"One way or another, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to
develop WMD and the missiles to deliver them."
-- BILL CLINTON FEB 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is
clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed my Iraq's WMD
program."
-- BILL CLINTON FEB 17, 1998

"Let's imagine the future. What if [Saddam] fails to comply [with U.N.
sanctions], and we fail to act, or we take some ambiguous third route
which gives him yet more opportunities to develop this program of
weapons of mass destruction and continue to press for the release of
the sanctions and continue to ignore the solemn commitments that he
made? He will conclude that the international community has lost its
will. He will then conclude that he can go right on and do more to
rebuild an arsenal of devastating destruction."
"And some day, some way, I guarantee you, he'll use the arsenal."

President Clinton's Feb. 17, 1998 speech on Iraq

"He will use those WMD again, as he has ten times since 1993."
-- SANDY BERGER (Clinton Nat Sec Adv) FEB 18, 1998.

"Iraq is a long way from (here), but what happens there matters a great
deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use
nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our Allies is the
greatest security we face."
-- MADELINE ALBRIGHT (Clinton Secretary of State) FEB 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the
U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if
appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond
effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of
mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by:
-- Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998

"I think there is a disconnect between the depth of the threat that
Saddam Hussein presents to the world and what we are at the moment
talking about doing. ... (T)hen we have to be prepared to go the full
distance, which is to do everything possible to disrupt his regime and
to encourage the forces of democracy."
ABC'S COKIE ROBERTS: "And does that mean ground troops in Iraq?"
KERRY: "I am personally prepared, if that's what it meant."
-- Sen. John Kerry (D, MA) to ABC's "This Week," 2/22/98)

"Saddam has been engaged in the development of WMD technology which is
a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the
weapons inspection process."
-- Rep. NANCY PELOSI (D, CA) DEC 16, 1998

"Hussein has... chosen to spend his money on building WMD and palaces
for his cronies."
-- MADELINE ALBRIGHT (Clinton Secretary of State) NOV 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons
programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear
programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status......
LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNED BY
-- BOB GRAHAM (Democrat FL) DEC 5, 2001

"We KNOW that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical
weapons throughout his country." AL GORE SEPT 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for WMD has proven impossible to deter and we should
assume that is will continue for as long as Saddam is in power"
-- AL GORE SEPT 23, 2002

"We have known for years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing
weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. TEDDY KENNEDY (D, MA) SEPT 27, 2002

"I believe that a deadly arsenal of WMD in his hands is a real and
grave threat to our security."
-- Sen JOHN KERRY OCT 9, 2002 (PRIOR TO BUSH'S CALL FOR WAR)

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal,
murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime... He represents a
particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to
miscalculation... And now he is miscalculating America's response to
his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for WMD... So the threat
of Saddam Hussein with WMD is real."
-- Sen JOHN KERRY JAN 23, 2003

"We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of
chemical and biological weapons, and has since embarked on a crach
course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities.
Intelligence reports that Saddam is seeking nuclear weapons..."
-- Sen. ROBERT BYRD (D, PA?) OCT 9, 2002

"He [Saddam Hussein] has systematically violated, over the course of
the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded
that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons and any
nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do."
-- Rep. HENRY WAXMAN (Democrat, CA) OCT 10, 2002

"We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress
Saddam has made in development of WMD."
-- Sen JAY ROCKEFELLER (Democrat WV) OCT 10, 2002

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass
destruction and palaces for his cronies."
-- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show
that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological
weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear
program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists,
including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left
unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to
wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop
nuclear weapons."
-- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002


"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are
confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and
biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to
build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence
reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
-- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the
authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein
because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction
in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working
aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear
weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have
always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of
weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"I share the administration's goals in dealing with Iraq and its
weapons of mass destruction." -- Dick Gephardt in September of 2002

"I am absolutely convinced that there are weapons...I saw evidence back
in 1998 when we would see the inspectors being barred from gaining
entry into a warehouse for three hours with trucks rolling up and then
moving those trucks out." -- Clinton's Secretary of Defense William
Cohen in April of 2003