ARTICLE Did President Bush Mislead the Country in His Arguments for War with Iraq?

President Bush has been accused by some in the popular press of lying in his arguments for taking the United States to war with Iraq in 2003. This article examines several sets of statements by President Bush and his administration: first, about the implication that there was a link between Saddam Hussein, al Qaeda, and the terrorist attacks of 9/11; second, about Iraq’s nuclear weapons capacity; and third, about Saddam Hussein’s chemical and bio-logical weapons and his ability to deliver them. Although the record at this early date is far from complete, the article concludes that from publicly available evidence, the president misled the country in important ways, potentially undermining the trust of the citizenry. President Bush has been accused by some in the popular press of lying in his argu-ments for taking the United States to war with Iraq in 2003. But in order to make judg-ments about the accuracy of the president’s statements, the claims must be analyzed separately. This article examines several sets of statements by President Bush and his administration: first, about the implication that there was a link between Saddam Hussein, al Qaeda, and the terrorist attacks of 9/11; second, about Iraq’s nuclear weapons capacity; and third, about Saddam’s chemical and biological weapons and his ability to deliver them. The possibility that the intelligence process was politicized is also examined. Although the record at this early date is far from complete, the article concludes that from publicly available evidence, the president misled the country in implying that there was a connection between Saddam and 9/11. The administration’s claims abou