As Americans cited the tenth anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, many Americans then, as now, still accuse former President George W. Bush and members of his Administration of lying to the American people and Congress as reported on the news portal San Diego Free Press/OBRag.org via Google News on March 19, 2013.
As published by the self-described liberal weblog:
"Those to be held accountable, of course, must include the leaders of our government at that time: George W. Bush, President, and Dick Cheney, Vice-President and those who demanded the war which includes then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
These four – and others – lied to us, the people, lied to our allies, lied to the press – they lied that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction ready to use on us and others; they lied that he had nuclear weapons, they lied that he had chemical and biological weapons."
However, FactCheck.org of the left-of-center Annenberg Foundation cites a different story.
As cited, although found after-the-fact to be at least partially incorrect, the intelligence President Bush had in regards to Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) was shared with the U.S. Congress:
"The CIA and most other US intelligence agencies believed before the war that Saddam had stocks of biological and chemical weapons, was actively working on nuclear weapons and 'probably' would have a nuclear weapon before the end of this decade.
That faulty intelligence was shared with Congress – along with multiple mentions of some doubts within the intelligence community – in a formal National Intelligence Estimate just prior to the Senate and House votes to authorize the use of force against Iraq."
Fact Check went on to state:
"No hard evidence has surfaced to support claims that Bush somehow manipulated the findings of intelligence analysts.
In fact, two [Congressional] bipartisan investigations probed for such evidence and said they found none."
Democrats Clamor For War...
A number of Democrats were ringing the warning bells of Saddam Hussein's quest for WMD's long before 9/11 or the Bush presidency.
- "One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." — President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
- "He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." — Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb 18, 1998
- "Hussein has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." — Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999
Post 9/11 Democrats Call For War...
A few examples of the call for war on the left-side of the aisle include:
- "Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." — Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
- "When I vote to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat, and a grave threat, to our security and that of our allies in the Persian Gulf region. I will vote yes because I believe it is the best way to hold Saddam Hussein accountable." — Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9,2002
- "It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capability to wage biological and chemical warfare and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East which, as we know all too well, affects American security." — Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002
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