The Definitive List of Lies About Weapons of Mass Destruction
"The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax and nerve gas and nuclear weapons for over a decade. States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world."
USA President George W Bush, 30th January 2002
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."
USA Vice President Dick Cheney, August 26th 2002
"We can’t allow the world’s worst leaders to blackmail, threaten, hold freedom-loving nations hostage with the world’s worst weapons."
USA President George W Bush, September 5th 2002
"The point that I would emphasize to you is that the threat from Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological, potentially nuclear weapons capability, that threat is real."
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, September 5th 2002
"If we have reason to believe someone is preparing an attack against the U.S., has developed that capability, harbours those aspirations, then I think the U.S. is justified in dealing with that, if necessary, by military force."
USA Vice President Dick Cheney, September 8th 2002
"Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons."
USA President George W Bush, September 12th 2002
"What I believe the assessed intelligence has established beyond doubt is that Saddam has continued to produce chemical and biological weapons, and that he has been able to extend the range of his ballistic missile program."
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, September 24th 2002
"His (Saddam Hussein?s) military planning allows for some of the weapons of mass destruction to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them.”
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Foreword to Iraq “dossier” September 24th 2002
"The Iraqi regime possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons."
USA President George W Bush, October 7th 2002
"If we know Saddam has weapons of mass destruction ? and we do ? does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him?"
USA President George W Bush, October 7th 2002
"Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles ..… to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas. We’re concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using the UAVs for missions targeting the United States."
USA President George W Bush, October 7th 2002
"The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program."
USA President George W Bush, October 7th 2002
"If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world."
White House Spokesperson Ari Fleischer, December 2nd 2002
"We know for a fact there are weapons there."
White House Spokesperson Ari Fleischer, January 9th 2003
"It is right (going to war) because weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, are a real threat to the security of the world and this country"
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, January 15th 2003
"His (Saddam Hussein?s) regime has large, unaccounted-for stockpiles of chemical and biological weapon sand he has an active program to acquire and develop nuclear weapons"
USA Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, January 20th 2003
"Well, of course he is." (After being asked whether Saddam Hussein was an ‘imminent’ threat)
White House spokesperson Dan Bartlett, CNN interview, January 26th, 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 spokesperson Dan Bartlett, CNN interview, January 26th, 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."
USA President George W Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28th 2003
"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
USA President George W Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28th 2003
"Every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we?re giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence"
USA Secretary of State Colin Powell, address to the UN Security Council, February 5th 2003
"Our conservative estimate is that Iraq today has a stockpile of between 100 and 500 tonnes of chemical-weapons agent. That is enough agent to fill 16,000 battlefield rockets."
USA Secretary of State Colin Powell, address to the UN Security Council, February 5th 2003
"In fact, they (Iraqi regime) can produce enough dry biological agent in a single month to kill thousands upon thousands of people."
USA Secretary of State Colin Powell, address to the UN Security Council, February 5th 2003
"We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more."
USA Secretary of State Colin Powell, February 5th 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."
USA President George W Bush, February 8th 2003
"This is about an imminent threat."
White House spokesperson Scott McClellan, press briefing, February 10th, 2003
"A dictator is building and hiding weapons that could enable him to dominate the Middle East and intimidate the civilised world. Acting against the danger will contribute greatly to the long-term safety and stability of our world."
USA President George W Bush, 27th February 2003
"We are dealing with a very real threat today, that of Iraq?s weapons of mass destruction"
UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, March 10th 2003
"We believe [Saddam Hussein] has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons."
USA Vice President Dick Cheney, March 16th 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."
USA President George W Bush, March 17th 2003
"Intelligence leaves no doubt that Iraq continues to possess and conceal lethal weapons "
USA President George W Bush, March 18th, 2003
"We are asked to accept Saddam decided to destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd "
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, March 18th, 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."
USA President George W. Bush, March 19th, 2003
"Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly."
White House Spokesperson Ari Fleischer, March 21st 2003
"There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. As this operation continues, those weapons will be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who guard them."
USA General Tommy Franks, March 22nd 2003
"One of our top objectives is to find and destroy the weapons of mass destruction. There are a number of sites. "
Pentagon Spokeswoman Victoria Clark, March 22nd 2003
"I have no doubt we’re going to find big stores of weapons of mass destruction."
Kenneth Adelman, USA Defence Policy Board, March 23rd 2003
"We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad."
USA Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, March 30th 2003
"Saddam’s removal is necessary to eradicate the threat from his weapons of mass destruction "
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, April 2nd, 2003
"I think you have always heard, and you continue to hear from officials, a measure of high confidence that, indeed, the weapons of mass destruction will be found."
White House Spokesperson Ari Fleischer, April 10th 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."
USA President George W Bush, April 24th 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."
USA Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, April 25th 2003
"Before people crow about the absence of weapons of mass destruction, I suggest they wait a bit."
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair April 28th, 2003
"We’ll find them. It’ll be a matter of time to do so."
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, May 3rd 2003
"I am confident that we will find evidence that makes it clear he had weapons of mass destruction."
USA Secretary of State Colin Powell, May 4th 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."
USA Secretary of State Colin Powell, May 4th 2003
"I never believed that we’d just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country."
USA Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, May 4th 2003
"I’m not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam Hussein—because he had a weapons program."
USA President George W Bush, May 6th 2003
"Absolutely." (On being asked whether the USA went to war because Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons were a direct, imminent threat to the USA)
White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer, press briefing, May 7th, 2003
"U.S. officials never expected that we were going to open garages and find weapons of mass destruction."
USA National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, May 12th 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."
USA Major General David Petraeus, May 13th 2003
"I don’t believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons"
USA Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing, May 14th, 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."
General Michael Hagee, May 21st 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."
USA Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers, May 26th 2003
"They may have had time to destroy them, and I don’t know the answer."
USA Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, May 27th 2003
"It is possible Iraqi leaders decided they would destroy them prior to the conflict."
USA Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, May 28th 2003
"For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction because it was the one reason everyone could agree on."
Paul Wolfowitz May 28, 2003
"It was a surprise to me then—it remains a surprise to me now—that we have not uncovered weapons. Believe me, it’s not for lack of trying. We’ve been to virtually every ammunition supply point...but they’re simply not there."
Lt. General James Conway, May 30th 2003
"For those who say we haven’t found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they’re wrong. We found them."
USA President George W Bush, May 31st, 2003
"We’re on the look. We’ll reveal the truth."
USA President George W Bush, June 5th 2003
"I have absolutely no doubt at all that they will find the clearest possible evidence of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction."
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, June 18th 2003
"We based our decisions on good, sound intelligence, and the--our people are going to find out the truth. And the truth will say that this intelligence was good intelligence. There’s no doubt in my mind."
USA President George W Bush, July 17th 2003
"I think some in the media have chosen to use the word ‘imminent’. Those were not words we used."
White House spokesperson Scott McClellan, press briefing, January 31st, 2004
Compiled by Danny Dayus, World Crisis Web Editor.
