On January 30, 2001, “As the [Bush Administration’s first National Security Council] meeting drew to a close, Bush gave out assignments: [Secretary of State Colin] Powell should draw up guidelines for more effective sanctions [against Iraq], [CIA Director George] Tenet should report back on improving intelligence in the country, [Treasury Secretary Paul] O’Neill would investigate how to financially squeeze the [Saddam Hussein] regime, and [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld should examine military options, including ‘how it might look’ to use U.S. ground forces in Iraq’s north and south.”
– Elisabeth Bumiller, Condoleezza Rice: An American Life, Page 140