George W. Bush: Quotes

The following are Quotes attributed to President George W. Bush:

• "The evil ones have roused a mighty nation, a mighty land. And for however long it takes, I am determined that we will prevail. And prevail we must, because we fight for one thing, and that is the freedom of our people, and the freedom of people everywhere." -- Speech, Veterans Day Prayer Breakfast (11/11/01).

• "I've been to war." (1/27/02)

• "This nation is freedom's home, and freedom's defender." -- Speech, Veterans Day Prayer Breakfast (11/11/01).[1];also November 2003.

• "Satellite photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at [past nuclear] sites." -- Speech to the nation (10/7/2002).

• "Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent." -- State of the Union 2003 Address (1/28/2003).

• "U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents." -- State of the Union Address (1/28/2003).

• "We have also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas." -- State of the Union Address (1/28/2003).

• "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." -- State of the Union Address (1/28/2003). See Bush's 16 words.

• "Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaida." -- State of the Union Address (1/28/2003).

• "Our intelligence sources tell us that he (Saddam) has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production." -- State of the Union Address (1/28/2003).

• "Bring Them On." -- says Bush of Iraq attacks (7/2/03)[2].

• "We gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in." -- Press Conference (7/14/2003).

• "It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the actions of America. This nation is freedom's home, and freedom's defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we are keeping it. (Applause.) The war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we. This country will not rest, we will not stop, we will not tire, until this danger to civilization is removed. " --- Westin Convention Center Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[3](12/2/03).

• "I came to this office to solve problems and not pass them on to future presidents and future generations." --- Fund-raising stop at Hanover Marriott in Whippany, New Jersey[4] (12/2/03).

• "Haven't we already given money to rich people?" --- From Paul O'Neill's book "The Price of Loyalty" [5]

• "After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States, and war is what they got. Some in this chamber, and in our country, did not support the liberation of Iraq. Objections to war often come from principled motives. But let us be candid about the consequences of leaving Saddam Hussein in power. We're seeking all the facts. Already, the Kay Report identified dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations." --- State of the Union Address [6] (1/20/04)
  • Continued conflation of 9/11, the war on terrorism, and the occupation of Iraq.
  • Refutation from David Corn of The Nation: "The most current evidence suggests that Hussein had no WMDs and maintained no working relationship with al Qaeda. He was a brutal, murderous thug. He was not part of the terrorist challenge the United States faces in the post-9/11 period. But Bush conflates the conflict in Iraq with terrorist attacks elsewhere for the obvious effect." [7]

• "From the beginning, America has sought international support for our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we have gained much support. There is a difference, however, between leading a coalition of many nations, and submitting to the objections of a few. America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country" --- State of the Union Address [8] (1/20/04)

• "They could still be hidden, like the 50 tons of mustard gas on a turkey farm." --Bush News Conference: Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (04/13/04) [9]

• "I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet." --Bush News Conference (04/13/04) [10]

External Sources of other quotes

• The Top 19 Dumbest Statements of the Past Week, Harry Browne, 20 April 2004: "Politicians are a continual source of empty rhetoric, rosy promises that are never fulfilled, meaningless mom-and-apple-pie clichés, and outright lies. Last week was a particularly fertile one for such inanities."

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SourceWatch Resources

• clear and present danger
• cult of evil
• designs and power of evil
• evil-doers
• evil has found a willing servant
• evil knows no borders, no boundaries
• fight against evil
• freedom-loving people
• instruments of evil
• motivated by hate
• out of evil comes good
• political hate speech
• power of persuasion
• us versus them
• war on freedom
• we're a compassionate nation
• with us or against us
• why do they hate us?

External Links: References

• Nick Clooney, War in the Words of a U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson: "We have reached a crossroads. Do the people for whom we have sacrificed truly want a future of freedom and peace?", Cincinnatti Post, August 22, 2003.
• (cache file) 2003 Annual President's Dinner in Washington, President George W. Bush "said the challenges that the United States has faced in the last two and a half years 'have brought out the best in America,' and that 'it has never been more clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the actions of the United States.'", May 21, 2003.
• 'Bring Them On,' Bush Says of Iraq Attacks, Reuters, July 2, 2003.
• Jim Holland, Bush Taking Heat for 'Bring Them On' Remark, Reuters, July 3, 2003.
• Anne Saunders, Clark criticizes Bush's challenge to enemies to 'bring 'em on', AP, December 4, 2003.
• Christopher Marquis, How Powerful Can 16 Words Be?, New York Times, July 20, 2003.
• Dan Balz and Walter Pincus, Why Commander in Chief Is Losing the War of the 16 Words, Washington Post, July 24, 2003.
• Report by Rep. Henry A. Waxman on Bush Administration; concrete examples of disinformation.
• Erika Check: "Bush accused of power abuse over science", Nature (August 2003):424:14, 715.
• Editorial: "No way to run a superpower", Nature (August 2003):424:21, 861.
• Bush visits state to raise campaign funds, AP, December 2, 2003: Bush "highlighted the accomplishments of his administration, including eliminating the terrorism threat from Afghanistan and weapons of mass destruction from Iraq and ensuring that Medicare will remain solvent." However, from Alternet's web log comes this comment: "Of course, Afghanistan is a splintered, anarchic pseudo-nation where the Taliban are again on the ascendency, there were no WMD 'eliminated' by the U.S. invasion or occupation, and Medicare was just given a body-slam in which pharmaceuticals win and the children of the Boomers will pay the bill. But, hey, who's counting, right?"