“In November [24] 1999, [Richard] Perle, by then an adviser to [presidential candidate George W.] Bush, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the candidate was drafting a speech calling for Saddam Hussein’s removal from power. He added that Bush’s speech would be critical of [President Bill] Clinton and would say, ‘it’s time to finish the job. It’s time for Saddam Hussein to go.’ According to Perle, Bush also planned to say that it was understandable that his father’s [George H.W. Bush’s] administration had underestimated the Iraqi leader’s ability to stay powerful. When the presidential race got underway in 2000, however, no such statements about Iraq were forthcoming.”
– Craig Unger, House of Bush, House of Saud, Page 195