Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. George W Bush, beneath Mission Accomplished banner aboard USS Abraham Lincoln 1st May 2003
Victory in Iraq will be a major ideological triumph in the struggle of the twenty-first century. George W Bush
In this battle we have fought for the cause of Liberty. George W Bush
Over time the truth will come out. George W Bush
Iraq has made incredible political progress. George W Bush
We have no argument with the people of Iraq. Indeed, for the innocents caught in this conflict, I pray for their safety. Our goal is not the conquest of Iraq. It is the liberation of Kuwait. It is my hope that somehow the Iraqi people can, even now, convince their dictator that he must lay down his arms, leave Kuwait, and let Iraq itself rejoin the family of peace-loving nations. George H W Bush, address on invasion of Iraq 16 January 1991
Before September 11th many in the world believed that Saddam could be contained. George W Bush, 28th January 2003
When Iraqi civilians looked into the faces of our service men and women they saw strength and kindness and good will. George W Bush, 1st May 2003
That intelligence was good sound intelligence. George W Bush
Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere ... Nope, no weapons over there. Maybe under here. George W Bush, dinner for ‘haves’ and ‘have mores’
The War on Terror involves Saddam Hussein because of Al Qaeda connections, because of his history – he’s a danger to the American people and we’ve got to deal with him. George W Bush
We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories ... And we’ll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven’t found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they’re wrong, we found them. George W Bush, 30th May 2003
The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free. George W Bush
The Battle of Iraq is one victory in the War on Terror that began on September 11th 2001. America is grateful for a job well done. George W Bush
As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. And then our troops can come home to a proud and grateful nation. George W Bush
Did we fight the wrong war? I have no doubt. George W Bush, NBC interview
And a political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not the person you want as your commander in chief. George W Bush
You’re free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it’ll take time to restore chaos and order … order out of chaos. But we will. George W Bush
There’s no doubt in my mind. Not one doubt in my mind that we will fail. George W Bush, October 2001, cited The Telegraph online
I think I was unprepared for war. George W Bush, December 2008
It’s a good thing that men and women across the Middle East looking to Iraq are getting a glimpse of what life in a free country can be like. George W Bush
George Bush: What did Iraq had to have to do with what?
Reporter: The World Trade Centre.
George W Bush: Nothing.
Freedom is taking root in Iraq. The people of Iraq no longer live in fear of being executed and being left in mass graves. George W Bush, 12th April 2005
The fact that Bush followed the invasion of Afghanistan, which had sheltered al-Qaeda, with the toppling of Saddam Hussein, will puzzle historians for centuries. It is as though, after Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor, FDR had asked Congress to declare war on Argentina. Michael Lind, He’s Only Fifth Worst, 2006
What really crippled us in the end in Iraq and Afghanistan is that the Iraqi and the Afghani population ... didn’t consent in its support. Rory Stewart MP, author Can Intervention Work?
After the Americans arrived in Baghdad they didn’t stop with just removing Saddam and his top two or three people, they went forward to disenfranchise all Ba’athists. Charles Duelfer, CIA
What were the instructions to the guards? John McCain to Donald Rumsfeld
Our system completely broke down and failed. David Kay, former weapons inspector
We said what we said about WMD because we believed it. George Tenet
Blair was too optimistic, too naive, too idealistic, too self-confident. Professor Tony Judt, New York University
The Gray Zone: How a secret Pentagon program came to Abu Ghraib: The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Annals of National Security article Seymour M Hersh 24th March 2004
3And I think the whole business with Iraq is a terribly sour comedy abstracted down to its smallest motives ... the sense that Iraq had to be invaded because it was the first step in going toward American Empire. Norman Mailer, author
Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? I mean it’s not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that? Barbara Bush, Good Morning America 18th March 2003
On Tuesday, the day I was arrested, I went to work in Hasswa. I was transported to the Abu Ghraib prison on January 1st 2004. There was a person wearing civilian clothes, and giving orders. I think he belonged to the private companies. They put me back in the cell, cuffed my hands again, and ripped off my clothes in a savage way. One of their strategies is to tie a rope around the penis and cut off the circulation. What is the purpose of this? What is the purpose of the injection they gave me so that to this day I can’t have any more children? Why is the military using private companies to interrogate detainees? These two companies for certain: TITAN and CACI. Hassan al Azzawi, Abu Ghraib detainee, interview Iraq for Sale
They urinated at me, and they put their weapons on my private parts in addition to the beating. I could hear people screaming for help, from beating, torture, or the barking of dogs. Al Haj Ali, Abu Ghraib survivor, interview Iraq for Sale
I watched the footage of Saddam being executed, and it really made me think. It made me think, Is there really nothing on the internet that I wouldn’t masturbate to? Frankie Boyle, Mock the Week
Clichés about supporting the troops are designed to distract from failed policies, policies promoted by powerful special interests that benefit from war, anything to steer the discussion away from the real reasons the war in Iraq will not end any time soon. Ron Paul
The fact of the matter is that there is no War on Terror. It’s a minor consideration. So invading Iraq and taking control of the world’s energy resources was way more important than the threat of terror. Professor Noam Chomsky
The war in Iraq was inspired by the president’s messianic vision to bring democracy to Iraq and the whole region. Noam Chomsky, lecture Manchester May 2004, ‘Imperial Grand Strategy’
There’s very lively debate about whether the Bush administration downgraded the so-called War on Terror in favour of its ambitions in Iraq. This was based on revelations by recent Bush administration officials, which I’m sure you’ve seen ... They consciously increased the threat of terror in order to achieve their goals in Iraq. ibid.
The invasion was understood to be an action taken to demonstrate that this program for global domination by force and crushing of any potential challenge was meant extremely seriously. Noam Chomsky