What Democrats said early on about the threat that Sadam Hussein posed

Democrats/WMDs/Iraq

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): "The problem is not nuclear testing; it is nuclear weapons. The number of third world countries with nuclear capabilities seems to grow daily. Saddam Hussein s near success with developing a nuclear weapon should be an eye-opener for us all." (Sen. Harry Reid, Congressional Record, 8/3/92, p. S11188)

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY): "If Iraq were to develop a nuclear weapon ... They certainly could give it to a suicide bomber; put it on a container that comes in a ship or a plane, or assembled in another country and comes across our border in Mexico or in Canada. And so that's a real danger, the combination." (CNN's "Late Edition," 9/8/02)

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL): "One of the most compelling threats we in this country face today is the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Threat assessments regularly warn us of the possibility that North Korea, Iran, Iraq, or some other nation may acquire or develop nuclear weapons." (Sen. Dick Durbin, Congressional Record, 9/30/99, p. S11673)

Former President Bill Clinton: "And they will be all the more lethal if we allow them to build arsenals of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them. We simply cannot allow that to happen. There is no more clear example of this threat than Saddam Hussein's Iraq. His regime threatens the safety of his people, the stability of his region and the security of all the rest of us." (President Bill Clinton, remarks to Joint Chiefs of Staff and Pentagon staff, 2/17/98)

Former Vice President Al Gore: "[I]f you allow someone like Saddam Hussein to get nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, chemical weapons, biological weapons, how many people is he going to kill with such weapons? He's already demonstrated a willingness to use these weapons ..." (CNN s "Larry King Live," 12/16/98)

Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright: "Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here, for the risk that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face, and it is a threat against which we must and will stand firm." ("Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Defense William Cohen and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger participate in town hall meeting," Federal News Service, 2/18/98)

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY): "I voted for the Iraqi resolution. I consider the prospect of a nuclear-armed Saddam Hussein who can threaten not only his neighbors, but the stability of the region and the world, a very serious threat to the United States." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, press conference, 1/22/03)

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA): "According to the CIA s report, all U.S. Intelligence experts agree that Iraq is seeking nuclear weapons. There is little question that Saddam Hussein wants to develop nuclear weapons." (Sen. John F. Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, pp. S10172-10173)

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT): "I have no doubt Saddam Hussein is lying. He has lied countless times before. He is likely hiding weapons, including chemical and biological weapons. The U.N. Inspectors' report leaves little doubt of that." (Sen. Patrick Leahy, Congressional Record, 1/30/03, p. S1782)

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT): "The Iraqis have not explained what happened to thousands of tons of chemical weapons material, and other biological munitions they had in their possession 5 years ago." (Sen. Patrick Leahy, Congressional Record, 1/30/03, p. S1782)

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT): "There have been discoveries of empty chemical weapons shells and documents they had not disclosed. These are serious discrepancies by a regime that is among the world's most dangerous, deceptive, and brutal." (Sen. Patrick Leahy, Congressional Record, 1/30/03, p. S1782)

Intelligence Services

British Butler Report: "In general, we found that the original intelligence material was correctly reported in [joint intelligence committee] assessments. ... We should record in particular that we have found no evidence of deliberate distortion or of culpable negligence. ... We found no evidence of JIC assessments and the judgments inside them being pulled in any particular direction to meet the policy concerns of senior officials on the JIC." ("Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction," report of a committee of privy counselors, 7/14/04, p. 110)

Robb-Silberman Commission: "The commission found no evidence of political pressure to influence the intelligence community's pre-war assessments of Iraq s weapons programs." (Charles S. Robb and Laurence H. Silberman, the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, 3/31/05)

Bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report: "The committee did not find any evidence that administration officials attempted to coerce, influence or pressure analysts to change their judgments related to Iraq s weapons of mass destruction capabilities." ("Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq," U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 7/7/04, pg. 284-285)

Senate Report: "The committee found no evidence that the Vice President's visits to the Central Intelligence Agency were attempts to pressure analysts, were perceived as intended to pressure analysts by those who participated in the briefings on Iraq s weapons of mass destruction programs, or did pressure analysts to change their assessments." ("Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq," U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 7/7/04, pg. 284-285) Duelfer Report: Saddam sought to "recreate Iraq s WMD capability" when sanctions were lifted and "aspired to develop a nuclear capability." (Comprehensive report of the special advisor to the DCI on Iraq s WMD, 9/30/04, pg. 1)

Former Clinton director for defense policy and arms control, National Security Council staff, Peter Feaver: "How could even the all-powerful neocons have manipulated the intelligence estimates of the Clinton administration, French intelligence, British intelligence, German intelligence and all the other 'co-conspirators' who concurred on the fundamentals of the Bush assessment?" (Peter D. Feaver, op-ed, "The Fog of WMD," the Washington Post, 1/28/04)