Demand White House Evidence on Iraq

Whereas, the Bush Administration based its case for war with Iraq on a series of claims, purportedly based on intelligence, about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction; and

Whereas, the people's right to know is fundamental to a democratic society; and

Whereas, the distortion or manipulation of intelligence evidence to bolster a case for going to war would be a fundamental abuse of our democracy;

Now be it therefore resolved that I do hereby join with Rep. Dennis Kucinich in calling for the release of the evidence concerning the 10 public statements listed below. We, the people, have the right to know the truth.

(1) On August 26, 2002, the Vice President in a speech, said: `Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction . . . What he wants is time, and more time to husband his resources to invest in his ongoing chemical and biological weapons program, and to gain possession of nuclear weapons.'.

(2) On September 12, 2002, in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, the President stated: `Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons . . . Iraq has made several attempts to buy high-strength aluminum tubes used to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon.'.

(3) On October 7, 2002, in a speech in Cincinnati, Ohio, the President stated: `It [Iraq] possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons . . . And surveillance photos reveal that the regime is rebuilding facilities that it had used to produce chemical and biological weapons.'.

(4) On January 7, 2003, the Secretary of Defense at a press briefing stated: `There is no doubt in my mind but that they currently have chemical and biological weapons.'.

(5) On January 9, 2003, in his daily press briefing, the White House spokesperson stated: `We know for a fact that there are weapons there [in Iraq].'.

(6) On March 16, 2003, in an appearance on NBC's `Meet The Press', the Vice President stated: `We believe he [Saddam Hussein] has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons. I think Mr. El Baradei frankly is wrong.'.

(7) On March 17, 2003, in an Address to the Nation, the President stated: `Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.'.

(8) On March 21, 2003, in his daily press briefing the White House spokesperson stated: `Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly . . . all this will be made clear in the course of the operation, for whatever duration it takes.'.

(9) On March 24, 2003, in an appearance on CBS's `Face the Nation', the Secretary of Defense stated: `We have seen intelligence over many months that they have chemical and biological weapons, and that they have dispersed them and that they're weaponized and that, in one case at least, the command and control arrangements have been established.'.

(10) On March 30, 2003, in an appearance on ABC's `This Week', the Secretary of Defense stated: `We know where they [weapons of mass destruction] are, they are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad.'.