- Note - Our thanks to Jim P for sending this in. -ed
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- Background
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- 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."
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- 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.
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- The Report
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- 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.
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- The Database
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- 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.
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- Methodology
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Download the pdf detailing The Bush Administration's
237 lies leading up to the War on Iraq here:
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- http://www.house.gov/reform/min/features/iraq_on_the_record/
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