In early March 2001, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Bush campaign Richard Perle told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee panel: ” ‘Improved sanctions or smarter sanctions, none of them are going to end the threat from Saddam Hussein.’ Instead, Mr. Perle said, the Iraqi National Congress, one of the opposition groups, should be supported so that it could re-establish its presence in parts of Iraq not under Mr. Hussein’s control. Then, if Mr. Hussein made a ‘military response,’ the United States should have ‘assets in the air to protect that opposition.’ “ [The 5th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Jane Perlez, “Capitol Hawks Seek Tougher Line on Iraq,” The New York Times, March 7, 2001