Why do liberals say Bush lied about wmd's in Iraq?

Question

We all know that the entire world (including the UN) thought Iraq had wmd's, and Congress agreed with Bush when things started a few years ago that Iraq had wmd's and needed to be taken care of. How come now all the libs say Bush lied about the wmd's? Granted, the intelligence we had may (I repeat MAY) have been bad in retrospect, but EVERYONE thought Iraq had wmd's. Either everyone lied, or everyone had bad intelligence, but how can the libs say it was just Bush who lied?

Answer 1

He didn't according to snopes.com. And there is a loooong list of people on the other side of the aisle who felt the same way. I would also note that members of the Senate Intelligence Committee have as much access to military intelligence as the President.

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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.

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998.

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security 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."
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.

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999.

"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.


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BarB: The British still stand behind the Butler Report.

Answer 2

You're insane. The entire world knows Bush lied about WMDs in Iraq.

Not everyone thought Iraq had WMD. Every country wanted to continue the inspections. But Bush wanted war.

Answer 3

It was the US which bullied the Security Council with the exception of France into the wmd contraversy. If you recall UN inspectors had been to Iraq multiple times during the period between Desert Strorm and the 2003 and had found no Wmd's. It was Colin Powell and the US who insisted that they were there and showed very abstract satelite photos of things which they claimed were things to do with Wmd's. The UN asked for more information and was told it was a matter of National Security so they couldn't provide more evidence or explain how they got any of their so called evidence. It was a sham from the beginning. The talk of the urnanium sale from Africa was already know to be false at the time Bush said it at the State of the Union. This show was all designed to convince the UN and the American people that wmd's existed when in fact they did not. In my opinion it will never be proved to be a "lie" but the circumstantial evidence of falsehood is all around the issue. Was it just Bush .....no it was his administration but he is in charge so that makes him the person most responsible for the actions of those beneath him.

Answer 4

They lie in order to discredit Bush. It's sad, really.

They even make up lies about what he said. Bush never said they bought uranium from Niger. He said that British intelligence had learned that Iraq had sought to purchase uranium in Africa, which Joe Wilson actually confirmed when he reported that an Iraqi trade mission had approached Niger. What would they want besides uranium? Cultural artifacts?

Anyway, if you look at the documentations on the UN website, specifically the documentation of UNSCOM and UNMOVIC, you will see that Saddam had not complied with the UN resolutions to provide evidence that he'd destroyed the WMD, dismantled the WMD labs, and destroyed WMD delivery systems (artillery shells, bombs, missiles).

Proof of his failure is the finding of 500 shells of chemical weapons, including mustard and nerve gas that he was supposed to have destroyed. Proof was the fact that his labs were not dismantled.

They will also trot out such things like he linked Iraq to 9/11 (he didn't) or that he said the danger was imminent (he said if we waited for it to be imminent, then it was too late), etc. They think they're entitled to their own set of facts!

Answer 5

BEcause they are trying to claw and stcratch their way back to power and all they can do it call bush a liar and a poopy-head, when in fact he really didnt do anything that any other president would do. The cia, as well as every other intelligence resource on the planet said Sadam had WMD's, we had ALREADY FOUND WMD WITH SADDAM IN KUWAIT IN 91, and then there were about 23 other reasons for the war including the repeated violation of UN resolutions, so it seemed like the right thing to do.

And it was. Liberals are stuck on only 1 of the reasons we went and that is WMD's, which even if Bush lied would make no difference but they harp on that because its the only thing they can come up it.

Answer 6

Galaxie Girl ... You're missing something: If it isn't WMDs, they'd surely find something else to complain about. They thought right along with everyone else that Iraq had such weapons, but now the Dems use the convenient fact that they're from a different political party as an excuse to oppose all our efforts EVEN to the extent of crippling our troops by defunding the very mission they had originally voted to support.

Answer 7

Bush did not lie so much as he believed the rumors he wanted to believe and ignored the advice that did not fit with his and Karl Rove's plans for military domination in the Middle East.

The CIA had been telling Bush that the intelligence of Iraqi WMDs was faulty. Others had and did even after the fact - which resulted in the Plame scandal.

The Bush administration CHOSE to ignore all the facts against WMDs and CHOSE to believe rumors that WMDsexisted, but only because it supported a course of action that they already intended to carry out.

This is typical of American Presidents and can be seen in every instance when a President has gotten the nation involved in a military conflict, from the War for Secession to Iraq and everything in between, with the possible exception of WWII.

Answer 8

I'm a liberal, and i dont think he lied. I'm a very openminded person, and for people to say that Bush lied about wmd is somthing i dont agree with. Although there is a lot against Bush that i DO agree with, i still have my own mind and i think what i want, not what everyone else wants. I understand that people make mistakes, nobody is perfect, and that A LOT of people thought there were wmd in Iraq.

Answer 9

Not everyone said unequivocally that Saddamn had WMD's.

I know you can post an endless number of speeches by politicians in which members of "both" parties play up the threat from Iraq, but the fact remains that the US Intelligence agencies were anything but unanimous in their assessments of those threats, and even Colin Powell knew before he gave his speech to the UN that much of what he was about to say couldn't be substantiated. Bush made definitive statements about Nigeri uranium even after he had been cautioned about the report's accuracy.

The fact is that Bush sought damning information from any source he could, including "Curveball", the notorious fabricator, and Ahmed Chalabi, the self-serving Arab criminal who sold Iraqi interests out to Iran, and never worried about whether or not it was true. The only way you can make the case that he didn't lie is to assert that he was fooled.

He remains the one and only man who ordered the hurried-up invasion of Iraq, even while UN weapons inspectors were reporting progress being made and counseling against the invasion.

It wasn't just Bush who lied. It was Rumsfeld, and Cheney, and Rice, and Wolfowitz, and Feith, and Fleischer and others as well.

Or else they were willing to be fooled to accomplish their agenda.

I don't know which is worse.

Answer 10

The problem is the gutless UN wouldn't do nothing and by the time Bush acted, most of the WMD's were moved to Syria and Iran. Several of the Scientists told of this movement of hardware and weapons. Of course, the fact that several 55 gallon drums of " pesticide" was found next to empty artillery shells would make a liberal call it a WMD. We always kill bugs with 105mm shells or Raid or Black Flag.

We cant forget the 300,000 plus Saddam gassed with nerve agent. Imagine that, he USED a WMD on his own people.

Answer 11

He did lie because when he first became President he spoke of removing Saddam Hussein from power for financing the assassination plot against his father in Yemen. This President was also upset that Saddam had his father's picture installed in ceramic tile at the entrance of his main palace in Baghdad so he could walk on him everyday. The first thing our marines were instructed to do in Baghdad was to jackhammer that tile up when they entered the city. If Mr. Bush was concerned about WMD'S he would have let the UN weapons inspectors finish looking for the weapons.