In defense of the Iraq war

I have heard a bunch of crap against the Iraq war. I have assembled a list, a spirited debunking, against the left and their claims. It both proves that the Iraq war was justified, there where ties between Saddam and al-Qaeda, and the UN's corruption. This took me hours, but it is worth it.

British Intelligence Report:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2002/iraqdossier.pdf

CIA Intelligence Report:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraq_wmd/Iraq_Oct_2002.htm

Aswell, General Tommy Franks, the architect of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has said that Jordan's King Abdullah and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak told him Saddam had Weapons of Mass Destruction. A quote from Mubarak to General Franks: "Saddam has WMD-biologicals, actually-and he will use them on your troops."

Secondly: The Duelfer Report says that whilst Saddam did got rid of his WMD's after the war in 1991, "He wanted to end sanctions while preserving the capability to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction (WMD) when sanctions were lifted"

Some other quotes from the Duelfer Report:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraq_wmd_2004/

"The Regime quickly came to see that Oil For Food could be corrupted to acquire foreign exchange both to further undermine sanctions and to provide the means to enhance dual-use infrastructure and potential WMD-related development."

"he (Saddam) resigned himself to the continuation of UN sanctions understanding that they would become a “paper tiger” regardless of continued US resolve to maintain them."

"The successful implementation of the Protocols, continued oil smuggling efforts, and the manipulation of UN OFF contracts emboldened Saddam to pursue his military reconstitution efforts starting in 1997 and peaking in 2001. These efforts covered conventional arms, dual-use goods acquisition, and some WMD-related programs."

"To implement its procurement efforts, Iraq under Saddam, created a network of Iraqi front companies, some with close relationships to high-ranking foreign government officials. These foreign government officials, in turn, worked through their respective ministries, state-run companies and ministry-sponsored front companies, to procure illicit goods, services, and technologies for Iraq’s WMD-related, conventional arms, and/or dual-use goods programs."

"Nevertheless, after 1991, Saddam did express his intent to retain the intellectual capital developed during the Iraqi Nuclear Program. Senior Iraqis—several of them from the Regime’s inner circle—told ISG they assumed Saddam would restart a nuclear program once UN sanctions ended."

Given those quotes it's clear that once sanctions broke down, which they surely would, had the U.N. inspectors continued their work further and found nothing; Saddam would have eventually restarted his WMD programs. Given the nature of some of these weapons, it could be only a matter of weeks after he initiated manufacturing efforts before he had WMD stockpiles.

Thirdly: Can the President really be faulted for not going to Iraq with more allies? Who are the only countries left that havent supported our war? France, Germany, Russia, and China. Since they do not support us, the United Nations, subsiquently did not support us. Given the information it seems unreasonable to blame Bush in large part for those other countries not supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

From the Duelfer Report:

"France, was one of the top three countries with companies or individuals receiving secret oil vouchers"

"In 2001, Tariq Aziz characterized the French approach to UN sanctions as adhering to the letter of sanctions but not the spirit. This was demonstrated by the presence of French CAs in Baghdad, working to promote the interests of French companies while assisting them in avoiding UN sanctions."

"Although the Russian Government has denied being involved in supplying weapons to Iraq, there is a significant amount of captured documentation showing contracts between Iraq and Russian companies In fact, because Russian companies offered so many military items, the MIC and a Russian general named Anatoliy Ivanovich Makros established a joint front company called ARMOS in 1998 just to handle the large volume of Russian business (see also the ARMOS section). The Russian-Iraqi trade was also assisted through bribes to Russian customs officials, according to a former Iraqi diplomat."

Even before the 1991 sanctions and oil for food, The very countries that have blocked us at the United Nations, were doing business with Iraq:
http://projects.sipri.se/armstrade/Trnd_Ind_IRQ_Imps_73-02.pdf
http://www.heritage.org/Research/MiddleEast/wm217.cfm

Russia, France, and China represent the first, second, and third biggest arms importers to Iraq between 1973 and Operation Iraqi Freeedom. Collectively making up 82f all ams imports. At the time of Operation Iraqi Freedom Saddam owed these countries billions. France being owed an estimated $6 billion. Russia: $7 to $8 billion.

Fourthly: Whilst the WMD intelligence may have been faulty; A report by the Senate Select Commitee on Intelligence backs up our assertions that there was a link between Saddam's regime and terrorists, including Al Qaeda.

From the Senate report:
http://intelligence.senate.gov/conclusions.pdf

"The Central Intelligence Agency's examination of contacts, training, safehaven, and operations cooperation as indicators of a possible Iraq-al-Qaida relationship was a reasonable and objective approach to the question."

"The Central Intelligence Agency reasonably and objectively assessed in Iraqi Support for Terrorism that the most problematic area of contact between Iraq and al-Qaida were the reports of training in the use of non-conventional weapons, specifically chemcal and biological weapons."

With regards to the idea that the Iraqi's don't want us there, and that they would rather live under Saddam then under U.S. occupation; I am skeptical. I have seen many reports and stories about the Iraqi's lashing out agaisnt us, and I've seen just as many stories about how they are very happy we are there. Given the atrocities commited by Saddam I find it absurd that any Iraqi other then one that lost power because he/she was a Ba'thist, or one that has been personally effecting by extranious circumstances relating to our occupation, would rather be living under Saddam. The fact still remains that any Iraqi who is not a terrorist/former Ba'thist/insurgent who wants the United States to leave immedietly is driven out of either ignorance or irrational emtion, as it is obvious the country would qucikly degrade into civil unrest if we simply left.

Iran ofcourse, is likely a bigger threat then Saddam was, as they are known terrorist supporters, they are closer to developing nuclear weapons then Saddam ever was, and there are some who say that they have recently forged an unholy alliance with Osama Bin Laden. While I personally would have favored an invasion of Iran over Iraq, as Given the policy of pre-emtion I saw Iraq and too cold, North Korea as too hot, and Iran and just right. However a full invasion may not even be neccesary, given the fact that the leadership is already unpopular and the population seems to ready for democracy. Aswell ofcourse Iran is a much bigger country. However, now that we are in Iraq, we are in a position to put a lot of pressure on Iran, and a democratic Iraq will also undermine the Iranian theocracy.

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Links between Iraq and Al Qaeda

The Link between Iraq and Al-Qaeda
http://www.insightmag.com/news/2004/06/11/World/Stories.Back.In.The.Newsthe.Link.Between.Iraq.And.AlQaeda-688380.shtml

Case Closed: The U.S. government's secret memo detailing cooperation between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/378fmxyz.asp

The Connection: Not so long ago, the ties between Iraq and al Qaeda were conventional wisdom. The conventional wisdom was right.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/152lndzv.asp

Saddam’s Ambassador to al-Qaeda
http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=12292

Document links Saddam, bin Laden
http://tennessean.com/nation-world/archives/03/06/34908297.shtml?Element_ID=34908297

The proof that Saddam worked with bin Laden: Iraqi Intelligence documents provide evidence of direct link.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/04/27/walq27.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/04/27/ixnewstop.html

Osama's Best Friend: The further connections between al Qaeda and Saddam.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/296fmttq.asp

Pre-Bush timeline/list of Iraq’s Ties to Al Queda: Sam Pender--author of Iraq's Smoking Gun and other books on the matter
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1152923/posts

Clinton Indictment Cited Iraq-bin Laden Link
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/6/13/224948.shtml

Enemies Together: Clinton was right: Saddam and al Qaeda had numerous connections.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110005249

No Question About It: Saddam and the terrorists
http://www.nationalreview.com/robbins/robbins091903.asp

The Al Qaeda Connection: More reason to suspect that bin Laden and Saddam may have been in league. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/889jldct.asp

Iraq & Militant Islam: Saddam’s al Qaeda links were a worthy rationale for toppling his regime.
http://nationalreview.com/mccarthy/mccarthy200406010821.asp

Saddam's al Qaeda Connection
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/033jgqyi.asp

Iraq’s State Sponsorship of Osama bin-Laden and the al-Qaeda Terror Network
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/16/32

The Iraq -- Al Qaeda Connections Richard Miniter: author of “Losing bin Laden: How Bill Clinton’s Failures Unleashed Global Terror
http://www.techcentralstation.com/092503F.html

The Story of Salmon Pak
http://edwardjayepstein.com/2002question/salmanpak.htm

The Iraqi-Bin Laden Connection
http://www.geocities.com/republican_strategist/Iraq-Bin-Laden.html

29 articles documenting Iraq/Al Qeada links
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31597

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Halliburton

We know how many companies get big contracts from the government for various projects from time to time; competetive bidding. So it is no surprise that when Halliburton, one of the worlds largest service providers to the oil and gas industry, and Dick Cheneys former employer, recieved a purportedly 'no-bid' contract in Iraq, The anti-Bush, anti-war crowd threw a fit.

We also know that in a time of war it would be detremental to delay much needed goods and services from getting to where they're needed in the because of a lengthy competetive bidding process.

Enter: LOGCAP (Logistics Civil Augmentation Program).

LOGCAP is a program devised by the United States army wherein companies will bid, and be awarded a contract to be on call to provide immediate services should they be needed by the military on short notice. These contracts are won and lost many months, somtimes years before the companies are called upon.

Whilst it may seem like Halliburton was simply given the 'no-bid' contract, in truth, the bidding process took place in 2001, Halliburton won. It's only logical that Halliburton win, as they put out the more then 350 oil well fires in Kuwait during the first Gulf War.

With regards to Vice President Dick Cheney's links to Halliburton:

"Cheney sold most of his Halliburton shares when he left the company, but retained 433,333 stock options worth about $8 million. Cheney arranged for the profits to be donated to charity, placed the options in a charitable trust, and relinquished control over them."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Cheney

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The United Nations, and Iraq

At the very uttering of the thesis "The United States went into Iraq unilaterally." The argument is already a logical fallacy. This becomes clear when one looks at the defenition of the word unilateral, and then looks at the Coalition of the Willing.

Which consists of around 50 nations
http://www.heritage.org/Research/MiddleEast/wm225.cfm

A more reasonable thesis would be "The United States went into Iraq without UN support." This argument will itself faulter when exposed to adequate scrutiny.

UN Resolution 1441 is one of the reasons the Unites States went into Iraq. It stands as the last of 17 UN resolutions that Iraq has systematically broken in the 12 years since the first Gulf War.

Quotes from the afformentioned directive:
http://www.un.int/usa/sres-iraq.htm

"...to afford Iraq, by this resolution, a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations under relevant resolutions of the Council..."

"Iraq shall provide UNMOVIC and the IAEA immediate, unimpeded, unconditional, and unrestricted access to any and all, including underground, areas, facilities, buildings, equipment, records, and means of transport which they wish to inspect, as well as immediate, unimpeded, unrestricted, and private access to all officials and other persons whom UNMOVIC or the IAEA wish to interview..."

"...the Council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations..."

The three main ideas of the Resolution; That it was Iraq's last chance, that there would be absolute submission to the inspectors, and that failing to comply with this resolution would mean serious consiquences, which coupled with the first statement can only mean military intervention.

The following is Iraq's violations of Resolution 1441:
The weapons declaration the Iraqi regime turned in on Dec. 7 was incomplete and deliberately falsified. Iraqi scientists have refused to meet in private with international inspectors, no doubt for fear of reprisal. Some scientists have been found to be hiding important documents in their homes. Saddam Hussein’s regime has "refused to guarantee" the safety of (read: threatened to shoot down) the inspectors’ U2 spy plane should it fly over Iraqi airspace. Inspectors discovered several undeclared 122 mm chemical rocket warheads containing traces of chemical agents in a bunker near Baghdad, giving rise to fears that thousands more warheads have been squirreled away elsewhere. Thousands of liters of anthrax remain unaccounted for. Iraq is assembling longer-range missiles which, under international law and the terms of its surrender in the 1991 Gulf War, are prohibitedFurther support of Iraq's noncompliance can be found in this text; Hans Blix's report to the U.N. on Iraq:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/transcripts/blix_012703.html

A quote:

"Iraq appears not to have come to a genuine acceptance - not even today - of the disarmament, which was demanded of it and which it needs to carry out to win the confidence of the world and to live in peace."

According to Resolution 1441, These violations warrent 'serious consiquences'.

Other major players in the UN prevented the United States from recieving the support it wanted. These were France, Germany, Russia, and China.

These countries all had substantial dealings with Saddam's Iraq, and wished to protect their interests.

As noted in this graph:
http://www.thoughtgalaxy.com/images/saddamgraph.gif

and this chart:
http://projects.sipri.se/armstrade/Trnd_Ind_IRQ_Imps_73-02.pdf

Russia, China, and France constitute 82% of all Iraq weapons imports between the years 1973 and 2002. Iraq at the time of the war had yet to pay these countries(aswell as France) upwards of $16 billion for the weapons. The United States accounts for 1%.

There are other reasons the UN didn't want a war with Iraq:

Documents Prove U.N. Oil Corruption
http://www.insightmag.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=657739

A quote from that article:

In a scathing letter sent to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on March 3, which he made available to Insight, Hankes-Drielsma called the U.N. program "one of the world's most disgraceful scams," and said that "based on the facts as I know them at the present time, the U.N. failed in its responsibility to the Iraqi people and the international community at large."

In an earlier letter to Annan, to which he received no reply, Hankes-Drielsma noted that allocations of "very significant supplies of crude oil [were] made to ... individuals with political influence in many countries, including France and Jordan," both of which supported Saddam and his regime to the bitter end.

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Innocent Iraqis that weren't killed

Whilst the claims that the United States military is deliberatly targetting innocent civilians in Iraq are absurd enough to debunk themselves when one factors in common sense, The facts remain that civilians are killed from time to time. Those deaths should, however, be put in prespective:

Under Saddam and estimated 1.26 million people were killed.

Saddam was in power for 24 years, which breaks down to roughly 52,500 deaths/year.

10,000 is a rough estimate of civilian casualties during the 1-1/2 year US occupation.

In that 1-1/2 year timespan statistics tell us Saddam would have killed an estimated 78,000 people.

Basic mathematical calculations give us a rough estimate of lives saved to date: ~ 68,000.

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WMD's much?

ARTICLES:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13835

Some quotes from the article:

"Demetrius Perricos, acting chairman of UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), recently disclosed that his inspectors have been busily tracking shipments of illicit Iraqi WMD components around the world."

"The Associated Press announced that UNMOVIC inspectors have found dozens of engines from banned al-Samoud 2 (SA2) missiles, which were shipped out of Iraq as “scrap metal.” Most recently, UNMOVIC agents found 20 SA-2 engines in Jordan, along with a great deal of other WMD materials."

"UNMOVIC estimates as much as 1,000 tons of scrap metal a day are leaving Iraq bound for foreign shores."

"UN spokesman Ewen Buchanan put the threat of “dual use” technology into perspective. “You can make all kinds of pharmaceutical and medicinal products with a fermenter,” Buchanan said. “You can also use it to breed anthrax.”"

"...when a Dutch scrap metal company discovered five pounds of yellowcake uranium ore in Rotterdam. The sample was shipped from Jordan but Jordanian officials said the metal originated in Iraq. (Perhaps this is the yellowcake that atomic sleuth Amb. Joe Wilson insisted Iraq never purchased from Niger.) IAEA Director Mohammed El Baradei warned two months ago that evidence of Saddam’s WMDs is being shipped abroad."

"Jordan has been the recipient of Iraqi WMDs in the past. Most recently, Jordan seized 20 tons of chemical weapons while foiling an al-Qaeda plot to kill 80,000 people. The stockpile they uncovered contained 70 different kinds of chemical agents, including Sarin and VX gas. (Remember, last month Iraqi insurgents lobbed two chemical weapons at U.S. troops armed with Sarin and mustard gas.)"

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/26/jordan.terror/

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4771882/

those two articles are on the topic of a foiled terrorist plot in Jordan, the terrorists were planning on unleashing chemical agents and killing upwards of 80,000 people.

A quote from one of the articles:

"In a series of raids, the Jordanians said, they seized 20 tons of chemicals and numerous explosives. Also seized were three trucks equipped with specially modified plows, apparently designed to crash through security barricades."

20 tons of chemicals, they claim it came from Syria, but allow me to site the article I showed you people in my previous post:

"On April 17, Jordanian King Abdallah claimed these poisons came from Syria – but experts say Syria only has the capacity to produce small amounts of these weapons, not the 20 tons al-Qaeda possessed."

Given that they couldn't have come from Syria, or atleast they couldn't have been made in Syria. However we find this if we look at that first article again:

"Significantly, David Kay and others have said Syria acted as a depository for Saddam’s WMDs"

One more article with information about Iraqi WMDs ending up in Syria:

http://www.insightmag.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=670123

Could the 20 tons of chemical weapons found in the hands of terrorists in Jordan and claimed to have been aquired from Syria, have originated in Iraq?

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13168

Some quotes for those of you who don't feel like investigating further then this thread:

'Both Duelfer and his predecessor, David Kay, reported to Congress that the evidence they had found on the ground in Iraq showed Saddam's regime was in "material violation" of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, the last of 17 resolutions that promised "serious consequences" if Iraq did not make a complete disclosure of its weapons programs and dismantle them in a verifiable manner. The United States cited Iraq's refusal to comply with these demands as one justification for going to war.'

'Both Duelfer and Kay found that Iraq had "a clandestine network of laboratories and safe houses with equipment that was suitable to continuing its prohibited chemical- and biological-weapons [BW] programs," the official said. "They found a prison laboratory where we suspect they tested biological weapons on human subjects." They found equipment for "uranium-enrichment centrifuges" whose only plausible use was as part of a clandestine nuclear-weapons program. In all these cases, "Iraqi scientists had been told before the war not to declare their activities to the U.N. inspectors," the official said.'

'That came in addition to 500 tons of natural uranium stockpiled at Iraq's main declared nuclear site south of Baghdad, which International Atomic Energy Agency spokesman Mark Gwozdecky acknowledged to Insight had been intended for "a clandestine nuclear-weapons program."'

A senior administration official who has gone through the intelligence reporting from Iraq as well as the earlier reports from U.N. arms inspectors refers to another well-documented allegation. "The Iraqis admitted they had made 3.9 tons of VX," a powerful nerve gas, but claimed they had never weaponized it. The U.N. inspectors "felt they had more. But where did it go?" The Iraqis never provided any explanation of what had happened to their VX stockpiles.

What does 3.9 tons of VX look like? "It could fit in one large garage," the official says. Assuming, of course, that Saddam would assemble every bit of VX gas his scientists had produced at a single site, that still amounts to one large garage in an area the size of the state of California.

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13282

Quotes:

"...terrorism expert John Loftus, who once held some of the highest security clearances in the world. Loftus, a former Army officer, served as a Justice Department prosecutor."

Loftus: "...We had a Syrian journalist who defected to Paris in January. The guy is dying of cancer, and he said, "Look, my friends in Syrian intelligence told me exactly where the stuff is buried." He named three sites in Syria, and the Israelis have confirmed the three sites. They know where the stuff is, but the problem is that the United States can't just go around invading Arab countries. . . We know from Israeli and defectors' intelligence that the son of the Syrian defense minister was paid 50 million bucks to bring the stuff across the border and bury it."

U.S. removed nuclear material from Iraq
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/07/iraq.nuclear/

Iraqi insurgents seek Saddam's chemical arms
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040624-112920-5897r.htm

Saddam agents on Syria border helped move banned materials
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040816-011235-4438r.htm

UN Confirms: WMDs Smuggled Out of Iraq
http://www.thevanguard.org/thevanguard/columns/040618.shtml?ID=13323

ELECTED DEMOCRATS ON IRAQ WMD:

"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.

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998.

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998.

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998.

"There is no doubt that . Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, Dec, 5, 2001.

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002.

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"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.

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seing and developing weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002.

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002.

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force — if necessary — to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002.

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years . We also should remember we have alway s underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Jay Rockerfeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002.

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do."
Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002.

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction. "[W]ithout question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. And now he has continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real ...
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003.