>> I am guessing you didn't read the Senate report.
I'm guessing you didn't, either -- starting on page 103, where it says --
"The Republican Members of the Committee submitted approximately 100 statements for review. These were statements made by officials in the previous administration and Members of Congress ... to show that during the debate leading up to and during the authorization of the war in Iraq ... Members of both parties with access to intelligence information, not just the Republican administration, made very similar statements about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities and links to terrorism. In our opinion, the statements from most policymakers whether or not they supported the decision to go to war in Iraq, were similar because everyone saw virtually the same intelligence and used that same intelligence in speeches to explain their own decision-making."
Then, it proceeds to list a litany of remarks by Clinton, Rockefeller, Schumer, Dodd, Kerry, and others.
For example. Here's a good one:
There is no question that Iraq possesses biological and chemical weapons and that he seeks to acquire additional weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. That is not in debate -- Chris Dodd, 10/9/02
or, another favorite:
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-Qa'ida members. -- Hillary Clinton, current Secretary of State, 10/10/02.
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. -- John D. Rockefeller, 10/10/02 (then on the Senate Intelligence Committee, I believe).
When you look at what Saddam Hussein has at his disposal, in terms of chemical, biological, and perhaps even nuclear weapons, we cannot ignore the threat that he poses...and the fact that he has fomented terrorism throughout his reign. -- Dick Durbin.
Now, I could go on for pages and pages. But you get the point. None of these quotes was equivocal. Each of these individuals had access to essentially the same, or identical, intelligence to that President Bush had.
The report you cited was a partisan report, but even the minority was able to have included these statements which make my earlier remarks indisputably accurate, and make yours indisputably wrong. |
