[CLAIMS & FACTS]{.underline}

***Rhetoric, Reality and the War in Iraq***

**[Contents]{.underline}**

**Page 1: Iraq-Al Qaeda Connections**

**Page 2: Terror "Threats" and Responses**

**Page 3: War Costs & Post-War Planning**

**Page 4: War Costs & Post-War Planning**

*Produced by the Center for American Progress*

[CLAIMS & FACTS: Iraq-Al Qaeda Connections]{.underline}

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **SADDAM-AL QAEDA CONNECTION**    |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "The     | **[FACT:]{.underline}** No        |
| regime of Saddam Hussein          | evidence exists to substantiate   |
| cultivated ties to terror while   | the claim that Saddam Hussein and |
| it built weapons of mass          | Al Qaeda had any connections. In  |
| destruction." -- President Bush's | fact, most intelligence points to |
| UN speech,                        | the contrary.                     |
| [9/23/03](http://www.foxnew       |                                   |
| s.com/story/0,2933,98060,00.html) | **[FACT:]{.underline}** Under the |
|                                   | headline "Allies Find No Links    |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "Iraq    | Between Iraq, Al Qaeda," the LA   |
| \[is\] the central front in the   | Times reported on                 |
| war on terror."                   | [11/4/02](http://                 |
|                                   | www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/ |
| -- President Bush's UN speech,    | nation/la-fg-noqaeda4nov04.story) |
| [9/23/03](http://www.foxnew       | that U.S. allies fighting Al      |
| s.com/story/0,2933,98060,00.html) | Qaeda in Europe found no evidence |
|                                   | of an Iraqi-Qaeda connection.     |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "You     |                                   |
| can\'t distinguish between        | **[FACT:]{.underline}** On        |
| al-Qaida and Saddam." --          | [12/18/01](http://www             |
| President Bush,                   | .telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml? |
| [9/25/02                          | xml=/news/2001/12/18/wirq18.xml), |
| ](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/ | the London Telegraph reported a   |
| releases/2002/09/20020925-1.html) | story under the headline "Iraq    |
|                                   | link to Sept 11 attack and        |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}**          | anthrax is ruled out" detailing   |
| "There\'s no question that Saddam | how key assertions made by the    |
| Hussein had al Qaeda ties." --    | Administration were unfounded.    |
| President Bush,                   |                                   |
| [9/17/03                          | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The NY    |
| ](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/ | Times in June reported, "The      |
| releases/2003/09/20030917-7.html) | chairman of the monitoring group  |
|                                   | appointed by the United Nations   |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "There   | Security Council to track Al      |
| was a relationship between Iraq   | Qaeda told reporters that his     |
| and al-Qaeda." -- Vice President  | team had found no evidence        |
| Cheney,                           | linking Al Qaeda to Saddam        |
| [9/14/03](http                    | Hussein." \[6/27/03\]             |
| ://www.msnbc.com/news/966470.asp) |                                   |
|                                   | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The       |
|                                   | bipartisan September 11^th^       |
|                                   | commission report "undercuts Bush |
|                                   | administration claims before the  |
|                                   | war that Hussein had links to Al  |
|                                   | Qaeda." \[LA Times, 7/19/03\].    |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The New   |
|                                   | York Times reported "since the    |
|                                   | fall of Baghdad, coalition forces |
|                                   | have not brought to light any     |
|                                   | significant evidence              |
|                                   | demonstrating the bond between    |
|                                   | Iraq and Al Qaeda...Khalid Sheikh |
|                                   | Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah, the    |
|                                   | two highest-ranking Qaeda         |
|                                   | operatives in custody, have told  |
|                                   | investigators that Mr. bin Laden  |
|                                   | shunned cooperation with Saddam   |
|                                   | Hussein." \[NY Times, 7/20/03\].  |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | **[FACT:]{.underline}** National  |
|                                   | Journal reported on 8/9/03, that  |
|                                   | "three former Bush Administration |
|                                   | officials who worked on           |
|                                   | intelligence and national         |
|                                   | security issues said the prewar   |
|                                   | evidence tying Al Qaedea was      |
|                                   | tenuous, exaggerated and often at |
|                                   | odds with the conclusions of key  |
|                                   | intelligence agencies."           |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **SADDAM-9/11 CONNECTION**        |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "We have | **[FACT:]{.underline}** President |
| never claimed that Saddam Hussein | Bush sent a letter to Congress on |
| \... had either direction or      | [3/19/03](http://usinfo.state.gov |
| control of 9/11." -- National     | /topical/pol/terror/03031906.htm) |
| Security Adviser Condoleezza      | saying that the Iraq war was      |
| Rice,                             | permitted specifically under      |
| [9/16/03](ht                      | legislation that authorized force |
| tp://www.nytimes.com/reuters/poli | against "nations, organizations,  |
| tics/politics-iraq-usa-rice.html) | or persons who planned,           |
|                                   | authorized, committed, or aided   |
|                                   | the terrorist attacks that        |
|                                   | occurred on September 11, 2001."  |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | **[FACT:]{.underline}** Vice      |
|                                   | President Cheney said on          |
|                                   | [9/14/03](http                    |
|                                   | ://www.msnbc.com/news/966470.asp) |
|                                   | "I think it's not surprising that |
|                                   | people make that connection"      |
|                                   | between Saddam and 9/11- with no  |
|                                   | evidence to back up his claim.    |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | **[FACT:]{.underline}** Two days  |
|                                   | after Cheney made that statement, |
|                                   | Reuters reported on               |
|                                   | [9/18/03](http://www.commondr     |
|                                   | eams.org/headlines03/0918-03.htm) |
|                                   | that "President Bush distanced    |
|                                   | himself from the comments."       |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

[CLAIMS & FACTS: Terror "Threats" and Responses]{.underline}

+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION**  |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "We     | **[FACT:]{.underline}** No        |
| found the weapons of mass        | weapons of mass destruction have  |
| destruction." -- President Bush, | been found. According to Reuters  |
| [5/29/03](http://www.wh          | on                                |
| itehouse.gov/g8/interview5.html) | [9/15/03](h                       |
|                                  | ttp://reuters.com/newsArticle.jht |
|                                  | ml?type=topNews&storyID=3448980), |
|                                  | the Administration's hand picked  |
|                                  | weapons inspector has come up     |
|                                  | with no WMD on his visit to Iraq. |
|                                  |  "A draft report on the search    |
|                                  | for weapons of mass destruction   |
|                                  | in Iraq provides no solid         |
|                                  | evidence that Iraq had such arms  |
|                                  | when the United States invaded    |
|                                  | the country in March." (Note: the |
|                                  | chemical weapons trailers Bush    |
|                                  | was referring to at the time      |
|                                  | never materialized.)              |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **IRAQ NUCLEAR WEAPONS**         |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "The    | **[FACT:]{.underline}** On        |
| British government has learned   | 7/8/03, the Washington Post       |
| that Saddam Hussein recently     | reported the Administration       |
| sought significant quantities of | acknowledged that the             |
| uranium from Africa." --         | Iraq-Nuclear allegation was       |
| President Bush,                  | false. Subsequently, the Post     |
| [1/28/03](h                      | reported that "revelations by     |
| ttp://www.whitehouse.gov/news/re | officials at the CIA, the State   |
| leases/2003/01/20030128-19.html) | Department, the United Nations,   |
|                                  | in Congress and elsewhere" make   |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "We     | clear that the Administration     |
| believe Saddam has, in fact,     | knew the weakness of the claim    |
| reconstituted nuclear weapons."  | before the speech was given. \[W. |
| -- Vice President Cheney,        | Post, 7/20/03\] In fact, "CIA     |
| 3/16/03                          | Director George J. Tenet          |
|                                  | successfully intervened with      |
|                                  | White House officials to have the |
|                                  | reference" removed from a         |
|                                  | presidential speech in October of |
|                                  | 2002. \[Washington Post,          |
|                                  | 7/13/03\]                         |
|                                  |                                   |
|                                  | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The UN    |
|                                  | reported on                       |
|                                  | [9/8/03                           |
|                                  | ](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/ |
|                                  | 2003/09/15/iraq/main573255.shtml) |
|                                  | that Iraq was not capable of      |
|                                  | pursuing an active nuclear        |
|                                  | weapons program after 1991.       |
|                                  |                                   |
|                                  | **[FACT:]{.underline}** Voice of  |
|                                  | America reported on               |
|                                  | [9/16/03](http://www.voa          |
|                                  | news.com/article.cfm?objectID=EAF |
|                                  | F5EDA-4ACC-4945-BAFCFE1536FD1F7D) |
|                                  | that, "A senior official in       |
|                                  | Iraq\'s new science ministry says |
|                                  | the country never revived its     |
|                                  | nuclear program after U.N.        |
|                                  | inspectors dismantled it in the   |
|                                  | 1990\'s." The scientist, who is   |
|                                  | an official of the new            |
|                                  | U.S.-backed administration in     |
|                                  | Baghdad, "says Iraqi scientists   |
|                                  | had no way to re-start the        |
|                                  | program because the inspectors    |
|                                  | took away all the necessary       |
|                                  | resources."                       |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **WAR ON TERROR/BUSH DOCTRINE**  |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline} "**All    | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The       |
| governments that support terror  | Administration continues to be    |
| are complicit in a war against   | close with the Saudi Government,  |
| civilization." -- President      | who, according to the bipartisan  |
| Bush's UN speech,                | congressional committee           |
| [9/23/03](http://www.foxnews     | investigating 9/11, "not only     |
| .com/story/0,2933,98060,00.html) | provided significant money and    |
|                                  | aid to the suicide hijackers but  |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "We     | also allowed potentially hundreds |
| have made clear the doctrine     | of millions of dollars to flow to |
| which says, if you harbor a      | Al Qaeda and other terrorist      |
| terrorist, if you feed a         | groups through suspect charities  |
| terrorist, if you hide a         | and other fronts." As the LA      |
| terrorist you\'re just as guilty | Times reported on                 |
| as the terrorist. We\'re holding | [                                 |
| regimes accountable for          | 8/2/03](http://www.latimes.com/la |
| harboring and supporting         | -na-saudi2aug02,0,6374834.story), |
| terror." -- President Bush,      | One U.S. official who has read    |
| [9/10/03](                       | the classified section said it    |
| http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/r | describes "very direct, very      |
| eleases/2003/09/20030910-6.html) | specific links" between Saudi     |
|                                  | officials, two of the San         |
|                                  | Diego-based hijackers and other   |
|                                  | potential co-conspirators.        |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

[CLAIMS & FACTS: War Costs & Post-War Planning]{.underline}

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **PRE-WAR COST ESTIMATES**        |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** Iraq     | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The Bush  |
| will be "[an affordable           | Administration has requested      |
| endeavor                          | approximately \$166 billion for   |
| ](http://216.109.117.135/search/c | operations in Iraq, despite       |
| ache?p="affordable+endeavor"+ento | firing top economic adviser       |
| us&sub=Search&ei=UTF-8&url=CKDZDJ | Lawrence Lindsey for suggesting   |
| O6NQEJ:www.forbes.com/markets/new | (accurately) before the war that  |
| swire/2003/04/11/rtr937797.html)" | a war in Iraq would cost at least |
| that "[will not require sustained | \$100 to \$200 billion of         |
| ai                                | dollars.                          |
| d](http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ss |                                   |
| istory.mpl/special/iraq/1842094)" | **FACT:** Wolfowitz actually      |
| and will "be in the range of      | contradicted his February         |
| [\$50 billion to \$60             | statement on                      |
| billion]                          | [9/10/03](http://www.d            |
| (http://www.iraqfoundation.org/ne | fw.com/mld/dfw/news/6735613.htm), |
| ws/2003/ajan/2_whitehouse.html)." | saying "No one said we would know |
| -- Budget Director Mitch Daniels  | anything other than this would be |
| \[Forbes 4/11/03, W. Post         | very bloody, it could be very     |
| 3/28/03, NY Times 1/2/03,         | long and by implication, it could |
| respectively\]                    | be very expensive."               |
|                                   |                                   |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "Costs   |                                   |
| of any such intervention would be |                                   |
| very small." - Top White House    |                                   |
| Economist Glen Hubbard \[CNBC,    |                                   |
| 10/4/02\]                         |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** Paul     |                                   |
| Wolfowitz "dismissed articles in  |                                   |
| several newspapers this week      |                                   |
| asserting that Pentagon budget    |                                   |
| specialists put the cost of war   |                                   |
| and reconstruction at \$60        |                                   |
| billion to \$95 billion in this   |                                   |
| fiscal year." \[NY Times,         |                                   |
| [2/28/03](                        |                                   |
| http://www.globalpolicy.org/secur |                                   |
| ity/issues/iraq/attack/consequenc |                                   |
| es/2003/0228pentagoncontra.htm)\] |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "We      |                                   |
| don\'t anticipate requesting      |                                   |
| anything additional for the       |                                   |
| balance of this year." - Budget   |                                   |
| director Josh Bolten,             |                                   |
| [7/29/0                           |                                   |
| 3](http://www.dod.mil/speeches/20 |                                   |
| 03/sp20030729-depsecdef0385.html) |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **POST-WAR PLANNING**             |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "I think | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The       |
| has been fairly significant       | Washington Times reported that    |
| success in terms of putting Iraq  | Bush administration officials     |
| back together again...and         | "acknowledge that their           |
| certainly wouldn't lead me to     | post-Saddam plan for rebuilding   |
| suggest or think that the         | Iraq has been substantially       |
| strategy is flawed or needs to be | flawed on the security front.     |
| changed." -- Vice President       | Some defense officials said       |
| Cheney,                           | privately in interviews that the  |
| \[[9/14/03](http:/                | plan in place for security after  |
| /www.msnbc.com/news/966470.asp)\] | Baghdad\'s fall has been an utter |
|                                   | failure." \[8/28/03\]             |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | **[FACT:]{.underline}** "A secret |
|                                   | report for the Joint Chiefs of    |
|                                   | Staff blames setbacks in Iraq on  |
|                                   | a flawed and rushed war-planning  |
|                                   | process" in which "officials,     |
|                                   | including Dpty. Defense Sec. Paul |
|                                   | Wolfowitz and Dpty. Sec. of State |
|                                   | Richard Armitage, conceded in     |
|                                   | recent weeks that the Bush        |
|                                   | administration failed to predict  |
|                                   | the guerrilla war against         |
|                                   | American troops in Iraq." \[W.    |
|                                   | Times,                            |
|                                   | [9/3/03](ht                       |
|                                   | tp://www.washingtontimes.com/nati |
|                                   | onal/20030903-120317-9393r.htm)\] |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **RECONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS**      |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** In       | **[FACT:]{.underline}** Cheney    |
| response to questions about       | receives up to [[\$1 million a    |
| whether Vice President Cheney's   | year from                         |
| tenure as CEO of Halliburton had  | Halliburton]{.under               |
| anything to do with the company   | line}](http://www.guardian.co.uk/ |
| winning billions worth of no-bid  | Iraq/Story/0,2763,912515,00.html) |
| federal contracts, Cheney said "I | and a [[\$20 million retirement   |
| have no financial interest in     | package]                          |
| Halliburton of any kind and       | {.underline}](http://www.commondr |
| haven\'t had now for over three   | eams.org/headlines/081200-03.htm) |
| years."                           | from Halliburton. \[UK Guardian,  |
| \[[9/14/03](http:/                | NY Times\]                        |
| /www.msnbc.com/news/966470.asp)\] |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

[CLAIMS & FACTS: War Predictions]{.underline}

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **LENGTH OF MILITARY OPERATIONS** |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "Major   | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The war   |
| combat operations in Iraq have    | in Iraq is still going on, and    |
| ended." -- President Bush, 5/1/03 | more American troops have been    |
|                                   | killed after "major combat        |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** The war  | operations" supposedly ended than |
| "could last six days, six weeks.  | before.                           |
| I doubt six months." -- Defense   |                                   |
| Secretary Donald                  |                                   |
| [Rumsfeld](http:                  |                                   |
| //www.defenselink.mil/news/Feb200 |                                   |
| 3/t02072003_t0207sdtownhall.html) |                                   |
| \[2/7/03\]                        |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| CLAIM "We will, in fact, be       |                                   |
| greeted as liberators. . . . I    |                                   |
| think it will go relatively       |                                   |
| quickly\... (in) weeks rather     |                                   |
| than months." -- Vice President   |                                   |
| Cheney \[3/16/03\]                |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **TROOP DEPLOYMENT NEEDS**        |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "What    | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The       |
| is, I think, reasonably certain   | nonpartisan CBO reported on       |
| is the idea that it would take    | [9/3/03](http:                    |
| several hundred thousand U.S.     | //www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-d |
| forces I think is far from the    | yn?pagename=article&node=&content |
| mark." -- Secretary of Defense    | Id=A16689-2003Sep2&notFound=true) |
| Donald Rumsfeld                   | that "The Army does not have      |
| [2/27/0                           | enough active-duty component      |
| 3](http://www.defenselink.mil/new | forces" to do what is required in |
| s/Feb2003/t02272003_t0227ap.html) | Iraq -- meaning the U.S. needs to |
|                                   | increase its deployment above the |
| **[CLAIM:]{.underline}** "The     | 150,000 currently in Iraq. That   |
| notion that it would take several | confirms [General Erik            |
| hundred thousand American troops  | Shinseki's]                       |
| just seems outlandish." Secretary | (http://www.usatoday.com/news/wor |
| of Defense Paul Wolfowitz,        | ld/iraq/2003-02-25-iraq-us_x.htm) |
| [3/4/03](h                        | estimate that it would take       |
| ttp://www.defenselink.mil/news/Ma | "several hundred thousand         |
| r2003/t03052003_t0304sdcore.html) | troops." \[2/25/03\]              |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | **[FACT:]{.underline}** The       |
|                                   | Administration is trying to       |
|                                   | stretch the current deployment    |
|                                   | too thin. As reported on          |
|                                   | [8/24/03](htt                     |
|                                   | p://www.usatoday.com/news/washing |
|                                   | ton/2003-08-24-army-tours_x.htm), |
|                                   | for the first time since Vietnam, |
|                                   | the military will "have to start  |
|                                   | serving back-to-back overseas     |
|                                   | tours of up to a year."           |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+