3/16/2003

On March 16, 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney appeared on Meet the Press and “told [host] Tim Russert that Saddam was hoarding unconventional weapons and had ‘a long-standing relationship’ with al-Qaeda. Cheney dismissed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s finding that Saddam had not revived its nuclear weapons program. ‘We believe,’ Cheney said, ‘he has, in […]

Read More… from 3/16/2003

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 […]

Read More… from 3/16/2003

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 […]

Read More… from 3/16/2003

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 […]

Read More… from 3/16/2003

3/15/2003

A 2005 Justice Department memo said: “the C.I.A. used waterboarding 183 times in March 2003 against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described planner of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]  – Scott Shane, “Waterboarding Used 266 Times on 2 Suspects,” The New York Times, April […]

Read More… from 3/15/2003

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 […]

Read More… from 3/15/2003

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 […]

Read More… from 3/15/2003

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. […]

Read More… from 3/15/2003

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 […]

Read More… from 3/15/2003

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 […]

Read More… from 3/15/2003