President “Bush ended the December 28 [2001] Crawford [Texas] session [of the National Security Council meeting] by telling the entire group to ‘remain optimistic that diplomacy and international pressure will succeed in disarming the [Iraqi] regime.’ His request for invasion plans was precautionary, he said, in case other means failed. ‘We cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to fall into the hands of terrorists,’ he told them, repeating [Vice President Dick] Cheney’s concerns. ‘I will not allow that to happen.’ When he and [Central Command leader General Tommy] Franks met with reporters after the meeting, Bush said only that they had discussed operations in Afghanistan. He did not mention Iraq, and none of the reporters asked about it.”
– Karen DeYoung, Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell, Page 376