Analysis of Public Statements made by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice
This website contains a collection of misleading and inaccurate public statements made by the five Administration officials most responsible for providing public information and shaping public opinion on Iraq. This section covers statements made by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. You may also read the introduction or select a different person from the menu bar above.
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| The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq |
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| National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Nuclear Capabilities: |
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| "On nuclear there was dissent on the extent of the program and how far along the program might be. How much had he gone to reconstitute? But the judgment of the intelligence community was that he had kept in place his infrastructure, that he was trying to procure items. For instance, there's been a lot of talk about the aluminum tubes but they were prohibited on the list of the nuclear suppliers group for a reason." |
| Source: Meet the Press, NBC (9/28/2003). |
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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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| National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Al-Qaeda: |
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| "Saddam Hussein -- no one has said that there is evidence that Saddam Hussein directed or controlled 9/11, but let's be very clear, he had ties to al-Qaeda, he had al-Qaeda operatives who had operated out of Baghdad." |
| Source: Meet the Press, NBC (9/28/2003). |
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Explanation This statement was misleading because it suggested that Iraq was providing support to al Qaeda. In fact, the U.S. intelligence community had conflicting evidence on this issue and was divided regarding whether there was an operational relationship. | | |
| The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq |
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| National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Al-Qaeda: |
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| "QUESTION: Do you believe, because this is continually a subject of debate, that there was a link between al Qaeda and the regime of Saddam Hussein before the war? MS. RICE: Absolutely. . . . But we know that there was training of al Qaeda in chemical and perhaps biological warfare. We know that the Zarqawi was network out of there, this poisons network that was trying to spread poisons throughout . . . . And there was an Ansar al-Islam, which appears also to try to be operating in Iraq. So yes, the al Qaeda link was there." |
| Source: Fox News Sunday, Fox News (9/7/2003). |
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Explanation This statement was misleading because it asserted that Iraq was providing support to al Qaeda. In fact, the U.S. intelligence community had conflicting evidence on this issue and was divided regarding whether there was an operational relationship. This statement also failed to mention that Ansar al-Islam was based in the Kurdish area of Iraq beyond Saddam Hussein's control. | | |
| The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq |
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| National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Chemical and Biological Weapons: |
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| "Going into the war against Iraq, we had very strong intelligence. I've been in this business for 20 years. And some of the strongest intelligence cases that I've seen, key judments by our intelligence community that Saddam Hussein . . . had biological and chemical weapons . . . ." |
| Source: National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice Interview with ZDF German Television, ZDF German Television (7/31/2003). |
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Explanation This statement was misleading because it 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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| National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Nuclear Capabilities: |
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| "Going into the war against Iraq, we had very strong intelligence. I've been in this business for 20 years. And some of the strongest intelligence cases that I've seen, key judgments by our intelligence community that Saddam Hussein could have a nuclear weapons by the end of the decade, if left unchecked . . . that he was trying to reconstitute his nuclear program." |
| Source: National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice Interview with ZDF German Television, ZDF German Television (7/31/2003). |
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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 statement also failed to mention weeks of intensive inspections conducted directly before the war in which United Nations inspectors found no sign whatsoever of any effort by Iraq to resume its nuclear program. | | |
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