledge of discussions within the U.S. government. ...

"At some point we will certainly make the case concerning Iraq and its links to terrorism," a senior administration official said yesterday. "We still have to develop it more." ...

The administration's attempt to link Iraq to terrorism has been criticized by former military, intelligence and national security officials who monitored terrorism in both Democratic and Republican administrations.

"Is there any confirmed evidence of Iraq's links to terrorism? No," said Vincent M. Cannistraro, former head of the CIA's counterterrorism office.
Washington Post, published 10-10-2002

WASHINGTON - The following U.S. and British forces are in or near the Middle East and could be used in any attack on Iraq. U.S. officials say "host-nation sensitivities" prevent them from discussing basing arrangements of many U.S. forces in the area.

[see link for a complete list of forces in or near the Middle East as of Oct. 2002]

[Original Reuters web page no longer available]
Reuters, published 10-11-2002

Washington -- The U.S. Congress has authorized President Bush to mount unilateral U.S. military action against Saddam Hussein's regime if other approaches fail to force Iraq to disarm.

Final action came in the form of a 77-23 vote by the Senate in the early morning hours October 11.

That followed a 296-133 vote in favor of the same resolution by the House of Representatives the previous afternoon.

The pair of votes marked a major victory for the Bush administration, which has been insisting for months that the president must have the authority to act in the face of a real and growing threat that Iraq would use its existing biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction against the United States or its friends and allies, could arm terrorist groups, and might soon add nuclear weapons to its arsenal.
State Dept - Washington File, published 10-11-2002

There is universal agreement that Saddam Hussein poses a serious threat. He's a threat to the neighborhood, he's a threat to our allies. There is universal understanding that right after the Gulf War [February, 1991] he was close to having a nuclear weapon. He still wants to have a nuclear weapon.
Remarks by the President in Waterford, Michigan, published 10-14-2002

This is a country who has made it clear he'd like to have a nuclear weapon. And when our inspectors -- or the inspectors went into the country right after the Gulf War, it was estimated that they were months away from having a nuclear weapon.
Remarks by the President at Congressional Dinner, published 10-14-2002

Inside the headquarters of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency outside Washington, Pentagon mapmakers are reviewing satellite imagery pouring in from Iraq every day. They are updating the Digital Point Positioning Database, made up of computerized maps showing the coordinates of Saddam Hussein's key weapons facilities, command posts and air-defense sites.

Halfway across the country, just outside St. Louis, Mo., a Boeing factory has gone to two shifts a day building a revolutionary weapon geared for those targets. Workers are assembling computer-steered bomb tails that, once loaded with those Pentagon-supplied coordinates, harness gravity and wii* [sic] And to turn "dumb" bombs into weapons of amazing--and amazingly cheap--precision.
CNN - Politics, published 10-14-2002

As a result, six U.S. intelligence satellites the size of city buses are prowling the skies over Iraq every day. Three KH-11 and three Lacrosse satellites are searching for places where Saddam might be producing such weapons, as well as for any signs that he is moving his Scud missiles into launching positions. This intelligence would not only help commanders draft target lists, it would also guide U.S. commandos to the right places once they secreted inside Iraq, something planners foresee in the early hours of a new engagement.
CNN - Politics, published 10-14-2002

The Iraqi regime is a serious and growing threat to peace. On the commands of a dictator, the regime is armed with biological and chemical weapons, possesses ballistic missiles, promotes international terror and seeks nuclear weapons.

Compliance will begin with a accurate and full and complete accounting for all chemical, biological and nuclear weapons materials, as well as missiles and other means of delivery anywhere in Iraq.
Remarks by the President at the signing of the Iraq Resolution, published 10-16-2002

AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002

Public Law 107-243
107th Congress

Joint Resolution

To authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq.

[Full text of resolution at link below]
107th Congress - Authorization For Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, published 10-16-2002

Q: Thank you, sir. It's been more than a month since you said you expected the United Nations to act in days or weeks on a new Iraq resolution. How much longer are you prepared to wait, and why aren't you losing patience?...

THE PRESIDENT: Because I'm a patient man. (Laughter.) My mother and wife think that's hysterical when I say that, of course. (Laughter.)

Let's see, because it takes a while to get things done in the U.N., I guess is the answer. I mean, we will -- I've made the commitment to go to the U.N., I've asked the U.N. to act. We have got to deal with members of the Security Council. There are differing opinions on members of the Security Council.
President Bush Welcomes Prime Minister Sharon to White House, published 10-16-2002

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz says that to wait until Iraq poses an imminent threat to the United States "assumes that we will know when it is imminent," and historically that has been a highly risky method for making national security policy....

"We cannot afford to wait until Saddam Hussein or some terrorist supplied by him attacks us with a chemical or biological or, worst of all, a nuclear weapon, to recognize the danger that we face," he said....

"Saddam Hussein is harboring terrorists and the instruments of terror, the instruments of mass death and destruction, and he cannot be trusted," Wolfowitz said. "The risk is simply too great that he will use them or provide them to a terror network."

[ original text can by viewed at IFPA-Fletcher Conference
State Dept - Washington File, published 10-18-2002

On October 5th Babbel(?) [sic] and official Iraqi government newspaper published by Saddam’s son and alluded to today by Paul Wolfowitz at his luncheon address, urged the Iraqis to “Strike at U.S. interests wherever they may be.” Iraqi television has shown Saddam urging his nuclear mujahideen(?) to defeat the enemy. So we can no longer turn a deaf ear to the far away threats and incitement.

A few years ago we received similar pronouncement from Osama bin Laden. International law does not require that the United States absorb a nuclear, biological or chemical weapons attack before responding to an imminent threat. The risk of inaction, as Paul Wolfowitz said today, outweighs the risk of action.
Fletcher Conference on National Security, published 10-16-2002

Iraq’s relation with Al Qaeda go back a decade. They have harbored Al Qaeda operatives in Baghdad and provided chemical and biological warfare training to Al Qaeda. An even more potent threat is posed by Saddam’s threat for weapons of mass destruction. And according to the dossier released by the British government, when U.N. inspectors left in 1998, they could not account for 360 tons of chemical agents including one and a half tons of BX nerve gas.

They could not account for growth media capable of producing 85 hundred liters of anthrax. They could not account for 30 thousand artillery shells and other munitions capable of delivering chemical and biological agents. Again, as the President said on 12 September at the U.N. General Assembly, “We know that Saddam Hussein pursued weapons of mass destruction even when the inspectors were in his country. Are we to assume that they stopped when they left?”

The history, the logic and the facts lead one to one conclusion, Saddam Hussein’s regime is a grave and gathering danger. To suggest otherwise is to hope against the evidence. To assume this regime’s good faith is to bet the lives of millions and the peace of the world in a reckless gamble. Now we very much hope the conflict with Iraq can be avoided. But we cannot in good conscience sacrifice our liberty or safety by turning a blind eye to a grave and growing danger.
Fletcher Conference on National Security, published 10-16-2002

We're going to seek a peaceful solution to this. We think that one is possible.
CBS - Face the Nation, published 10-20-2002

Q: Sir, is North Korea an imminent threat to the United States and what consequences, if any, will it face for hiding its nuclear program from you?

THE PRESIDENT: One, we had a bit of troubling news when we discovered the fact that, contrary to what we had been led to believe, that they were enriching uranium with the idea of developing a nuclear weapon. I say troubling news, obviously, because we felt like they had given their word they weren't going to do this....

Q: They're not an imminent threat, though?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, that's an operative word. We view this very seriously. It is a troubling discovery, and it's a discovery that we intend to work with our friends to deal with. I believe we can do it peacefully....

Q: Why [do] you threaten military action against Iraq, but you believe that Korea's nuclear weapons program only merits diplomatic efforts?

THE PRESIDENT: Saddam Hussein is unique,... Now, what makes him even more unique is the fact he's actually gassed his own people. He has used weapons of mass destruction on neighboring countries and he's used weapons of mass destruction on his own citizenry. He wants to have a nuclear weapon.
Remarks by the President and NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson at White House, published 10-21-2002

The CIA this week beefed up its presence in northern Iraq, establishing two formal field offices in the Kurdish-controlled territory protected by U.S. and British fighter jets, according to Iraqi opposition officials.

As of Monday, one CIA station was established in territory controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the other was set up in territory controlled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party. United Press International is withholding further details out of concern that disclosing them may put American lives at risk.

The new formal CIA presence marks the first time since 1996 that the agency has enjoyed a home address in northern Iraq.
United Press International, published 10-23-2002

In their briefing to the Security Council on 3 October 2002, Mr. Hans Blix and Mr. Mohamed ElBaradei stated that there were no legal obstacles to the speedy return of the inspectors to Iraq. Mr. Blix repeated this in his written statement to the Security Council on 15 October 2002, and Mr. ElBaradei did so in the position paper that was circulated to the members of the Council at these same consultations.

The Iraqi side having completed its preparations to receive the inspectors on 19 October 2002 as agreed, the day came and the inspectors did not arrive. The Iraqi side was not notified that their arrival would be postponed or of the reasons for its postponement or the proposed new date for their arrival.

It seemed evident that the United States had prevented the UNMOVIC and IAEA inspectors from proceeding to Iraq when the majority of the States members of the Security Council and the majority of the States Members of the United Nations whose representatives had spoken at the open meeting of the Security Council on Iraq held on 16 and 17 October 2002 had endorsed the need for the expeditious return of the inspectors to Iraq to complete their tasks....

The Government of the United States does not want the inspectors to return, because they would reveal the falsity of its allegations and because that would mean requiring the Security Council to lift the unjust embargo imposed on Iraq and to implement paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 687 (1991), which calls for the elimination of the nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction that Israel possesses.
Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs - Naji Sabri (PDF), published 10-24-2002

The Pentagon's civilian leadership has ordered a small team of defense officials outside regular intelligence channels to focus on unearthing details about Iraqi ties with al Qaeda and other terrorist networks, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday. ...

"The Pentagon is setting up the capability to assess information on Iraq in areas that in the past might have been the realm of the agency," said Reuel Gerecht, a former CIA case officer who has met with the people in the new Pentagon office. "They don't think the product they receive from the agency is always what it should be."

"They are politicizing intelligence, no question about it," said Vincent M. Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism chief. "And they are undertaking a campaign to get George Tenet [the director of central intelligence] fired because they can't get him to say what they want on Iraq."
Washington Post, published 10-25-2002

The movement of American aircraft carriers is always worth watching as a good indicator of impending military action:

The USS Kitty Hawk has already departed from its base in Japan.

The USS Constellation and her battle group are due to leave port within a few days, which could see her on station in the Gulf by early December.

The USS Harry S Truman is starting its pre-deployment exercises and could also be on its way within a matter of weeks.
BBC News, published 10-29-2002

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 31, 2002 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Air Force have successfully completed flight-testing of the MK-82 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, from an F-16 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

A U.S. Air Force F-16 yesterday launched the final JDAM MK-82 weapon to complete a successful weapon development flight test series on the F-16 aircraft. The weapon, launched from stressing flight test conditions, flew as planned and impacted the target.

The U.S. Air Force awarded $45 million to Boeing for engineering, manufacturing and development, or EMD, of the 500-pound MK-82 and BLU-111 warhead JDAM in September 2000.
Boeing, published 10-31-2002

The “Committee for the Liberation of Iraq” is setting up offices on Capitol Hill this week, according to its president, Randy Scheunemann, Lott’s former chief national-security adviser who last year worked in Rumsfeld’s office as a consultant on Iraq policy. The chairman of the new Committee, Bruce P. Jackson, is a former vice president of Lockheed Martin who chaired the Republican Party Platform’s subcommittee for National Security and Foreign Policy when Bush ran for president in 2000....

Gary Schmitt, PNAC’s executive director, has agreed to join Jackson, Finley, and Scheunemann, as an officer in the new Iraq group.

Scheunemann told Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF) that they are still recruiting members for the Committee’s board of directors. So far, however, former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey, and ret. General Wayne Downing, a former lobbyist for the Iraqi National Congress (INC) who worked as Bush’s top counter-terrorism official on his National Security Council staff until he unexpectedly resigned last summer, have all signed on.
Foreign Policy in Focus, published 11-04-2002

The U.S. Navy is seeking more merchant ships to carry a large quantities of ammunition to the Gulf for arrival in November and December, shipping tender documents seen by Reuters show.

The Navy has also placed an order to shift quantities of ammunition between Gulf ports, as the United Nations moves closer to a new resolution on disarming Iraq.

One of the orders shows the Navy's Military Sealift Command is seeking a vessel to move 550 containers of ammunition and explosives from the U.S. East Coast to four ports in the Red Sea and Gulf.... The vessel loading on October 31 is to discharge at the various ports between November 19 and December 3. ...

"That's a big chunk of ammo'," said one shipping source who has chartered ammunition ships for the British Ministry of Defense.

[Original Reuters article on web page no longer available. Additional website link to article here.]
Reuters, published 11-01-2002

Speaking November 1 at the Second Global Conference on Nuclear, Bio/Chem Terrorism in Washington, D.C., Under Secretary of State John Bolton quoted President Bush as saying, "our greatest fear is that terrorists will find a shortcut to their mad ambitions when an outlaw regime supplies them with the technologies to kill on a massive scale."

He focused on the WMD activities and programs of Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya and Syria, all state sponsors of terrorism, noting that Iran, for instance, "is known to be seeking dual-use materials, technology and expertise for its offensive biological and chemical weapons programs" as well as trying "to upgrade its large ballistic missile force.

"Our intelligence clearly shows that Iran seeks to acquire a nuclear weapons capability, and thus we are extremely concerned about transfers to Iran of dual-use materials. Once a rogue state's intentions become apparent, we should assume that the dual-use technologies it acquires will be used for illegitimate purposes," Bolton said.

Turning to Iraq, he said that nation has "an aggressive program to rebuild the infrastructure for its nuclear, chemical, biological and missile program," and that "once Iraq acquires fissile material -- whether from a foreign source or by securing the materials to build an indigenous fissile material capability -- it could fabricate a nuclear weapon within one year."
John Bolton addresses Hudson Institute, published 11-01-2002

We know a while ago that he was close to having a nuclear weapon. We have no idea today how close he is. If he has a nuclear weapon, it's a serious problem for America and our friends and allies.

We know he's got chemical weapons. He said he wouldn't have them, but we know he's got them.
Remarks by the President in Florida Welcome, published 11-02-2002

He was close at one time to having a nuclear weapon. We don't know how close he is today, but a Saddam Hussein with a nuclear weapon is a grave, grave threat to America and our friends and allies.

He said he wouldn't have chemical weapons; he has them. But not only has he got them, I want you all to remember, he used them.
Remarks by the President in Savannah, Georgia, published 11-02-2002

ABOARD U.S.S. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, in the Persian Gulf, Oct. 30 -- When Navy warplanes roar off the flight deck of this aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, their official mission is to patrol the no-flight zone in southern Iraq.

But they also have an unadvertised task: practicing bombing runs against Iraqi targets.

Navy pilots are conducting mock strikes against airfields, towers and other military sites in Iraq, acquainting themselves with targets they may be called on to strike as the Bush administration prepares for a possible military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein.

"It gives us the opportunity to train in the same environment that we may possibly go to war in," Capt. Kevin C. Albright, who commands the Abraham Lincoln's air wing, said of the Navy patrols over southern Iraq. "We are looking at target sets and practicing."

[Article also available to view here.]
New York Times, published 11-02-2002

Larry Lindsey, President Bush's economic adviser, recently said that a successful war on Iraq would be good for business.

'When there is a regime change in Iraq, you could add three to five million barrels [per day] of production to world supply,' he said in September. 'The successful prosecution of the war would be good for the economy.'
The Guardian, published 11-03-2002

A little way off the Californian coast, near the island of San Clemente, the men of the USS Constellation's squadrons were last week going through their paces to ready themselves for war....

At the end of the three weeks or so it will take to sail to the Gulf, the Constellation will join its battle group, part of the largest build-up of US warships in the region since the Gulf war of 1991....

The frenetic pace of military preparations in the US and the UK are in stark contrast to the haggling at the UN Security Council in its deliberations over the wording of a new resolution to force Iraq to comply with weapons inspections.
The Guardian , published 11-03-2002

The Pentagon is outfitting Army engineering units with state-of-the-art river-crossing equipment capable of moving large numbers of troops and heavy materiel across the Euphrates quickly if the decision is made to attack Iraq, current and former defense officials say.

The portable bridges -- carried on truck beds in retractable sections that snap out into flat spans when they hit the water -- are being delivered to some of the dozen or so units at U.S. and European bases that might deploy to the Persian Gulf in the event of war.

Any U.S. military drive to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power probably would require not just airstrikes but also a full-scale ground attack.

Military officials say it would be impossible to control Iraq without crossing the broad Euphrates, which flows the length of the country and passes near Baghdad. The rapidly deployed bridges could play a crucial role, minimizing U.S. casualties by speeding large numbers of soldiers and heavy equipment across the river. No matter how U.S. troops were to advance across Iraq, they would face the task of bridging and controlling the strategic waterway.
[Original web page requires paid subscription to view]
Los Angeles Times, published 11-03-2002

This is a man who told the world he wouldn't have weapons of mass destruction, promised he wouldn't have them. He's got them. When they had the inspectors go in there a while ago, he was -- some estimated -- very close to having a nuclear weapon. Imagine this guy having a nuclear weapon.
Remarks by the President at Bentonville, Arkansas, published 11-04-2002

At one time we know for certain he was close to having a nuclear weapon. Imagine Saddam Hussein with a nuclear weapon.
Remarks by the President in Dallas, Texas, published 11-04-2002

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- Saudi Arabia's foreign minister pledged his country's allegiance with the United States in its fight against the al Qaeda terrorist group, but said Saudi Arabia would not allow its bases and airspace to be used in any U.S.-led military strike against Iraq.

"We will cooperate with the [U.N.] Security Council, but as to entering the conflict or using the facilities as part of the conflict, that's something else," Prince Saud al-Faisal told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in a recent interview, when asked about allowing overflights by U.S. forces.

"So that's a 'no'?" Amanpour asked. "No," al-Faisal said.
CNN - World, published 11-04-2002

Kuwait said on Monday the United States, whose forces freed it from Iraqi occupation 11 years ago, could use its military bases for any attack on Iraq sanctioned by the United Nations.

But the Gulf Arab state's foreign minister, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, also told reporters his country's armed forces would not take part in any military operation against its neighbour.

"If a (U.N. Security Council) resolution is issued, the bases will be used, but not the Kuwaiti military," he said.

Key U.S. regional ally Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it would not allow the United States to use its facilities for any attack against Iraq, even if a strike had U.N. sanction.

[Original web page no longer available]
Reuters, published 11-04-2002

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- More than 8,000 Pacific Fleet Sailors commenced a six-month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom when Naval forces of the USS Constellation (CV 64) Carrier Battle Group departed San Diego Nov. 2.

The Constellation Battle Group, based in San Diego, deployed with the following San Diego-based ships: guided-missile cruisers USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and USS Valley Forge (CG 50); guided-missile destroyers USS Higgins (DDG 76) and USS Milius (DDG 69), and guided- missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43). Other units include the fast attack submarine USS Columbia (SSN 771), based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the fast combat support ship USS Rainier (AOE 7), based in Bremerton, Wash.
US Navy News, published 11-05-2002

Q: Mr. President, what is the logic of your insistence on invading Iraq at some point, which may someday have nuclear weapons, and not laying a glove on North Korea, which may have them or may produce them? Both of which, of course, would be against international law...

THE PRESIDENT: With North Korea, we're taking a different strategy, initially, and it's this -- that we're going to work with countries in the neighborhood to convince North Korea that it is not in the world's interest that they develop a nuclear weapon through highly enriched uranium....

THE PRESIDENT: ...Well, I think most people around the world realize that Saddam Hussein is a threat. And they -- no one likes war, but they also don't like the idea of Saddam Hussein having a nuclear weapon. Imagine what would happen. And by the way, we don't know how close he is to a nuclear weapon right now. We know he wants one. But we don't know. We know he was close to one at one point in time; we have no idea today.
Presidential Press Conference , published 11-07-2002

The Pentagon is moving the jet that fired the opening salvos of the last two U.S. wars to within easy striking distance of Iraq, erecting tent-like portable hangars for the batwinged B-2 bomber on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.

Four of the new $2.5-million maintenance hangars, each serving two planes, will be built on the British-held isle and one at Fairford, England. It will be the first time B-2s will be stationed overseas instead of here at Whiteman Air Force Base.

The foreign positioning of the radar-deflecting aircraft has been in the works for years, officials say. But the timing suggests the key role the B-2 is likely to play if there is a second war in the Persian Gulf, military analysts say.

[Original web page requires paid subscription to view]
Los Angeles Times, published 11-07-2002

If Iraq's dictator is permitted to acquire nuclear weapons, he could resume his pattern of intimidation and conquest and dictate the future of a vital region.
President Pleased with UN Vote, published 11-08-2002

[Excerpt]

1. Decides that Iraq has been and remains in material breach of its obligations under relevant resolutions, including resolution 687 (1991), in particular through Iraq’s failure to cooperate with United Nations inspectors and the IAEA, and to complete the actions required under paragraphs 8 to 13 of resolution 687 (1991);

2. Decides, while acknowledging paragraph 1 above, to afford Iraq, by this resolution, a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations under relevant resolutions of the Council; and accordingly decides to set up an enhanced inspection regime with the aim of bringing to full and verified completion the disarmament process established by resolution 687 (1991) and subsequent resolutions of the Council;...

4. Decides that false statements or omissions in the declarations submitted by Iraq pursuant to this resolution and failure by Iraq at any time to comply with, and cooperate fully in the implementation of, this resolution shall constitute a further material breach of Iraq’s obligations....

13. Recalls, in that context, that the Council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations;

14. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

[Note to reader: Nothing in this document authorizes use of force against Iraq]
United Nations Security Council, published 11-08-2002

...the world has now come together to say that the outlaw regime in Iraq will not be permitted to build or possess chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
Radio Address of the President to the Nation , published 11-09-2002

...the Iraqi regime must not produce or possess chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. Iraq pledged to disarm more than a decade ago...

...The danger from Iraq is clear and it's multiplied a thousand times over by the possibility of chemical or biological or nuclear attack. The time to confront this threat is before it arrives, not the day after.
President Bush Salutes Veterans at White House Ceremony, published 11-11-2002

Q. Shouldn't we have found him [Osama bin Laden] sooner though, looking back on Tora Bora?

The President. We're making great progress in the war on terror. Slowly but surely, we are dismantling the terrorist network. We're finding their sanctuaries. We're holding people to account. Our coalition of freedom-loving nations is up to 90 now. There is an international manhunt on. I warned the American people that this is going to take time to achieve our objective. We're in a different kind of war. It's a war that requires international cooperation. We've got to cut off their money. We've got to share intelligence. And we're on a manhunt, and we're not quitting. Slowly but surely, we're achieving our objective.
Remarks by the President After Meeting with the Cabinet, published 11-13-2002

Iraq today indicated its willingness to accept the return of weapons inspectors to the country under the terms of a new Security Council resolution - a move immediately welcomed by the President of the 15-member body.

The Council President received copies of the letter through Mr. Annan, according to a UN spokesman.

Baghdad will accept Security Council resolution resolution 1441 "despite its bad contents," said Iraqi Ambassador Mohammad Al-Douri, quoting from the letter.

"We are prepared to receive the inspectors within the assigned timetable," he told reporters in New York. "We are eager to see them perform their duties in accordance with international law as soon as possible."
United Nations, published 11-13-2002

(CBS) There will be no World War III starting with Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared Thursday, and rejected concerns that a war would be a quagmire.

"The idea that it's going to be a long, long, long battle of some kind I think is belied by the fact of what happened in 1990," he said on an Infinity Radio call-in program.

He said the U.S. military is stronger than it was during the Persian Gulf War, while Iraq's armed forces are weaker.

"Five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that," he said.
CBS News, published 11-15-2002

Imagine a Saddam Hussein with a nuclear weapon.... And one way or the other, he's going to be disarmed.
European Print Roundtable - Interview of the President , published 11-18-2002

Q. Usama bin Laden still seems to be alive. Are you----

The President. Could be.

Q. ----worried that he's plotting another major attack on the United States?

The President. Whether it's him or somebody else, they're plotting an attack, no question about it. That's why we've got to get them. But this issue is bigger than one person.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - Interview with the President , published 11-18-2002

United Nations weapons inspectors arrived in Iraq today to re-launch the search for weapons of mass destruction.

The findings of the inspectors, led by the chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, and the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed El Baradei, could determine whether or not Iraq will face the wrath of the US military in the coming months.
The Guardian, published 11-18-2002

So, what we're going to be looking for, and I hope the world joins us, is whether or not this man is cooperating with the will of the world. See, the world has recognized -- many members of NATO have recognized that a Saddam Hussein and Iraq which possesses weapons of mass destruction is dangerous. Imagine a Saddam Hussein with a nuclear weapon.
Press Conference by President Bush and President Havel of Czech Republic, published 11-20-2002

President Bush and Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said that Iraq's Saddam Hussein will be disarmed one way or another. They made their remarks to reporters at the start of their bilateral meeting in Prague November 21.

"If he chooses not to disarm, we will work with our close friends, the closest of which is Great Britain, and we will disarm him," Bush said. "But our first choice is not to use the military option. Our first choice is for Mr. Saddam Hussein to disarm. And that's where we'll be devoting a lot of our energies."

Blair said, "What you will find here at this NATO summit is a totally united determination on behalf of the international community, reflected in the unanimous United Nations resolution, that Saddam Hussein has to disarm himself of all weapons of mass destruction. And how that happens is a choice for him."
Press conference by Bush and Bliar in Prague, Czech Republic, published 11-21-2002