On August 26, 2002, Vice President Dick Cheney spoke before a national convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars. ” ‘The Iraqi regime has in fact been very busy enhancing its capabilities in the field of chemical and biological agents,’ Cheney said. As for the nightmarish prospect of a nuclear-armed Saddam, the vice president declared, ‘We now know that Saddam has resumed his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. …Many of us are convinced that Saddam will acquire nuclear weapons fairly soon.’ And he added, ‘a return of inspectors would provide no assurance whatsoever of his compliance with UN resolutions. On the contrary, there is a great danger that it would provide a false comfort that Saddam was somehow ‘back in his box.’ …Cheney didn’t offer any evidence to back up his claims about Iraq’s WMDs. But his assertions were bold and clear: ‘There is no doubt he is amassing [WMDs] to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.’ ”
– Michael Isikoff and David Corn, Hubris, Pages 28-29