Bush Administration's 237 Misleading Statements on Iraq
Presented by Congressman Henry Waxman
t r u t h o u t | Report

Wednesday 17 March 2004



Background

On March 19, 2003, U.S. forces began military operations in Iraq. Addressing the nation about the purpose of the war on the day the bombing began, President Bush stated: "The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder."

One year later, many doubts have been raised regarding the Administration's assertions about the threat posed by Iraq. Prior to the war in Iraq, the President and his advisors repeatedly claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction that jeopardized the security of the United States. The failure to discover these weapons after the war has led to questions about whether the President and his advisors were candid in describing Iraq's threat.

The Report

The Iraq on the Record Report, prepared at the request of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, is a comprehensive examination of the statements made by the five Administration officials most responsible for providing public information and shaping public opinion on Iraq: President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.

The Database

This database identifies 237 specific misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq made by these five officials in 125 public appearances in the time leading up to and after the commencement of hostilities in Iraq. The search options on the left can be used to find statements by any combination of speaker, subject, keyword, or date.

Methodology

The Special Investigations Division compiled a database of statements about Iraq made by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Powell, and National Security Advisor Rice. All of the statements in the database were drawn from speeches, press conferences and briefings, interviews, written statements, and testimony by the five officials.

This Iraq on the Record database contains statements made by the five officials that were misleading at the time they were made. The database does not include statements that appear in hindsight to be erroneous but were accurate reflections of the views of intelligence officials at the time they were made.

For more information, see the Full Iraq on the Record Methodology:
 http://hgrm.ctsg.com/methodology.htm

To view the report:
 http://www.house.gov/reform/min/pdfs_108_2/pdfs_inves/pdf_admin_iraq_on_the_record_rep.pdf


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Democrats Tally 'Misleading' Iraq Statements
By Reuters


Tuesday 16 March 2004

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush and four top advisors made a combined 237 misleading public statements on the threat posed by Iraq, Democrats charged in a congressional report released on Tuesday.

The report compiled by Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee examined assertions made by Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.

The report was requested by California Rep. Henry Waxman, the most senior Democrat on the committee and a tenacious critic of some of the contracts awarded to businesses to rebuild Iraq.

"Prior to the war in Iraq, the president and his advisors repeatedly claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction that jeopardized the security of the United States. The failure to discover these weapons after the war has led to questions about whether the president and his advisors were candid in describing Iraq's threat," the report said.

Most of the statements were misleading because they expressed certainty where none existed or failed to acknowledge the doubts of intelligence officials, according to the report. Ten statements were false, it said.

"Most of the misleading statements about Iraq - 161 statements - were made prior to the start of the war in Iraq. But 76 misleading statements were made by the five administration officials after the start of the war to justify the decision to go to war," the report said.

According to the report, the misleading statements began at least a year before the start of the war in Iraq, when Cheney stated on March 17, 2002: "We know they have biological and chemical weapons."

A White House spokesman said he had not yet seen the document and could not comment specifically on its contents.

"I can say that the president and his advisers spoke clearly to the American people and the world and their statements accurately reflected the intelligence that was available to them," the spokesman said.