REMEMBER

[WilliamPitt]

(the last one is my personal favorite)

"How the United States should react if Iraq acquired WMD. The first line of defense...should be a clear and classical statement of deterrence--if they do acquire WMD, their weapons will be unusable because any attempt to use them will bring national obliteration."

- Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
January/February 2000 issue of Foreign Affairs
2/1/2000

"We are greatly concerned about any possible linkup between terrorists and regimes that have or seek weapons of mass destruction...In the case of Saddam Hussein, we've got a dictator who is clearly pursuing and already possesses some of these weapons. A regime that hates America and everything we stand for must never be permitted to threaten America with weapons of mass destruction."

- Dick Cheney, Vice President
Detroit, Fund-Raiser
6/20/2002

"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."

- Dick Cheney, Vice President
Speech to VFW National Convention
8/26/2002

"There is already a mountain of evidence that Saddam Hussein is gathering weapons for the purpose of using them. And adding additional information is like adding a foot to Mount Everest."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Response to Question From Press
9/6/2002

"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."

- Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
CNN Late Edition
9/8/2002

"Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons."

- George W. Bush, President
Speech to UN General Assembly
9/12/2002

"Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons. We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have."

- George W. Bush, President
Radio Address
10/5/2002

"The Iraqi regime...possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas."

- George W. Bush, President
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech
10/7/2002

"And surveillance photos reveal that the regime is rebuilding facilities that it had used to produce chemical and biological weapons."

- George W. Bush, President
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech
10/7/2002

"After eleven years during which we have tried containment, sanctions, inspections, even selected military action, the end result is that Saddam Hussein still has chemical and biological weapons and is increasing his capabilities to make more. And he is moving ever closer to developing a nuclear weapon."

- George W. Bush, President
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech
10/7/2002

"We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas."

- George W. Bush, President
Cincinnati, Ohio Speech
10/7/2002

"Iraq, despite UN sanctions, maintains an aggressive program to rebuild the infrastructure for its nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile programs. In each instance, Iraq's procurement agents are actively working to obtain both weapons-specific and dual-use materials and technologies critical to their rebuilding and expansion efforts, using front companies and whatever illicit means are at hand."

- John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control
Speech to the Hudson Institute
11/1/2002

"We estimate 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. It has rebuilt its civilian chemical infrastructure and renewed production of chemical warfare agents, probably including mustard, sarin, and VX. It actively maintains all key aspects of its offensive BW program."

- John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control
Speech to the Hudson Institute
11/1/2002

"Iraq could decide on any given day to provide biological or chemical weapons to a terrorist group or to individual terrorists...The war on terror will not be won until Iraq is completely and verifiably deprived of weapons of mass destruction."

- Dick Cheney, Vice President
Denver, Address To Air National Guard
12/1/2002

"If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
12/2/2002

"The president of the United States and the secretary of defense would not assert as plainly and bluntly as they have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction if it was not true, and if they did not have a solid basis for saying it."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Response to Question From Press
12/4/2002

"We know for a fact that there are weapons there."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
1/9/2003

"I am absolutely convinced, based on the information that's been given to me, that the weapon of mass destruction which can kill more people than an atomic bomb -- that is, biological weapons -- is in the hands of the leadership of Iraq."

- Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
MSNBC Interview
1/10/2003

"What is unique about Iraq compared to, I would argue, any other country in the world, in this juncture, is the exhaustion of diplomacy thus far, and, No. 2, this intersection of weapons of mass destruction."

- Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
NewsHour Interview
1/22/2003

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production."

- George W. Bush, President
State of the Union Address
1/28/2003

"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent."

- George W. Bush, President
State of the Union Address
1/28/2003

"We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more."

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Remarks to UN Security Council
2/5/2003

"There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more. And he has the ability to dispense these lethal poisons and diseases in ways that can cause massive death and destruction. If biological weapons seem too terrible to contemplate, chemical weapons are equally chilling."

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Addresses the U.N. Security Council
2/5/2003

"In Iraq, a dictator is building and hiding weapons that could enable him to dominate the Middle East and intimidate the civilized world -- and we will not allow it."

- George W. Bush, President
Speech to the American Enterprise Institute
2/26/2003

"If Iraq had disarmed itself, gotten rid of its weapons of mass destruction over the past 12 years, or over the last several months since (UN Resolution) 1441 was enacted, we would not be facing the crisis that we now have before us...But the suggestion that we are doing this because we want to go to every country in the Middle East and rearrange all of its pieces is not correct."

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Interview with Radio France International
2/28/2003

"I am not eager to send young Americans into harm's way in Iraq, or to see innocent people killed or hurt in military operations. Given all of the facts and circumstances known to us, however, I am convinced that if we wait, a threat will continue to materialize in Iraq that could cause incalculable damage to world peace in general, and to the United States in particular."

- Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Letter to Future of Freedom Foundation
3/1/2003

"Iraq is a grave threat to this nation. It desires to acquire and use weapons of mass terror and is run by a despot with a proven record of willingness to use them. Iraq has had 12 years to comply with UN requirements for disarmament and has failed to do so. The president is right to say it's time has run out."

- Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Senate Speech
3/7/2003

"So has the strategic decision been made to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction by the leadership in Baghdad? I think our judgment has to be clearly not."

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Remarks to UN Security Council
3/7/2003

"Getting rid of Saddam Hussein's regime is our best inoculation. Destroying once and for all his weapons of disease and death is a vaccination for the world."

- Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Washington Post op-ed
3/16/2003

"Let's talk about the nuclear proposition for a minute. We know that based on intelligence, that has been very, very good at hiding these kinds of efforts. He's had years to get good at it and we know he has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons. And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons."

- Dick Cheney, Vice President
Meet The Press
3/16/2003

"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."

- George W. Bush, President
Address to the Nation
3/17/2003

"The United States...is now at war so we will not ever see what terrorists could do if supplied with weapons of mass destruction by Saddam Hussein."

- Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Senate Debate
3/20/2003

"Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly . . . all this will be made clear in the course of the operation, for whatever duration it takes."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
3/21/2003

"There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. And...as this operation continues, those weapons will be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who guard them."

- General Tommy Franks, Commander in Chief Central Command
Press Conference
3/22/2003

"One of our top objectives is to find and destroy the WMD. There are a number of sites."

- Victoria Clark, Pentagon Spokeswoman
Press Briefing
3/22/2003

"I have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass destruction."

- Kenneth Adelman, Defense Policy Board member
Washington Post, p. A27
3/23/2003

"We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
ABC Interview
3/30/2003

"We simply cannot live in fear of a ruthless dictator, aggressor and terrorist such as Saddam Hussein, who possesses the world's most deadly weapons."

- Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader
Speech to American Israel Political Action Committee
3/31/2003

"We still need to find and secure Iraq's weapons of mass destruction facilities and secure Iraq's borders so we can prevent the flow of weapons of mass destruction materials and senior regime officials out of the country."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Press Conference
4/9/2003

"You bet we're concerned about it. And one of the reasons it's important is because the nexus between terrorist states with weapons of mass destruction...and terrorist groups -- networks -- is a critical link. And the thought that...some of those materials could leave the country and in the hands of terrorist networks would be a very unhappy prospect. So it is important to us to see that that doesn't happen."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Press Conference
4/9/2003

"Obviously the administration intends to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction U.S. forces find -- and there will be plenty."

- Robert Kagan, Neocon scholar
Washington Post op-ed
4/9/2003

"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."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
4/10/2003

"But make no mistake -- as I said earlier -- we have high confidence that they have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about and it is about. And we have high confidence it will be found."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
4/10/2003

"Were not going to find anything until we find people who tell us where the things are. And we have that very high on our priority list, to find the people who know. And when we do, then well learn precisely where things were and what was done."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Meet the Press
4/13/2003

"I have absolute confidence that there are weapons of mass destruction inside this country. Whether we will turn out, at the end of the day, to find them in one of the 2,000 or 3,000 sites we already know about or whether contact with one of these officials who we may come in contact with will tell us, 'Oh, well, there's actually another site,' and we'll find it there, I'm not sure."

- General Tommy Franks, Commander in Chief Central Command
Fox News
4/13/2003

"We are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi scientists and people within the Iraqi structure, that perhaps he destroyed some, perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them."

- George W. Bush, President
NBC Interview
4/24/2003

"There are people who in large measure have information that we need...so that we can track down the weapons of mass destruction in that country."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Press Briefing
4/25/2003

"We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so."

- George W. Bush, President
Remarks to Reporters
5/3/2003

"I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it just now."

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Remarks to Reporters
5/4/2003

"We never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Fox News Interview
5/4/2003

"I'm not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam Hussein -- because he had a weapons program."

- George W. Bush, President
Remarks to Reporters
5/6/2003

"U.S. officials never expected that 'we were going to open garages and find' weapons of mass destruction."

- Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
Reuters Interview
5/12/2003

"I just don't know whether it was all destroyed years ago -- I mean, there's no question that there were chemical weapons years ago -- whether they were destroyed right before the war, (or) whether they're still hidden."

- Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, Commander 101st Airborne
Press Briefing
5/13/2003

"We said all along that we will never get to the bottom of the Iraqi WMD program simply by going and searching specific sites, that you'd have to be able to get people who know about the programs to talk to you."

- Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense
Interview with Australian Broadcasting
5/13/2003

"Before the war, there's no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical. I expected them to be found. I still expect them to be found."

- Gen. Michael Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps
Interview with Reporters
5/21/2003

"It's going to take time to find them, but we know he had them. And whether he destroyed them, moved them or hid them, we're going to find out the truth. One thing is for certain: Saddam Hussein no longer threatens America with weapons of mass destruction."

- George W. Bush, President
Speech at a weapons factory in Ohio
5/25/2003

"Given time, given the number of prisoners now that we're interrogating, I'm confident that we're going to find weapons of mass destruction."

- Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
NBC Today Show interview
5/26/2003

"They may have had time to destroy them, and I don't know the answer."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Remarks to Council on Foreign Relations
5/27/2003

"For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction (as justification for invading Iraq) because it was the one reason everyone could agree on."

- Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense
Vanity Fair interview
5/28/2003

"The President is indeed satisfied with the intelligence that he received. And I think that's borne out by the fact that, just as Secretary Powell described at the United Nations, we have found the bio trucks that can be used only for the purpose of producing biological weapons. That's proof-perfect that the intelligence in that regard was right on target."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
5/29/2003

"We have teams of people that are out looking. They've investigated a number of sites. And within the last week or two, they have in fact captured and have in custody two of the mobile trailers that Secretary Powell talked about at the United Nations as being biological weapons laboratories."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Infinity Radio Interview
5/30/2003

"But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them."

- George W. Bush, President
Interview with TVP Poland
5/30/2003

"You remember when Colin Powell stood up in front of the world, and he said Iraq has got laboratories, mobile labs to build biological weapons...They're illegal. They're against the United Nations resolutions, and we've so far discovered two...And we'll find more weapons as time goes on."

- George W. Bush, President
Press Briefing
5/30/2003

"It was a surprise to me then -- it remains a surprise to me now -- that we have not uncovered weapons, as you say, in some of the forward dispersal sites. Believe me, it's not for lack of trying. We've been to virtually every ammunition supply point between the Kuwaiti border and Baghdad, but they're simply not there."

- Lt. Gen. James Conway, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force
Press Interview
5/30/2003

"Do I think we're going to find something? Yeah, I kind of do, because I think there's a lot of information out there."

- Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton, Defense Intelligence Agency
Press Conference
5/30/2003

"This wasn't material I was making up, it came from the intelligence community."

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Press Briefing
6/2/2003

"We recently found two mobile biological weapons facilities which were capable of producing biological agents. This is the man who spent decades hiding tools of mass murder. He knew the inspectors were looking for them. You know better than me he's got a big country in which to hide them. We're on the look. We'll reveal the truth."

- George W. Bush, President Camp Sayliya, Qatar
6/5/2003

"I would put before you Exhibit A, the mobile biological labs that we have found. People are saying, 'Well, are they truly mobile biological labs?' Yes, they are. And the DCI, George Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence, stands behind that assessment."

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Fox News Interview
6/8/2003

"No one ever said that we knew precisely where all of these agents were, where they were stored."

- Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
Meet the Press
6/8/2003

"What the president has said is because it's been the long-standing view of numerous people, not only in this country, not only in this administration, but around the world, including at the United Nations, who came to those conclusions...And the president is not going to engage in the rewriting of history that others may be trying to engage in."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Response to Question From Press
6/9/2003

"Iraq had a weapons program...Intelligence throughout the decade showed they had a weapons program. I am absolutely convinced with time we'll find out they did have a weapons program."

- George W. Bush, President
Comment to Reporters
6/9/2003

"The biological weapons labs that we believe strongly are biological weapons labs, we didn't find any biological weapons with those labs. But should that give us any comfort? Not at all. Those were labs that could produce biological weapons whenever Saddam Hussein might have wanted to have a biological weapons inventory."

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
Associated Press Interview
6/12/2003

"Those documents were only one piece of evidence in a larger body of evidence suggesting that Iraq attempted to purchase uranium from Africa...The issue of Iraq's pursuit of uranium in Africa is supported by multiple sources of intelligence. The other sources of evidence did and do support the president's statement."

- Sean McCormack, National Security Council Spokesman
Statement to press
6/13/2003

"My personal view is that their intelligence has been, I'm sure, imperfect, but good. In other words, I think the intelligence was correct in general, and that you always will find out precisely what it was once you get on the ground and have a chance to talk to people and explore it, and I think that will happen."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Press Briefing
6/18/2003

"I have reason, every reason, to believe that the intelligence that we were operating off was correct and that we will, in fact, find weapons or evidence of weapons, programs, that are conclusive. But that's just a matter of time...It's now less than eight weeks since the end of major combat in Iraq and I believe that patience will prove to be a virtue."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
Pentagon media briefing
6/24/2003

MS. BLOCK: There were no toxins found in those trailers. SECRETARY POWELL: Which could mean one of several things: one, they hadn't been used yet to develop toxins; or, secondly, they had been sterilized so thoroughly that there is no residual left. It may well be that they hadn't been used yet.

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
All Things Considered, Interview
6/27/2003

"That was the concern we had with Saddam Hussein. Not only did he have weapons -- and we'll uncover not only his weapons but all of his weapons programs -- he never lost the intent to have these kinds of weapons."

- Colin Powell, Secretary of State
All Things Considered, Interview
6/27/2003

"I think the burden is on those people who think he didn't have weapons of mass destruction to tell the world where they are."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
7/9/2003

[onehandle]

1. K&R nt

[underpants]

2. In a craptacular cast of douchebags Ari, to me, is still the top douchebag

just because he was the douchebag daily public face to the whole thing

[aquart]

3. K&R. How is ol' Ari these days?

[texastoast]

4. I think we shouldn't

Let it lie.

:mad:

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

5. Ari Fleischer -

"all Americans that they need to watch what they say, watch what they do."

[crickets]

9. How arrogant of Ari Fleischer not to take his own smarmy advice.

White House whitewashers
Ari Fleischer Rides Again
In Patriotic Time, Dissent Is Muted

Watching him lie with that cool air of condescension made my blood boil. He knew he was lying at the time. They all did. And everyone is supposed to just move on--though hundreds of thousands of people are needlessly killed, much of Iraq is a plundered ruin, our country is economically devastated and the perps have wandered away, their purses fat with booty?

Not this time.

edit: links

[Gregorian]

6. Bravo! . Let the war crime trials begin!

My very first photoshop. I will not forget. EVER.

[stillcool]

7. My two favorites..

"If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world."

"For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction (as justification for invading Iraq) because it was the one reason everyone could agree on."

[Caliman73]

8. WTF??

"I think the burden is on those people who think he didn't have weapons of mass destruction to tell the world where they are."

- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary
Press Briefing
7/9/2003

UUUHMMM...I'll take a crack at it. They are in your fucking head Ari!! cause there aren't and weren't any WMD's. Beautiful logic, the burden of proof is to tell people where weapons that never existed are? Only a Bush official can crystallize stupidity like that.

[Martin Eden]

44. "Only a Bush official can crystallize stupidity like that"

Or expect the public to swallow a statement like:

"I think the burden is on those people who think he didn't have weapons of mass destruction to tell the world where they are."

That statement requires futher deconstructing:
1) The people Ari Fleischer speaks for (and Ari himself) made hundreds of false statements.
2) They took us into a costly unnecessary war on the basis of thosae statements.
3) The people who didn't think Saddam had WMD were right. It has been established there were no WMD.
4) How can a person who never thought there were WMD in the first place (and was proven right) be expected to tell the world the location of the non-existent WMD?

It's a classic case of double-speak, and after years of lies and misleading rhetoric, it's very possible the public has, over time (like the proverbial frog in a slowly heating pot of water) gotten to the point where they accept an outrageous statement like that without becoming outraged and demanding accountability.

Fleischer's attempt to shift the "burden" was exactly that -- an attempt to avoid accountability.

Unfortunately -- and to the shame of our country -- it appears they have succeeded.

[NoSheep]

47. That truly was the most JAW DROPPING statement of the bunch.

I agree with one of the writers (at Slate, I believe) that Scottie wasn't nearly as entertaining as Fleischer...the lies weren't so "exuberant".

[WilliamPitt]

10. .

[texastoast]

11. Kick n/t

[lazyriver]

12. Thank you, Will, for posting this reminder. I K&R it every

time I see it and it makes me angrier every time. We can never forget the BS they spewed and I hope like hell they pay for these despicable lies.

[madamesilverspurs]

13. Thanks for this.

And what do you use, by the way, to disinfect your fingers after they've had to type such stuff?

[WilliamPitt]

14. Fire.

It hurts, but ya gotta do what'cha gotta do. ;)

[sellitman]

15. But, but, but.....

they were just given bad information.

:fistbump:

[BrklynLiberal]

16. I hope this is how the indictments begin....

[The Wizard]

17. If they were hidden under

a stained blue dress Ken Starr would have found them.
Lies and the lying liars that tell them. Where did we hear that?
I wouldn't piss in Fleischer's mouth if his throat was on fire.
We need new Nuremberg trials.

[B o d i]

18. k & r

[ColbertWatcher]

19. Wow. Excellent compilation!

May I also recommend DUer BlueButGlad2's Poor George's Almanac? (http://poorgeorgesalmanac.com/ )

It's got it all arranged by date for the whole freakin' mess.

[EFerrari]

20. Right on, Will!

K&R

[Raksha]

21. K & R - Never forget. And hold them accountable!!!

[spanone]

22. knr

[Baby Snooks]

23. Nuremberg

The world cries out for a Nuremberg. As do the American people. Congress of course refuses to listen to the cries.

Does Barack Obama also refuse to listen to the cries of all of us?

There are so many through the years who should be held accountable - that sadly includes Bill Clinton who chose to continue the policies of George HW Bush as evidenced by the "slip of the tongue" of his secretary of state Madeline Albright who said that the deaths of 500,000 innocent Iraqi children were worth it.



April 2008

Many Democrats do not like to hear that. But it is the truth. The American people for some reason only like partisan truth. We continue to point fingers along partisan lines. And refuse to look in the mirror.

We are still divided. And so we are still conquered. They still rule us. Whatever you want to call them. Dominionists. Oligarchists. Republicrats. They still control our Congress. Barack Obama stands alone. But he cannot stand alone, really, and be able to lead this country and so the question is whether he will stand with Congress or with the American people?

And it is not only Iraq but 9/11 and the Bush Administration if nothing else knew of the intelligence warning of an impending attack and knew that it would involve airlines and yet it said nothing. It issued no warning to airlines or to airports. All conspiracy theories aside that in itself is complicity in what will haunt all of us forever.

It is not enough to take comfort in the repudiation of the previous policies of our country.

Until those whose actions have been repudiated are held accountable, we will remain "good Germans" in the eyes of the world and despised.

[defendandprotect]

26. Wonderful post --- you're so right . .. "good Germans" . . .

[calimary]

36. We all have to remain vigilant - to counter-act the many efforts being launched to

whitewash bush's "legacy."

WE have to bear witness - and never stop or be silent. Because we know the truth.

NEVER forget. And be sure to tell someone. Share what you know. BE the historian we all need. The spinners must never get the last word.

NEVER EVER forget.

[Baby Snooks]

45. We need to bang the pots and pans...

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0111-31.htm

"We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders...We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"

We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Do it, now!" Hold them all accountable.

And when we are told that we should just move on, usually by someone who fears they will be held accountable as well, we should do just that. Demand that someone else take their place. And find them ourselves if need be. Nothing wrong with voting for the Independent if the two "party candidates" are both Republicrats. Molly Ivins decided once that you had to support the Democrat. No matter what. After having urged the Independent to run. I don't think she would have done it a second time. If she had, I would have banged the pots and pans myself. Very loudly.

We do not need any more "good Germans" in Congress. Or anywhere else for that matter.

[calimary]

48. Sure works for me!

I've got pots, pans, and pow-wow drums!

[Coexist]

24. kand r

[snappyturtle]

25. I remember and I haven't forgotten. Thanks for putting this list together!

K&R :kick:

[chknltl]

27. repukes/freepers must have thought that saddam was a martyr

Accdg to wiki: The term martyr (Greek μάρτυς martyrs "witness") is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices his or her life (or personal freedom) in order to further a cause or belief for many.

Did saddam hussein lead his troops from the front as Kuwait was invaded? Did he stand and fight to defend his position in Kuwait against the coalition forces?
That could be something a martyr would do.

My question to any who supported gw bush's fiasco invasion into Iraq because they felt saddam hussein had, or was about to have a WMD is: "Why did you think saddam was a martyr?"

Did saddam know that he had been kicked out of Kuwait by coalition forces-forces which included his neighbors and fellow Muslims the Syrians and the Jordanians? Yes, he knew this.

Did saddam know that the eyes of the world were on him-that if he even sneezed funny in the direction of any of his neighboring sovereign countries, that he risked being attacked again?
Yes-he knew that the world (to include his fellow Muslim neighbors), was done putting up with any further antics out of him. Furthermore he knew that if he tried anything stupid his reign as a dictator would be over.

SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS NOT A MARTYR-PERIOD!!!!

So, for the sake of argument, what could saddam have done if we had handed him a nuke and a missile that could drop that nuke anywhere-ANYWHERE he wanted?

"OMG are you nuts chknltl???? Why he could have dropped it on Kuwait or Israel or (gasp) NY!!! Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!!!!......."

....and his term as the dictator of Iraq would last how many days, (hours?) after doing this horrendous deed???? Do you have any doubts regarding our planet's swift retribution.... and did you miss my memo, here let me scream it out again:

SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS NOT A MARTYR-PERIOD!!!!

If he had done something 'martyrly', if he had dumped a nuke on a neighbor, or Israel or Oshkosh, saddam the weasel knew that his life would be measured in hours!

saddam's first priority was keeping himself in power, his days as an aggressor were long over. The very last thing he wanted to see in his country was an excuse for that cowboy bush to come riding in with the cavalry leading more of his Muslim neighbors.

"Well gee chknltl-we can't know that he wasn't a martyr, he might have used that nuke had we given it to him."

Hindsight is 20-20: how many martyrs are found cowering in holes in the ground when the enemy is near?

Oh, and let me quote the first line, (my favorite line btw), from Mr. Pitt's OP, PLEASE note who said this and the date:

"How the United States should react if Iraq acquired WMD. The first line of defense...should be a clear and classical statement of deterrence--if they do acquire WMD, their weapons will be unusable because any attempt to use them will bring national obliteration."

- Condoleeza Rice, US National Security Advisor
January/February 2000 issue of Foreign Affairs
2/1/2000

[Ellipsis]

28. I'll never forget.

[mwdem]

29. Copied and sent..

Thank you, Will.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

30. K&R

Cheney was in the wheelchair to elicit sympathy. They know what's coming. If our Constitution means anything, we must preserve the rule of law...the world is watching.

[Ellipsis]

31. "He hurt his back"... I wonder if it was stress.

Thinkin' about his potential future and all that.

[omega minimo]

32. "Ketchup is a vegetable" -- Ronald Reagan

[jaysunb]

33. My personal favorite

"We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

- Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense
ABC Interview
3/30/2003

WTF ? :evilfrown:

[mackerel]

34. It's a wonder he knew where Iraq was.

[Left Coast2020]

35. There are Known knowns, and there are also known unknowns.

What we know now are the known knowns. But it will take time to investigate the known unknowns.

Dumsfeld (and George too) reminded me of being the kind of guy who couldn't find his ass even if someone drew him a roadmap. :dunce:

[tclambert]

39. George, put your hand on the back of your neck, and go up.

When you feel a pallid, flabby thing around your head, that's your ass.

[knitter4democracy]

41. That's always been my favorite, too.

And often the one I'd quote when people said we knew they had WMDs. Sure, we did. They were in that area and north, south, east, or west of it somewhere. Kind of. *sigh*

[calimary]

37. I LOVE these, Will! Last time you ran something like this, I printed it out and pasted it up

on my office wall. And I took it with me when we did that radio show, in case I had a chance to throw one of those quotes into the conversation. GREAT list! They're ABSOLUTE KEEPERS!

We ALL have to remember.

[PatSeg]

38. Great list

There are so many, it is hard to recall them all. It is vital that we don't become complacent and let the memories fade. It can happen again, especially if the perpetrators are not held accountable.

[Wetzelbill]

40. Here is the switch that always got me.

Saddam went from absolutely positively having WMD, according to this administration, and if anybody said otherwise they were sneered at by the administration, the media and even people who didn't necessarily think the war was that good of an idea. But especially the Bush administration and the media. He absolutely had them. WITHOUT A DOUBT.

So then when there were none to be found and before Kay and Duelfer each concluded they weren't there, all of a sudden the administration switched their position. Saddam didn't have WMD but he had the INTENT to get them and use them. I heard even war critics using that one. The INTENT. That doesn't make sense, I almost don't even know what it means in this context, because how the hell do you launch a preemtive unnecessary war based on that?

I have the intent to sleep with Jessica Alba, I'll let you all know when that catastrophically unlikely event occurs. :eyes:

And my favorite was when Bush insisted we found the WMD in that interview in Poland. When I first saw that I about shot through the roof.

[Historic NY]

42. should post it with the * video of him looking because thats all there was...

[jmowreader]

43. You remember when we "found the WMDs"?

Yes, it was this huge, great day for the Bush administration--We Found The WMDs! Take that, wussy liberals!

And then we found out it was TWO empty artillery shells that contained traces of nerve gas, buried under several feet of sand. Like, you know, they maybe fell off a truck during the Iran-Iraq War (when there was no question Saddam had WMDs--because we still have the receipts from when we sold them to him), the plugs fell out to allow the nerve gas to drain from the shells, and the natural shifting of sand buried them.

Oops.

[RC]

46. The calls for Impeachment ended not because they were false,

but because the guilty are now private citizens. That meant that our Congress did not do their duty as written in the Constitution of the United States. The guilty are still guilty. If we cannot see our way to bring the criminals to justice, then the rest of the world has every right to come and get them. That precedent has been set by none other than the United States itself.
We cannot afford to let them go free.