In an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on February 23, 2003, former Chairman of the Defense Policy Board Richard Perle said: “I find the accusation that this [Bush] administration has embarked upon this policy for oil to be an outrageous, scurrilous charge for which, when you asked for evidence, you will note that there was none. There was simply the suggestion that, because there is oil in the ground and some administration officials have had connections with the oil industry in the past, therefore, it is the policy of the United States to take control of Iraqi oil. It is a lie, Congressman (Dennis Kucinich [D-OH]). It is an out and out lie. And I’m sorry to see you give credence to it.”
– Tim Russert (moderator), “Meet the Press,” NBC News, Feb. 23, 2003