Analysis of Public Statements made by President George Bush
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| The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq |
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| President George W. Bush on Nuclear Capabilities: |
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| "Iraq has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes and other equipment needed for gas centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons." |
| Source: President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat; Remarks by the President on Iraq, White House (10/7/2002). |
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Explanation This statement was misleading because it suggested that Iraq sought aluminum tubes for use in its nuclear weapons program, failing to mention that the government's most experienced technical experts at the U.S. Department of Energy concluded that the tubes were "poorly suited" for this purpose. | | |
| The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq |
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| President George W. Bush on Chemical and Biological Weapons: |
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| "After eleven years during which we have tried containment, sanctions, inspections, even selected military action, the end result is that Saddam Hussein still has chemical and biological weapons and is increasing his capabilities to make more." |
| Source: President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat; Remarks by the President on Iraq, White House (10/7/2002). |
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Explanation This statement was misleading because it professed certainty when the intelligence community provided only an "estimate." According to CIA Director George Tenet, "it is important to underline the word estimate. Because not everything we analyze can be known to a standard of absolute proof." In addition, the statement failed to acknowledge the Defense Intelligence Agency position that: "There is no reliable information on whether Iraq is producing and stockpiling chemical weapons or where Iraq has -- or will -- establish its chemical warfare agent production facilities." | | |
| The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq |
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| President George W. Bush on Nuclear Capabilities: |
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| "Saddam Hussein . . . is moving ever closer to developing a nuclear weapon." |
| Source: President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat; Remarks by the President on Iraq, White House (10/7/2002). |
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Explanation This statement was misleading because it failed to acknowledge the intelligence community's deep division on the issue of whether Iraq was actively pursuing its nuclear program. | | |
| The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq |
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| President George W. Bush on Chemical and Biological Weapons: |
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| "In 1995, after several years of deceit by the Iraqi regime, the head of Iraq's military industries defected. It was then that the regime was forced to admit that it had produced more than 30,000 liters of anthrax and other deadly biological agents. The inspectors, however, concluded that Iraq had likely produced two to four times that amount. This is a massive stockpile of biological weapons that has never been accounted for, and capable of killing millions." |
| Source: President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat; Remarks by the President on Iraq, White House (10/7/2002). |
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Explanation This statement was misleading because it evoked a lethal threat to millions of individuals from Iraq's biological weapons but failed to acknowledge that the U.S. intelligence community had reported on Iraq's biological weapons capabilities with qualifiers and lack of specificity. For example, the October 2002 NIE estimated simply that Iraq had "some" BW agents that were lethal and incapacitating, "including anthrax." | | |
| The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq |
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| President George W. Bush on Chemical and Biological Weapons: |
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| "[Iraq] possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons." |
| Source: President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat; Remarks by the President on Iraq, White House (10/7/2002). |
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Explanation This statement was misleading because it professed certainty when the intelligence community provided only an "estimate." According to CIA Director George Tenet, "it is important to underline the word estimate. Because not everything we analyze can be known to a standard of absolute proof." In addition, the statement failed to acknowledge the Defense Intelligence Agency position that: "There is no reliable information on whether Iraq is producing and stockpiling chemical weapons or where Iraq has -- or will -- establish its chemical warfare agent production facilities." | | |
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