Our nation and the world must learn the lessons of the Korean Peninsula and not allow an even greater threat to rise up in Iraq. A brutal dictator, with a history of reckless aggression, with ties to terrorism, with great potential wealth, will not be permitted to dominate a vital region and threaten the United States. (Applause.)
Documented ties to terrorism are few and far between. Hussein’s support of Palestinian suicide bombers certainly counts. Beyond that, though...not much out there.
Twelve years ago, Saddam Hussein faced the prospect of being the last casualty in a war he had started and lost. To spare himself, he agreed to disarm of all weapons of mass destruction. For the next 12 years, he systematically violated that agreement. He pursued chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, even while inspectors were in his country. Nothing to date has restrained him from his pursuit of these weapons—not economic sanctions, not isolation from the civilized world, not even cruise missile strikes on his military facilities.
It is clear in hindsight that the sanctions regime was very effective, and that Iraq was simply unable to pursue anything beyond pen and paper, once the sanctions regime had firmly taken hold. “Nothing has restrained him” implies that there is current WMD activity, contemporaneous with the speech. We know now that there was no firm evidence of this, because it wasn’t happening.
Almost three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave Saddam Hussein his final chance to disarm. He has shown instead utter contempt for the United Nations, and for the opinion of the world. The 108 U.N. inspectors were sent to conduct—were not sent to conduct a scavenger hunt for hidden materials across a country the size of California. The job of the inspectors is to verify that Iraq’s regime is disarming. It is up to Iraq to show exactly where it is hiding its banned weapons, lay those weapons out for the world to see, and destroy them as directed. Nothing like this has happened.
There were no weapons for the inspectors to find, of course. Iraq could not have complied with the standard Bush was holding it to; the weapons he was demanding did not exist. I do not doubt that Bush felt Iraq probably had WMD. The language used here does not reflect that doubt.
The United Nations concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein had biological weapons sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax—enough doses to kill several million people. He hasn’t accounted for that material. He’s given no evidence that he has destroyed it.
No anthrax has been found in Iraq. UN inspectors had been over Iraq, searching. What was their current estimate of Iraq’s capability? Bush doesn’t tell us that. Instead, he gives us an old estimate.
The United Nations concluded that Saddam Hussein had materials sufficient to produce more than 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin—enough to subject millions of people to death by respiratory failure. He hadn’t accounted for that material. He’s given no evidence that he has destroyed it.
“Materials sufficient to produce” means “he doesn’t have any, but listen to my scary word botulinum”.
Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. In such quantities, these chemical agents could also kill untold thousands. He’s not accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.
500 tons isn’t going to be the easiest thing to hide. None of these materials or actual WMD has been found.
U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up 16 of them—despite Iraq’s recent declaration denying their existence. Saddam Hussein has not accounted for the remaining 29,984 of these prohibited munitions. He’s given no evidence that he has destroyed them.
None of these munitions has been found. The “30,000” number is pulled out of the air—we don’t know its sourcing or how accurate it is. We do know that Iraq had these kinds of shells at one time, and used them in its war with Iran. It is therefore unsuprising that some of them are still lying around. Is the factual basis underlying “30,000 munitions” still applicable?
From three Iraqi defectors we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs. These are designed to produce germ warfare agents, and can be moved from place to a place to evade inspectors. Saddam Hussein has not disclosed these facilities. He’s given no evidence that he has destroyed them.
No such labs have been found, and Powell’s UN speech support for them has been withdrawn by the administration.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a nuclear weapon and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium for a bomb. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide.
There’s some pretty major implications that Iraq’s nuclear research is dangerous and ongoing. The IAEA’s conclusions, in 1998: “This is compounded by Iraq’s lack of full transparency in the provision of information, which has resulted in uncertainties about the extent of external assistance to Iraq’s clandestine nuclear programme and some aspects of the programme’s actual achievements. However, the IAEA has found no indications that Iraq has retained the physical capability—in terms of hardware and facilities—to produce weapon-usable nuclear material. Nor are there any indications of Iraq having achieved its programme goal of producing nuclear weapons. The IAEA has indicated nevertheless that it cannot provide absolute assurance of the absence of readily concealable items such as components of centrifuge machines. It is also clear that Iraq had made significant progress in weaponisation technologies prior to April 1991 and that there remains in Iraq a cadre of experienced personnel who were employed in the clandestine nuclear programme.”. The last known serious weapons programme in Iraq was 1991 and earlier. The juxtaposition of “advanced weapons program” and “sought uranium” is intended to convey danger, pure and simple.
The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary; he is deceiving. From intelligence sources we know, for instance, that thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors, sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors themselves. Iraqi officials accompany the inspectors in order to intimidate witnesses.
Iraq is blocking U-2 surveillance flights requested by the United Nations. Iraqi intelligence officers are posing as the scientists inspectors are supposed to interview. Real scientists have been coached by Iraqi officials on what to say. Intelligence sources indicate that Saddam Hussein has ordered that scientists who cooperate with U.N. inspectors in disarming Iraq will be killed, along with their families.
It’s a little hard to see how Iraq could have stopped surveillance flights from happening, given US control over the airspace.
Year after year, Saddam Hussein has gone to elaborate lengths, spent enormous sums, taken great risks to build and keep weapons of mass destruction. But why? The only possible explanation, the only possible use he could have for those weapons, is to dominate, intimidate, or attack.
Really? In which years did Saddam Hussein spend “enormous sums”, and “build” WMD? What is the factual basis for this assertion?
With nuclear arms or a full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein could resume his ambitions of conquest in the Middle East and create deadly havoc in that region. And this Congress and the America people must recognize another threat. Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own.
No public details of contact between Iraq and al Qaeda have been disclosed, other than a brief, decades-old meeting that may or may not have taken place. Bush also asserts, here, that weapons exist and are hidden, without any factual basis to do so.
Before September the 11th, many in the world believed that Saddam Hussein could be contained. But chemical agents, lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist networks are not easily contained. Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans—this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. We will do everything in our power to make sure that that day never comes. (Applause.)
Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option. (Applause.)
It’s really all about finding the right balance, isn’t it? We don’t want the threat to “emerge fully”, and yet, we can’t simply go around invading countries and killing people just because we think we’re in danger. Proof needs to exist. The President himself questioned the WMD evidence when it was first presented to him; what was shown was nowhere near the quality or confidence level that had been implied to him.
The dictator who is assembling the world’s most dangerous weapons has already used them on whole villages—leaving thousands of his own citizens dead, blind, or disfigured. Iraqi refugees tell us how forced confessions are obtained—by torturing children while their parents are made to watch. International human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape. If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning. (Applause.)
“Is assembling” needs justification.
And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country—your enemy is ruling your country. (Applause.) And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation. (Applause.)
The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. America will not accept a serious and mounting threat to our country, and our friends and our allies. The United States will ask the U.N. Security Council to convene on February the 5th to consider the facts of Iraq’s ongoing defiance of the world. Secretary of State Powell will present information and intelligence about Iraqi’s legal—Iraq’s illegal weapons programs, its attempt to hide those weapons from inspectors, and its links to terrorist groups.
All significant areas of Powell’s speech have since been recanted, as the evidence supporting them collapsed. I distinctly remember thinking, after Powell’s speech, that there probably were WMD in Iraq. The evidence presented in the speech wasn’t convincing, but I strongly felt that there simply had to be more to it—that the Administration must have secret information, and because they had seen what I could not, they were much more certain about this. It turns out they did not have anything more; the war in Iraq was essentially a gamble that we would find what we claimed we knew was there.
We will consult. But let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm, for the safety of our people and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him. (Applause.)
There you have it. Draw your own conclusions! And when you do so, I hope they’re more accurate than the ones Bush’s war team drew from the evidence they were given…
Too Goddamn Much Perfidy...
