Remember When....

Currently, Democrats are looking for ways to bring the ills of the Iraq war back to the front pages. It seems Bush's poll numbers haven't dropped far enough. In that attempt, many on the left are reminding people of the "false" intelligence that the Bush adminstration relied upon to invade Iraq. Even former President Carter is on the stump, attacking Bush for his now infamous 16 words in the State of the Union speech that referred to WMDs and a possible nuclear threat of Saddam. But let's not forget that it wasn't just Bush saying those things. In fact, the entire coutry believe it before we invaded and figured out that Saddam was playing a very good bluffing game. Remember when the other side said this:

“There is no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein is a despicable dictator, a war criminal, a regional menace, and a real and growing threat to the United States….But this isn’t just a future threat. Saddam’s existing biological and chemical weapons capabilities pose a very real threat to America, now. Saddam has used chemical weapons before, both against Iraq’s enemies and against his own people. He is working to develop delivery systems like missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles that could bring these deadly weapons against U.S. forces and U.S. facilities in the Middle East.

And he could make those weapons available to many terrorist groups which have contact with his government, and those groups could bring those weapons into the U.S. and unleash a devastating attack against our citizens. I fear that greatly.

We cannot know for certain that Saddam will use the weapons of mass destruction he currently possesses, or that he will use them against us. But we do know Saddam has the capability. Rebuilding that capability has been a higher priority for Saddam than the welfare of his own people -- and he has ill-will toward America.

I am forced to conclude, on all the evidence, that Saddam poses a significant risk.”

Ranking Member on the Senate Intelligence Committee (which means he had access to all of the intelligence that the Bush Administration did)

Senator John D. Rockefeller IV
October 10, 2002

http://www.senate.gov/~rockefeller/news/2002/flrstmt0102002.html

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“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, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001.

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. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security.

Now this much is undisputed. The open questions are: what should we do about it? How, when, and with whom?”

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

October 10, 2002

http://clinton.senate.gov/speeches/iraq_101002.html

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"There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein's regime is a serious danger, that he is a tyrant, and that his pursuit of lethal weapons of mass destruction cannot be tolerated. He must be disarmed."

Senator Edward Kennedy
September 27, 2002

http://kennedy.senate.gov/~kennedy/statements/02/09/2002927718.html

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"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."

Senator John Kerry
October 9, 2002

http://www.johnkerry.com/news/speeches/spc_2002_1009.html