“The top American commander in Iraq, General Ricardo Sanchez, warned the Pentagon in December 2003 that he was so short of spare parts for tanks, helicopters, and Bradley fighting vehicles that ‘I cannot continue to support sustained combat operations with rates this low.’ He even complained of repeated delays in getting his soldiers protective inserts […]
12/15/2003
In December 2003, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) told Weekly Standard columnist Stephen Hayes: ” ‘Even if there’s only a 10 percent chance that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden would cooperate, the question is whether that’s an acceptable level of risk. My answer to that would be an unequivocal no. We need to be much […]
12/15/2003
In an appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews on December 15, 2003, Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) said: ” ‘I want to be real clear about the connection with terrorists. I’ve seen a lot of evidence on this. There are extensive contacts between Saddam Hussein’s government and al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. I never could […]
12/15/2003
In a news conference on December 15, 2003, two days after the capture of Saddam Hussein, “the president [Bush] warned that ‘the terrorists in Iraq remain dangerous’ and ‘further sacrifice’ by U.S. troops would be required. ‘Yet it should now be clear to all,’ he said, that ‘Iraq is on the path to freedom. And […]
12/15/2003
“Remarkably, the Madrid attack [on March 11, 2004] was previewed in a document prepared in Iraq and distributed to jihadist websites in December 2003. It provided a strategic analysis of Spain’s vulnerabilities and pointed out that the Spanish government’s support for the war in Iraq was not matched by public support, arguing that ‘painful strikes’ […]
12/15/2003
“Containment of Iraq [through the Clinton-era policy of enforcing no-fly zones and economic sanctions] had worked, while the Bush administration’s approach hadn’t, argued a study written by Jeffrey Record and published by the War College’s Strategic Studies Institute [in December 2003]. He argued that a war of choice had been launched that had distracted the […]
12/14/2003
President George W. Bush announcing the capture of Saddam Hussein: “Good afternoon. Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30 p.m. Baghdad time, United States military forces captured Saddam Hussein alive. He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit, in a swift raid conducted without casualties. And now the former dictator of Iraq will […]
12/14/2003
President Bush addressed the nation on December 14, 2003. ” ‘I have a message for the Iraqi people… You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again. All Iraqis who take the side of freedom have taken the winning side.’ He added, ‘In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful […]
12/14/2003
British journalist Con “Coughlin and The Telegraph kept pushing the story [published on December 14, 2003, regarding an Iraqi document linking Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda] forward, adding another disclosure in a companion piece that [interim Iraqi government official Iyad] Allawi had ‘said the document was genuine. ‘We are uncovering evidence all the time of […]
12/14/2003
“The next day [December 14, 2003, following the capture of Saddam], Sunday, the president [Bush] addressed the nation. ‘The capture of this man was crucial to the rise of a free Iraq,’ Bush said. ‘It marks the end of the road for him and for all who bullied and killed in his name.’ He added, […]