I keep hearing the pro bush factions pratteling on and on about liberals using fear tactics to get thier support. I was just curious where on the scale of scaremongering these nice little quotes about Iraq would fall??

"Some have argued that the nuclear threat from Iraq is not imminent - that Saddam is at least 5-7 years away from having nuclear weapons. I would not be so certain....Iraq has these weapons."
- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 9/18/02

"size=18No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.[/size"
- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 9/19/02

"This man poses a much graver threat than anybody could have possibly imagined."
- President Bush, 9/26/02

"There's a grave threat in Iraq. There just is."
- President Bush, 10/2/02

"The Iraqi regime is a threat of unique urgency."
- President Bush, 10/2/02

"America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud."
- President Bush, 10/7/02

"There are many dangers in the world, the threat from Iraq stands alone because it gathers the most serious dangers of our age in one place. Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists."
- President Bush, 10/7/02

"We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical and biological weapons across broad areas. We are concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using UAVs for missions targeting the United States."
- President Bush, 10/7/02

"The Iraqi regime is a serious and growing threat to peace."
- President Bush, 10/16/02
*and oh so much peace after Saddam, eh??*

"There is real threat, in my judgment, a real and dangerous threat to America in Iraq in the form of Saddam Hussein."
• President Bush, 10/28/02

"I see a significant threat to the security of the United States in Iraq."
-President Bush, 11/1/02

"Saddam Hussein is a threat to America."
- President Bush, 11/3/02

"The Iraqi regime is a threat to any American. ... Iraq is a threat, a real threat."
- President Bush, 1/3/03

"Saddam Hussein possesses chemical and biological weapons. Iraq poses a threat to the security of our people and to the stability of the world that is distinct from any other. It's a danger to its neighbors, to the United States, to the Middle East and to the international peace and stability. It's a danger we cannot ignore. Iraq and North Korea are both repressive dictatorships to be sure and both pose threats. But Iraq is unique. In both word and deed, Iraq has demonstrated that it is seeking the means to strike the United States and our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction."
- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 1/20/03

"Well, of course he is.”
- White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett responding to the question “is Saddam an imminent threat to U.S. interests, either in that part of the world or to Americans right here at home?”, 1/26/03

"Iraq poses a serious and mounting threat to our country. His regime has the design for a nuclear weapon, was working on several different methods of enriching uranium, and recently was discovered seeking significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 1/29/03

Iraq "threatens the United States of America."
- Vice President Cheney, 1/30/03

Iraq poses "terrible threats to the civilized world."
- Vice President Dick Cheney, 1/30/03

Iraq is "a serious threat to our country, to our friends and to our allies."
- Vice President Dick Cheney, 1/31/03

"This is about imminent threat."
- White House spokesman Scott McClellan, 2/10/03

"The dictator of Iraq and his weapons of mass destruction are a threat to the security of free nations."
- President Bush, 3/16/03

"It is only a matter of time before the Iraqi regime is destroyed and its threat to the region and the world is ended."
- Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke, 3/22/03

"The threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction will be removed."
- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 3/25/03

"Absolutely."
- White House spokesman Ari Fleischer answering whether Iraq was an "imminent threat," 5/7/03

Iraq was "the most dangerous threat of our time."
- White House spokesman Scott McClellan, 7/17/03

"There's no question that Iraq was a threat to the people of the United States."
- White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan, 8/26/03

I don't know who, if anyone, would be willing to argue with you about this, but I'm pretty sure all this information has been talked about before in N&D and while it's all fairly disgusting to someone like myself, you may have done better to post the thread BEFORE the election. People still gave a shit at that point.

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents 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 weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

"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

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
- President 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 by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
- President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."
- Madeline Albright, Feb 1, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
- Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, 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.
- (D) Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction 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 weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"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 weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 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

"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

"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

So speaking the truth is fear mongering...

I get it now...

Correction, the conservative people on the board appear to still give a shit about this stuff. Carry on.

I just hate watching someone give 1/2 truths about an issue. That's probably why I hate Michael Moore so much.

ok, now back to my point of ppl saying it's only liberals.....i mean we already know democrats are idiotic watered down republicans

Those quotes (from both sides) were true??? Give me a break.

Both sides are greatn at fearmongering, and both sides are rediculously hypocritical when the they complain about the otherside doing it.

I don't recall anyone saying it is only liberals. I'd definitely say liberals are the main culprits, but both sides do it.

the truth??? sorry, i must have missed that mushroom cloud, where was it exactly? How so was Saddam an imminent threat of unique urgency to uor country? How was he a much graver threat than anybody could have possibly imagined?? How much more peace has been secured since he has been out of power? hmm seems like the country in a civil war to me, with more terrorists there than while he was in power.



as my original point i am sick and tired of reading here how it's the liberals who use fearmongering. I asked how they dismiss what their side says, not saying the stupid democrats are just as bad

I can dig that. I just found it a little ridiculous that this stuff is still being churned around after so long and so many things have now occured that render much argument about it moot.

People believe what they want to believe most of the time, and truth very rarely enters into the matter. This is especially true in politics. Politicians of all stripes are more than happy to use any kind of tactic to get people to agree with them.

i'm sorry, i'll close my window and go back to sleep.

I could go up and down with the CIA reports that have come out of Iraq and show you that Iraq was a threat, and that Bush was right on everything EXCEPT the British intelligence about enriched uranium coming out of Iraq.

While PJDoll pointed out the hypocricy that Kerry said many of the same things as Bush about Iraq and WMD and Saddam, I don't think that was the point of teh first question.

Obviously, these are not the things that conservatives are accusing liberals of saying when they say "scare tactics", because conservatives agree with these statements.

--PunkDavid

mobile weapons labs?
reconstituted nuclear program?

yeah, sorry I had an opinion.

IAEA reports that never existed saying Iraq was 6 months away from a nuclear weapon...still, LittleWing, you are not showing me how Iraq was an imminent and urgent threat to the US.

Didn't memos come out from the CIA saying they disagreed with several things the administration had been saying and that they were being pressured for intel before they got to verify it? I guess that's why they installed a partisan lackey to make sure they do as the administartion says

This thread is proving how silly the whole fearmongering argument is in general.

Fear mongering sucks

I'm so glad that you have access to CIA reports! Especially all the ones that talk about nukes and how we were so close to being hit by Iraq! Please pass that stuff on to the NYTimes!