| "Without 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 is
miscalculating America's response to his 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 |
| |
| "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 |
| |
| "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
Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998 | Source |
| |
| "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 Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998 | Source |
| |
| "We must stop Saddam from ever again
jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of
mass destruction." |
| - Madeline Albright, Feb 1, 1998 | Source |
| |
| "He will use those weapons of mass
destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." |
| - Sandy Berger, Clinton
Adviser, Feb, 18, 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." |
| - (D) Senators
Levin, Daschle, Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998 | Source |
| |
| "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
| Source |
| |
| "Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money
on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." |
| - Madeline Albright,
Secretary of
State, Nov. 10, 1999 | Source |
| |
| "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 |
Source |
| |
|
"...the
administration's case for going to war against Iraq rested on the
twin arguments that Saddam Hussein had existing stockpiles of
weapons of mass destruction and that he might give weapons of mass
destruction to al Qaeda to attack us -- as al Qaeda had attacked us
on 9/11." |
|
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI),
October 7, 2004 | Source |
| |
| "We know that he has stored secret supplies
of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." |
| - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 | Source |
| |
| "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 | Source |
| |
| "We have known for many years that Saddam
Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." |
| - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002
| Source |
| |
| "The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in
October of 1998. 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 | Source |
| |
| "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 always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in
development of weapons of mass destruction." |
| - Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10,
2002 | Source |
| |
|
"Despite
the efforts to focus on Saddam's desires and intentions, the bottom
line is Iraq did not have either weapon stockpiles or active
production capabilities at the time of the war." |
|
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV),
October 7, 2004 | Source |
| |
|
"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 | Source |
| |
|
"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." |
| - Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002 | Source |
| |
