National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice - Inaccurate and Misleading Statements about Iraq

Bush on Iraq; The Bush Administration's Misleading and Inaccurate Public Statements on Iraq

Mission Not Accomplished, Cover of Time Magazine

Analysis of Public Statements made by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice

The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Nuclear Capabilities:

"[T]he NIE, which, by the way, the Agency was standing by at the time of the . . . State of the Union, and was standing by at the time of the Secretary's speech, has the yellow cake story in it. . . . Now, if there were doubts about the underlying intelligence to that NIE, those doubts were not communicated to the President, to the Vice President, or to me."

Source: Press Gaggle with Ari Fleischer and Dr. Condoleezza Rice En Route Entebbe, Uganda, White House (7/11/2003).

Explanation This statement was false. Ms. Rice made this statement in response to a question about why Secretary Powell had decided against using in his February 5, 2003, remarks the claim that Iraq sought to acquire uranium whereas the President had used the claim just a week earlier in his State of the Union address. The October 1, 2002, National Intelligence Estimate Ms. Rice referenced in her statement did contain the uranium claim. However, subsequent to the issuance of the NIE, the CIA expressed doubts about the claim in two memos to the White House, including one addressed to Ms. Rice. Shortly after the issuance of the NIE, Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet also warned against using the claim in a telephone call to Ms. Rice's deputy.

The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Nuclear Capabilities:

"QUESTION: [T]his is what appeared in the Washington Post: "A key piece of evidence linking Iraq to a nuclear weapons program appears to have been fabricated, the United Nations' chief nuclear inspector said in a report that called into question U.S. and British claims about Iraq's secret nuclear ambitions. . . . " In light of that, should the president retract those comments? . . . MS. RICE: The president quoted a British paper. We did not know at the time -- no one knew at the time, in our circles -- maybe someone knew down in the bowels of the agency, but no one in our circles knew that there were doubts and suspicions that this might be a forgery."

Source: Meet the Press, NBC (6/8/2003).

Explanation The statement that "no one knew" about the doubts regarding the uranium claim was false. The statement contradicts the fact that the CIA in October 2002 had expressed doubts about the uranium claim in two memos to the White House, including one addressed to Ms. Rice. Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet in October 2002 also had warned against using the claim in a telephone call to Ms. Rice's deputy. In addition, the statement contradicts the fact that State Department intelligence officials had stated that this claim was "highly dubious" in the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate that had been provided to top White House officials.

The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Nuclear Capabilities:

"And there were other attempts to, to get yellow cake from Africa."

Source: This Week with George Stephanopolous, ABC (6/8/2003).

Explanation This statement was misleading because it suggested that Iraq sought uranium from Africa despite the fact that the CIA expressed doubts about the credibility of this claim in two memos to the White House, including one addressed to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. CIA Director George Tenet also warned against using the claim in a telephone call to Ms. Rice's deputy. In addition, the statement fails to mention that State Department intelligence officials also concluded that this claim was "highly dubious."

The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Nuclear Capabilities:

"At the time that the State of the Union address was prepared, there were also other sources that said that they were, the Iraqis were seeking yellow cake, uranium oxide from Africa."

Source: This Week with George Stephanopolous, ABC (6/8/2003).

The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on Nuclear Capabilities:

"The intelligence community did not know at that time or at levels that got to us that this, that there was serious questions about this report."

Source: This Week with George Stephanopolous, ABC (6/8/2003).

Explanation This statement was false. Ms. Rice made this statement in response to the question of how the claim "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa" made it into the President's January 28, 2003, State of the Union address. Her statement contradicted the fact that the CIA in October 2002 had expressed doubts about the claim in two memos to the White House, including one addressed to Ms. Rice. Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet also in October 2002 had warned against using the claim in a telephone call to Ms. Rice's deputy. In addition, Ms. Rice's statement contradicted the fact that State Department intelligence officials had stated that this claim was "highly dubious" in the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate that had been provided to top White House officials.

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