"There are some who, uh, feel like that, you know, the
conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer
is: bring 'em on. We got the force necessary to deal with
the security situation." - George W. Bush, July 2, 2003,
referring to attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq.
President George W. Bush Speaks at VFW Convention, August
16, 2004
Before September the 11th, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn
enemy of America. He was defying the world. He was firing
weapons at American pilots who were enforcing the world's
sanctions. He had pursued and he had used weapons of mass
destruction. He had harbored terrorists. He invaded his
neighbors. He subsidized the families of suicide bombers. He
murdered tens of thousands of his own citizens. He was a source
of instability in the world's most volatile region. He was a
threat.
One of the lessons of September the 11th, a lesson this nation
must never forget, is that we must deal with threats before they
fully materialize. I remembered what Saddam Hussein was
like; I looked at the intelligence. I called upon Congress to
remember his history and look at the intelligence. I thought it
was important to bring Congress, get their opinion on the
subject of Saddam Hussein. So members of both political parties,
including my opponent, looked at the same intelligence and came
to the same conclusion that I came to: Saddam Hussein was a
threat. I went to the United Nations; the U.N. Security Council
looked at the intelligence and came to the same conclusion,
Saddam Hussein was a threat. As a matter of fact, they passed a
resolution, 15 to nothing, which said to Saddam: disclose,
disarm, or face serious consequences. As he had for the past 12
years, he refused to comply. He ignored the demands of the free
world. He systematically deceived the weapons inspectors.
So I had a choice to make: either forget the lessons of
September the 11th and trust a madman, or take action to defend
America. Given that choice, I will defend our country every
time.
Even though we did not find the stockpiles that we thought we
would find, Saddam Hussein had the capability to make weapons of
mass destruction, and he could have passed that capability on to
our enemy, to the terrorists. It is not a risk, after September
the 11th, that we could afford to take. Knowing what I know
today, I would have taken the same action. America and the world
are safer because Saddam Hussein sits in a prison cell.
George W. Bush - President Discusses Global War on Terror
Following Briefing at CENTCOM, February 17, 2006
We saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. Obviously, this issue is one
that has caused a lot of people to wonder about certain aspects,
caused me to wonder about the capacity of our intelligence
services to provide good intelligence. And that's why we're
constantly working to reform the intelligence services, to make
sure we get the best intelligence, because I thought there would
be weapons of mass destruction -- and so did everybody else in
the world; and so did people in the United States Congress from
both political parties -- thought that there would be weapons of
mass destruction.
The United Nations and the United Nations Security Council
thought there would be weapons of mass destruction. After all,
they passed a unanimous resolution that said, disclose, disarm,
or face serious consequences. In other words, we worked the
diplomatic front.
And so when Saddam Hussein chose war -- and believe me, he made
the choice -- the hardest thing for the President of the United
States to do is commit troops into combat. It's the last option,
the very last option. Except September the 11th taught me, and
September the 11th taught me, that we got to take threats
seriously. And the world saw a threat. This man was harboring
terrorists. He was on a state sponsor of terrorists list. I
didn't put him on there, he was put on there by previous
Presidents. He was firing at our pilots. He had invaded
countries. He was a threat. And the world spoke with one voice,
and said, disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences. And
when the United States says something, it must mean it. And we
said, disclose or face serious consequences. And when he
wouldn't, he faced serious consequences. Removing Saddam Hussein
has made America safer and the world a better place.
George W. Bush - President Discusses War on Terror, Progress in
Iraq, March 22, 2006
And I saw a threat in Iraq. I'll tell you why I saw a threat.
And by the way, it just wasn't me. Members of the United States
Congress in both political parties saw a threat. My predecessor
saw a threat. I mean, my predecessor saw a threat and got the
Congress actually to vote a resolution that said, we're for
regime change. That's prior to my arrival. The world saw a
threat. You might remember I went to the United Nations Security
Council; on the 15-to-nothing vote, we passed Resolution 1441
that said to Saddam Hussein, disclose, disarm or face serious
consequences. We saw a threat.
I'll tell you why I saw a threat. I saw a threat because, one,
he'd been on the state -- he was a state sponsor of terror. In
other words, our government -- not when I was President, prior
to my presidency -- declared Saddam Hussein to be a state
sponsor of terror. Secondly, I know for a fact he had used
weapons of mass destruction. Now, I thought he had weapons of
mass destruction; members of Congress thought he had weapons of
mass destruction; the world thought he had weapons of mass
destruction. That's why those nations voted in the Security
Council. I'm finding out what went wrong. In other words, one of
the things you better make sure of when you're the President,
you're getting good intelligence, and, obviously, the
intelligence broke down. But he had that capacity to make
weapons of mass destruction, as well. He had not only murdered
his own people, but he had used weapons of mass destruction on
his own people.
That's what we knew prior to the decision I made. He also was
firing on our aircraft. They were enforcing a no-fly zone,
United Nations no-fly zone, the world had spoken, and he had
taken shots at British and U.S. pilots. He'd invaded his
neighborhood. This guy was a threat. And so the world spoke. And
the way I viewed it was that it was Saddam Hussein's choice to
disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences. And he made the
choice, and then I was confronted with a choice. And I made my
choice. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in
power.
The biggest threat America faces is that moment when terror and
weapons of mass destruction come together. And if we ever
suspect that's happening, we got to deal with that threat
seriously. Committing our troops into harm's way is the most
difficult decision a President can make. I'm going to meet with
some -- two families of those who lost a loved one. It's my duty
to do so. I'm looking forward to being able to hug them, weep
with them. And so for anybody out there in West Virginia who
thinks it's easy to commit troops -- it's hard. It's the last
option of the President, not the first option. The first option
is to deal with things diplomatically; is to rally the world, to
send a clear message that the behavior, in this case, of Saddam
Hussein was intolerable. And we did that.
George W. Bush, President Bush Discusses Global War on Terror,
April 6, 2006
I saw a threat in Iraq. Not only did I see a threat in Iraq, the
previous administration saw a threat in Iraq. Not only did the
previous -- which, by the way, passed a resolution in the United
States Congress that said we ought to have a regime change in
Iraq. Not only did the previous administration see a threat in
Iraq, members of both political parties in both chambers during
my time as President saw a threat in Iraq. And the reason we saw
threats is because the intelligence said that Saddam Hussein
possesses weapons of mass destruction.
But it wasn't just U.S. intelligence that said that, there was
-- the worldwide intelligence network felt like he had weapons
of mass destruction. After all, when I took the case to the
United Nations Security Council, the Security Council voted 15
to nothing to say loud and clear: disclose, disarm, or face
serious consequences. That's not what the United States said
alone. This is what France and Great Britain, China, Russia, and
members of the Security Council said, because the world felt
like Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and after
9/11 it was abundantly clear that a state sponsor of terror,
which is what he had been declared by previous administrations,
and the idea of weapons of mass destruction, and the fact that
he was at least, at the very minimum, a stated enemy of the
United States of America posed a serious threat for our country.
...
I felt all along the decision was his to make. He said -- the
world said, disclose, disarm. In the meantime, I want you to
remember, he was deceiving inspectors. It's a logical question
to ask: Why would somebody want to deceive inspectors? I also
told you earlier that when America speaks, we got to mean what
we said. I meant what we said when we embraced that resolution
that said disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences. Words
mean something in this world if you're trying to protect the
American people.
I fully understand that the intelligence was wrong, and I'm just
as disappointed as everybody else is. But what wasn't wrong was
Saddam Hussein had invaded a country. He had used weapons of
mass destruction. He had the capability of making weapons of
mass destruction. He was firing at our pilots. He was a state
sponsor of terror. Removing Saddam Hussein was the right thing
for world peace and the security of our country.
George W. Bush, Interview with Larry King on CNN, July 6, 2006
KING: So there is no doubt, if you had it to do over again,
knowing the WMDs weren't there, you'd still go in?
G. BUSH: Yes. This is -- we removed a tyrant, who was a weapon
-- he was an enemy of the United States who harbored terrorists
and who had the capacity, at the very minimum, to make weapons
of mass destruction. And he was a true threat. And yes, I would
have done the same thing.
THE PRESIDENT: I have always said that it's important for an
American President to exhaust all diplomatic avenues before the
use of force. Committing our troops into harm's way is a
difficult decision. It's the toughest decision a President will
ever make. And I fully understand the consequences of doing so.
All diplomatic options were exhausted, as far as I was
concerned, with Saddam Hussein. Remember that the U.N. Security
Council resolution that we passed when I was the President was
one of 16, I think -- 16, 17? Give me a hand here. More than 15.
(Laughter.) Resolution after resolution after resolution saying
the same thing, and he ignored them. And we tried diplomacy. We
went to the U.N. Security Council -- 15-to-nothing vote that
said, disarm, disclose or face serious consequences.
I happen to believe that when you say something you better mean
it. And so when we signed on to that resolution that said,
disclose, disarm or face serious consequences, I meant what we
said. That's one way you keep the peace: You speak clearly and
you mean what you say.
And so the choice was Saddam Hussein's choice. He could have not
fooled the inspectors. He could have welcomed the world in. He
could have told us what was going on. But he didn't. And so we
moved.
Q Quick follow-up. A lot of the consequences you mentioned for
pulling out seem like maybe they never would have been there if
we hadn't gone in. How do you square all of that?
THE PRESIDENT: I square it because, imagine a world in which you
had Saddam Hussein who had the capacity to make a weapon of mass
destruction, who was paying suiciders to kill innocent life, who
would -- who had relations with Zarqawi. Imagine what the world
would be like with him in power. The idea is to try to help
change the Middle East.
Now, look, part of the reason we went into Iraq was -- the main
reason we went into Iraq at the time was we thought he had
weapons of mass destruction. It turns out he didn't, but he had
the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction. But I also
talked about the human suffering in Iraq, and I also talked the
need to advance a freedom agenda. And so my question -- my
answer to your question is, is that, imagine a world in which
Saddam Hussein was there, stirring up even more trouble in a
part of the world that had so much resentment and so much hatred
that people came and killed 3,000 of our citizens.
You know, I've heard this theory about everything was just fine
until we arrived, and kind of "we're going to stir up the
hornet's nest" theory. It just doesn't hold water, as far as I'm
concerned. The terrorists attacked us and killed 3,000 of our
citizens before we started the freedom agenda in the Middle
East.
Q What did Iraq have to do with that?
THE PRESIDENT: What did Iraq have to do with what?
Q The attack on the World Trade Center?
THE PRESIDENT: Nothing, except for it's part of -- and nobody
has ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein
ordered the attack. Iraq was a -- the lesson of September the
11th is, take threats before they fully materialize, Ken. Nobody
has ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11th were
ordered by Iraq. I have suggested, however, that resentment and
the lack of hope create the breeding grounds for terrorists who
are willing to use suiciders to kill to achieve an objective. I
have made that case.
And one way to defeat that -- defeat resentment is with hope.
And the best way to do hope is through a form of government.
Now, I said going into Iraq that we've got to take these threats
seriously before they fully materialize. I saw a threat. I fully
believe it was the right decision to remove Saddam Hussein, and
I fully believe the world is better off without him. Now, the
question is how do we succeed in Iraq? And you don't succeed by
leaving before the mission is complete, like some in this
political process are suggesting.
George W. Bush, Addresses American Legion National Convention,
August 31, 2006
In Iraq, we saw a dictator who harbored terrorists, fired at
military planes, paid the families of Palestinian suicide
bombers, invaded a neighbor, and pursued and used weapons of
mass destruction. The United Nations passed more than a dozen
resolutions demanding that Saddam Hussein fully and openly
abandon his weapons of mass destruction. We gave him a last
chance to comply -- and when he refused, we enforced the just
demands of the world. And now Saddam Hussein is in prison and on
trial. Soon he will have the justice he denied to so many for so
long. And with this tyrant gone from power, the United
States, Iraq, the Middle East, and the world are better off.
George W. Bush, President's Address to the Nation, September 11,
2006
On September the 11th, we learned that America must confront
threats before they reach our shores, whether those threats come
from terrorist networks or terrorist states. I'm often asked why
we're in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the
9/11 attacks. The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein
was a clear threat. My administration, the Congress, and the
United Nations saw the threat -- and after 9/11, Saddam's regime
posed a risk that the world could not afford to take. The world
is safer because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power.
George W. Bush, Press Conference, September 15, 2006
The broader point I was saying -- I was reminding people was why
we removed Saddam Hussein from power. He was dangerous. I would
hope people aren't trying to rewrite the history of Saddam
Hussein -- all of a sudden, he becomes kind of a benevolent
fellow. He's a dangerous man. And one of the reasons he was
declared a state sponsor of terror was because that's what he
was. He harbored terrorists; he paid for families of suicide
bombers. Never have I said that Saddam Hussein gave orders to
attack 9/11. What I did say was, after 9/11, when you see a
threat, you've got to take it seriously. And I saw a threat in
Saddam Hussein -- as did Congress, as did the United Nations. I
firmly believe the world is better off without Saddam in
power...
George W. Bush, CNN Interview with Wolf Blitzer, September 20,
2006
And we took out Saddam Hussein because he was viewed as a
threat. He was a state sponsor of terror. He had used weapons of
mass destruction. He had invaded his neighbors. The decision was
the right decision, and now the question is, will this country
and our coalition partners have the will to support this new
government, a democracy in the heart of the Middle East.
George W. Bush, Press Conference, October 25, 2006
Over the past three years I have often addressed the American
people to explain developments in Iraq. Some of these
developments were encouraging, such as the capture of Saddam
Hussein, the elections in which 12 million Iraqis defied the
terrorists and voted for a free future, and the demise of the
brutal terrorist Zarqawi. Other developments were not
encouraging, such as the bombing of the U.N. Headquarters in
Baghdad, the fact that we did not find stockpiles of weapons of
mass destruction, and the continued loss of some of America's
finest sons and daughters.
George W. Bush, Interview with CBS 60 Minutes, January 14, 2007
"You know better than I do that many Americans feel that your
administration has not been straight with the country, has not
been honest. To those people you say what?" Pelley asks.
"On what issue?" the president replies. "Like the weapons of
mass destruction?"
"No weapons of mass destruction," Pelley says.
"Yeah," Bush says.
"No credible connection between 9/11 and Iraq," Pelley says.
“Yeah,” the president replies.
“The Office of Management and Budget said this war would cost
somewhere between $50 billion and $60 billion and now we're over
400,” Pelley says.
“I gotcha. I gotcha. I gotcha,” Bush replies.
“The perception, Sir, more than any one of those points, is that
the administration has not been straight with…,” Pelley says.
“Well, I strongly disagree with that, of course,” Bush says. “So
I strongly reject that this administration hasn’t been straight
with the American people. The minute we found out they didn’t
have weapons of mass destruction, I was the first to say so.”
“You seem to be saying that you may have been wrong but you
weren't dishonest,” Pelley remarks.
“Oh, absolutely. Everybody was wrong on weapons of mass
destruction and there was an intelligence failure that we’re
trying to address. But I was as surprised as anybody he didn't
have them,” Bush tells Pelley.
President Bush interview with Politico and Yahoo News,
May 13, 2008
Q Mr. President, I'm going to surprise you -- there's a
question from a user, Bruce Becker, and he asks: Do you feel
that you were misled on Iraq?
THE PRESIDENT: I feel like -- I felt like there were weapons of
mass destruction. You know, "mislead" is a strong word, it
almost connotes some kind of intentional -- I don't think so, I
think there was a -- not only our intelligence community, but
intelligence communities all across the world shared the same
assessment. And so I was disappointed to see how flawed our
intelligence was.
Q And so you feel that you didn't have all the information you
should have or the right spin on that information?
THE PRESIDENT: No, no, I was told by people that they had
weapons of mass destruction -- as were members of Congress, who
voted for the resolution to get rid of Saddam Hussein. And of
course, the political heat gets on and they start to run and try
to hide from their votes. But intelligence communities all
across the world felt the same thing. This was kind of a common
assessment.
So "mislead" means, do I think somebody lied to me? No, I don't.
I think it was just, you know, they analyzed the situation and
came up with the wrong conclusion.
- President Bush In a White House interview with Politico and
Yahoo News, May 13, 2008
