“…in an exhaustive debate at Camp David [on September 15, 2001], none of the president’s [Bush’s] top advisers recommended attacking Iraq as a first step in the terrorism war–not even Vice President [Dick] Cheney, who…said, ‘If we go after Saddam Hussein, we lose our rightful place as good guy.’ ” – Bob Woodward, Plan of […]
9/15/2001
“President Bush told [journalist] Bob Woodward that the decision not to invade Iraq was made at the morning session [of the war council] on September 15 [2001]. Iraq was not even on the table during the September 15 afternoon session, which dealt solely with Afghanistan.” – 9/11 Commission, The 9/11 Commission Report, Page 335 […]
9/15/2001
“At a Camp David meeting of the Cabinet on September 15 [2001], [Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul] Wolfowitz argued that there was a 10 to 50 percent chance Saddam had been part of the 9/11 plot, and he suggested [President] Bush consider attacking Iraq right away, noting a war in Iraq might be easier than […]
9/15/2001
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Chief operations deputy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Greg Newbold “assured [Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas] Feith that we were working hard on Afghanistan. Feith told me, *Why are you working on Afghanistan? You ought to be working on Iraq.* ‘ “ [The 15th of the […]
9/15/2001
“Only a few days after September 11 [2001], [CIA Director George] Tenet writes, a CIA analyst attended a White House meeting where he was told that [President] Bush wanted to remove Saddam. The analyst’s response, according to Tenet: ‘If you want to go after that son of a bitch to settle old scores, be my […]
9/15/2001
“In intensive talks here [Pakistan] and in Washington over the last 72 hours, American officials have demanded that Pakistan agree if necessary to allow American ground troops and special forces units to operate from this country, senior officials said. Pakistan’s ruling generals have also been told that they must allow Pakistan’s airspace and its military […]
9/15/2001
“[T]he United States has demanded that Pakistan place the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan under what would amount to immediate siege, cutting off fuel (the Taliban’s sole supply), denying use of Pakistani banks (crucial to what is left of the Afghan economy) and halting all other forms of support.” – John F. Burns, “U.S. Demands Air […]
9/15/2001
“The [congressional] resolution [supporting President Bush’s call to action following 9/11] states: ‘That the president is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to […]
9/15/2001
Regarding a meeting at Camp David on September 15, 2001, President Bush said: ” ‘I sat down with my national security team to discuss the response [to the 9/11 attacks], and the subject of Iraq came up… And I said as plainly as I possibly could: *We’ll focus on Afghanistan. That’s where we’ll focus.* ‘ […]
9/14/2001
In an address at the Washington National Cathedral on September 14, 2001, President Bush said: ” ‘Just three days removed from these events [9/11], Americans do not yet have the distance of history… But our responsibility to history is already clear–to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil. War has been waged against […]