Recently, President Bush implied that it doesn't really matter whether Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction are proven to have been a threat or not.   History will vindicate his decision to
conquer Iraq, he insisted, because  "the world is now more peaceful after our decision."

Vast numbers of people disagree. The Iraq War was based upon the Bush doctrine of
“prevention” (see below Weapons of Mass Destruction: Who Said What When) and leaves the
whole world a less safe and more violent place. Iraqis and Americans will be suffering the
consequences for years to come.

LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT
Thirty-five members of the House of Representatives (see below Cosponsors of Kucinich
Resolution), led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, have initiated a Resolution of Inquiry to compel the
White House to prove its assertions about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction by turning over all
evidence in its possession upon which those assertions were based.

The Resolution of Inquiry is privileged, meaning that the committee to which it is assigned, the
House International Relations Committee, must vote on it within 14 legislative days.  The vote
will cause committee members to go on record with either a "Yes" vote for demanding the
evidence or a "No" vote for cover-up.

Only members of the International Relations Committee will vote on the Resolution of Inquiry.
(See committee list below) Rep. Kucinich's office thinks the vote will come on one of the
following committee business days: Friday June 27, July 7, July 8, or July 9.

If your congresspersons is not on the International Relations Committee, s/he can co-sponsor H.
Res. 260, the Resolution of Inquiry.  They need only call Rep. Kucinich’s office to become a co-
sponsor.

At present, it appears that if accountability is to happen at all, it must come from the House.
Earlier moves in the direction of accountability from two Senate committees are now enfeebled.
A concerned Congressional staffer we spoke with believes that if anything happens in the
Senate, it will likely amount to mere "damage control" that serves to deflect authentic inquiry.

ACTION
Call/write your representative to stand up for truth by voting “Yes” if they are a member of the
Houses International Relations Committee. If they are not, ask them to support  H. Res. 260.
Request a prompt reply, since the committee vote is soon. (see below Sample Letter/Talking
Points)

You can reach any office on Capitol Hill toll free at 800/839-5276
http://www.house.gov

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION: WHO SAID WHAT WHEN
(Counterpunch Wire, May 29, 2003)

• Every day Saddam remains in power with chemical weapons, biological weapons, and the development of nuclear weapons is a day of danger for the United States. (Sen. JosephLieberman, D-CT, September 4, 2002)
• Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. (Dick Cheney, August 26, 2002)
• If we wait for the danger to become clear, it could be too late. (Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., September 4, 2002)
• Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons. (George W. Bush, September 12, 2002)
• If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world. (Ari Fleischer, December 2, 2002)
• We know for a fact that there are weapons there. (Ari Fleischer, January 9, 2003)
• Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. (George Bush, January 28, 2003)
• We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more. (Colin Powell, February 5, 2003)
• Iraq both poses a continuing threat to the national security of the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf region and remains in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations by, among other things, continuing to possess and develop a significant chemical and biological weapons capability, actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability, and supporting and harboring terrorist organizations. (Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, February 5, 2003)
• We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have. (George Bush, February 8, 2003)
• So has the strategic decision been made to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction by the leadership in Baghdad? I think our judgment has to be clearly not. (Colin Powell, March 8, 2003)
• 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. (George Bush, March 18, 2003)
• We are asked to accept Saddam decided to destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd. (Tony Blair, Prime Minister 18 March, 2003
• [MARCH 19, 2003 -- US BEGINS MASSIVE BOMBING OF IRAQ]
• 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. (Ari Fleisher March 21, 2003)
• There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. As this operation continues, those weapons will be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who guard them. (Gen. Tommy Franks, March 22, 2003)
• I have no doubt we're going to find big stores of weapons of mass destruction. (Kenneth Adelman, Defense Policy Board , March 23, 2003)
• One of our top objectives is to find and destroy the WMD. There are a number of sites. (Pentagon Spokeswoman Victoria Clark, March 22, 2003)
• We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad. (Donald Rumsfeld, March 30, 2003)
• Saddam's removal is necessary to eradicate the threat from his weapons of mass destruction. (Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary, April 2, 2003)
• Obviously the administration intends to publicize all the weapons of mass destruction U.S. forces find -- and there will be plenty. (Neocon scholar Robert Kagan, April 9, 2003)
• I think you have always heard, and you continue to hear from officials, a measure of high confidence that, indeed, the weapons of mass destruction will be found. (Ari Fleischer, April 10, 2003)
• We are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi scientists and people within the Iraqi structure, that perhaps he destroyed some, perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them. (George Bush, April 24, 2003)
• Before people crow about the absence of weapons of mass destruction, I suggest they wait a bit. (Tony Blair, 28 April, 2003)
• There are people who in large measure have information that we need . . . so that we can track down the weapons of mass destruction in that country. (Donald Rumsfeld, April 25, 2003)
• We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so. (George Bush, May 3, 2003)
• I am confident that we will find evidence that makes it clear he had weapons of mass destruction. (Colin Powell, May 4, 2003)
• I never believed that we'd just tumble over weapons of mass destruction in that country. (Donald Rumsfeld, May 4, 2003)
• I'm not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam Hussein -- because he had a weapons program. (George Bush, May 6, 2003)
• U.S. officials never expected that "we were going to open garages and find" weapons of mass destruction. (Condoleeza Rice, May 12, 2003)
• I just don't know whether it was all destroyed years ago -- I mean, there's no question that there were chemical weapons years ago -- whether they were destroyed right before the war, (or) whether they're still hidden. (Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, Commander 101st Airborne, May 13, 2003)
• Before the war, there's no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical. I expected them to be found. I still expect them to be found. (Gen. Michael Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps, May 21, 2003)
• Given time, given the number of prisoners now that we're interrogating, I'm confident that we're going to find weapons of mass destruction. (Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff May 26, 2003)
• They may have had time to destroy them, and I don't know the answer. (Donald Rumsfeld, May 27, 2003)
• For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction (as justification for invading Iraq) because it was the one reason everyone could agree on. (Paul Wolfowitz May 28, 2003)

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE
1) Henry J. Hyde (Chairman) R-IL
2) Christopher H. Smith R-NJ
3) James. A. Leach R-IA
4) Tom Lantos (Ranking Member)  D-CA
5) Doug Bereuter  R-NE
6) Howard L. Berman D-CA
7) Gary L. Ackerman D-NY
8) Dan BurtonR-IN
9) Eni F. H. Faleomavaega D-Amer Samoa
10) Elton Gallegly  R-CA
11) Donald. M. Payne D-NJ
12) Ileana Ros Lehtinen R-FL
13) Robert Menendez D-NJ
14) Cass Bellenger R-NC
15) Sherrod Brown D-OH
16) Dana Rohrabacher R-CA
17) Brad Sherman D-CA
18) Edward R. Royce R-CA
19) Robert Wexler D-FL
20) Peter T. King R-NY
21) Eliot T. Engel D-NY
22) Steve Chabot R-OH
23) William D. Delahunt D-MA
24) Amo Houghton R-NY
25) Gregory W. Meeks D-NY
26) John M. McHugh  R-NY
27) Barbara Lee D-CA
28) Thomas G. Tancredo R-CO
29) Joseph Crowley D-NY
30) Ron Paul R-TX
31) Joseph M. Hoeffel D-PA
32) Nick Smith R-MI
33) Earl Blumenauer D-OR
34) Joseph R. Pitts R-PA
35) Shelley Berkley D-NV
36) Jeff Flake R-AZ
37) Grace F. Napolitano D-CA
38) Jo Ann Davis R-VA
39) Adam B. Schiff D-CA
40) Mark Green R-WI
41) Diane E. Watson D-CA
42) Jerry Weller R-IL
43) Adam Smith D-WA
44) Mike Pence R-PA
45) Betty McCollum D-MN
46) Thaddeus G. McCotter R-MI
47) Chris Bell D-TX
48) William J. Janklow R-SD
49) Katherine Harris R-FL

SAMPLE LETTER/TALKING POINTS
Dear Representative (name)

The Bush administration led the US to war on the presumption that Iraq possessed a vast arsenal
weapons of mass destruction and was a direct threat to the US.  No evidence has been found to
support this claim and there is growing concern about the misuse of intelligence to persuade the
US public to support this war.

(If s/he is a member of the International Relations Committee)
I am calling upon you to vote “yes” for the Resolution of Inquiry before the International
Relations Committee, which is sponsored by Rep. Kucinich and 35 other members of congress.
The credibility of our government at home and abroad is at stake in this issue, as is the security
of the world.

(If s/he is not a member of the International Relations Committee)
I am calling upon you to co-sponsor  H. Res. 260, the Resolution of Inquiry by calling Rep.
Kucinich’s office. The credibility of our government at home and abroad is at stake in this issue,
as is the security of the world.

Sincerely,