3/16/2003

In a March 16, 2003, appearance on Meet the Press, Vice President Dick Cheney said: ” ‘We’re now faced with a situation, especially in the aftermath of 9/11, where the threat to the United States is increasing. And over time, given Saddam’s posture there, given the fact that he has a significant flow of cash […]

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3/16/2003

In an appearance on Meet the Press on March 16, 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney said, regarding the invasion of Iraq: ” ‘My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. …I think it will go relatively quickly, [in] weeks rather than months.’ ”  – Vincent Bugliosi, The Prosecution of George W. Bush […]

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3/16/2003

On March 16, 2003, President Bush said: ” ‘The dictator of Iraq [Saddam] and his weapons of mass destruction are a threat to the security of free nations.’ ”  – Karl Rove, Courage and Consequence, Page 340 […]

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3/16/2003

In an appearance on Meet the Press on March 16, 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney said the International Atomic Energy Agency, who had recently exposed the Niger documents as forgeries, had ” ‘consistently underestimated or missed what it was Saddam Hussein was doing. …We know [Saddam] has been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear […]

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3/15/2003

“…in the hours just before the fall of Baghdad in March 2003, our forces intercepted communications between top Iraqi commanders asking when they would receive permission to unleash chemical and biological weapons on coalition forces.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]  – Karl Rove, Courage and Consequence, Page 336 […]

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3/15/2003

“…the State Department knew nothing of the new interrogation rules approved by [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld and had no confirmation of mistreatment until news stories in March 2003 revealed that two Afghans had been beaten to death while in U.S. custody. Although the military had initially reported that the men had died of natural […]

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3/15/2003

“…to date, the only arrest of an al Qaeda terrorist in the United States that the NSA [National Security Agency] warrantless eavesdropping program supposedly was involved in was that of Iyman Faris, a thirty-eight-year-old truck driver in Columbus, Ohio, who was caught in March 2003 planning to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge, in New York City. […]

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3/15/2003

“Immediately after 9/11, a group calling itself Jund al-Islam (The Army of Islam) established itself in a mountainous area near the town of Halabja [in Iraqi Kurdistan]. It was clear that the group was linked to al-Qaeda. The group subsequently merged with another extremist Islamist party to form Ansar al-Islam (The Partisans of Islam). In […]

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3/15/2003

Then-chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix wrote: “…in March 2003 the policy of containment was abandoned in the case of Iraq and the policy of counter-proliferation was applied: a combined UN and IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspection force of fewer than 200 inspectors costing perhaps $80 million per year was pushed out and replaced […]

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3/15/2003

Regarding enhanced interrogation techniques: “Acutely aware that the agency would be blamed if the policies lost political support, nervous C.I.A. officials began to curb its practices much earlier than most Americans know: no one was waterboarded after March 2003, and coercive interrogation methods were shelved altogether in 2005.” [The 15th of the month used for […]

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