Jihad:
Iraq in Quotes

Quotes I've collected, related to the Iraq fiasco.

"I had other priorities in the '60s than military service."
     —Dick Cheney, 1989, explaining why he avoided serving in Vietnam.

". . . "
     —George Bush, never explaining why he avoided service in the war that he wanted others to die for.

"And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam worth? And the answer is not that damned many."
     —Dick Cheney, 1992, explaining why it would be a mistake to invade Iraq and topple Saddam.

"If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem coming down the road. I'm going to prevent that."
     —George W. Bush, 2000, lying.

"I'm a uniter, not a divider."
     —Bush, 1999, lying.
"Either you're for us or against us."
     —Bush, 2001

"The small size of Iraq's new UAV strongly suggests a primary role of reconnaissance. . ."
     —US Air Force, 2002, referring to the unmanned aerial vehicles that Bush said were for spraying chemical and biological weapons. This comment was excised from the report before it was made public.

"The activities we have detected do not, however, add up to a compelling case that Iraq is currently pursuing . . . an integrated and comprehensive approach to acquire nuclear weapons."
     —Bureau of Intelligence and Research, 2002, excised from the top secret report before it was made public

"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."
     —Vice President Dick Cheney, lying, Aug. 26, 2002

"I am pleased to inform you of the decision of the Government of the Republic of Iraq to allow the return of the United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq without conditions."
     —Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, September 2002, giving the concession that Bush first demanded and then ignored

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
     —George W. Bush, 2003, passing on intelligence that the CIA had told him was unreliable

"We need stable regimes in this part of the world [the Mideast] who will be partners and friends of ours, because the fact of the matter is we do rely on imported oil to fuel our economy and to fuel our nation."
     —Secretary of State Colin Powell, 2003, explaining that our need for oil was behind our invasion of Iraq

"We found the weapons of mass destruction."
     —George Bush, May 2003

"The dead-enders are still with us, those remnants of the defeated regimes who'll go on fighting long after their cause is lost."
     —Donald Rumsfeld, August 2003

"Already, the Kay report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities."
     —President Bush, 2004, no longer able to say "weapons of mass destruction" with a straight face

"No terror state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq."
     —Donald Rumsfeld, 2002
"A few. . . critics are the only people I ever heard use the phrase 'imminent threat.' I didn't, the president didn't."
     —Donald Rumsfeld, 2004

"What was said before is not important."
     —Ahmad Chalabi,2004, referring to his past assurances to Bush that Saddam had ties to Al-Qaida and a nuclear weapons program.

"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our No. 1 priority, and we will not rest until we find him."
     —George W. Bush, September 2001
"I don't know where [bin Laden] is. I have no idea and I really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
     —George W. Bush, March 2002
"Gosh, I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations."
     —George W. Bush, presidential debate, lying, October 2004

Quotes regarding the insurgency

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