Imminent Threat

The administration was criticized before the war for not making a case that Iraq was an imminent threat, denied at that time that war was based on the supposition of an imminent threat, and was criticized after the war for having lied that Iraq was an imminent threat. - Stefan Sharkansky

This is what the President had to say about Iraq.

Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option. - George W. Bush

This statement came from the Minority Leader in the Senate.

The threat posed by Saddam Hussein may not be imminent. But it is real. It is growing. And it cannot be ignored. - Tom Daschle

Keep these statements in mind as you read below.

I don’t even know why we’re still having this conversation, really. When the administration says a guy with a moustache who doesn’t like us much has weapons of mass destruction, I consider that to be an imminent, immediate, clear and present, Oh S**t We’re All Going to Die, threat. Unless, of course, the weapons don’t really provide very massive destruction in which case they aren’t really WMDs then are they… But, for the record, the CAP has provided this list for us: - Atrios

“IMMINENT THREAT,” PART I: White House spokesman Scott McClellan yesterday lashed out at reporters yesterday saying “some in the media have chosen to use the word ‘imminent’. Those were not words we used.” But almost exactly a year ago, it was McClellan who said the reason NATO should go along with the Administration’s Iraq war plan was because “this is about imminent threat.” Similarly, when White House spokesman Ari Fleischer was asked whether America went to war in Iraq because of an imminent threat, he replied “Absolutely.” - Center for American Progress

Facinating Stuff. Even though I had never heard anyone accuse Scott McClellan of using the term, I decided to go read the transcript.

QUESTION: What about NATO’s role? Belgium now says it will veto any attempt to provide help to Turkey to defend itself. Is this something the administration can live with, or is it a major obstacle?

MR. McCLELLAN: Two points. We support the request under Article IV of Turkey. And I think it’s important to note that the request from a country under Article IV that faces an imminent threat goes to the very core of the NATO alliance and its purpose.

He was referring to Article IV of the NATO Treaty.

The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.

He did not say that Iraq was an “imminent threat” to the United States. He said that Turkey was under an imminent threat. Why would Turkey have reason to think that? Well, back on February 16th, 1999,

The reports follow statements by Iraqi officials that they could attack Turkey, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia if these countries continue to allow Western air patrols over Iraq from their territories. Iraq considers the patrols, over no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq, to be illegal and a violation of its sovereignty. - Scott Bobb

As for Ari Fleischer,

Q Well, we went to war, didn’t we, to find these — because we said that these weapons were a direct and imminent threat to the United States? Isn’t that true?

MR. FLEISCHER: Absolutely. One of the reasons that we went to war was because of their possession of weapons of mass destruction. And nothing has changed on that front at all. We said what we said because we meant it. We had the intelligence to report it. Secretary Powell said it. And I may point out to you, as you may know, there is a news conference at Department of Defense today at 2:00 p.m. to discuss one element in this. And so we have always had confidence, we continue to have confidence that WMD will be found. He’s had a long period of time to hide what he has in a variety of different places, and there is a whole protocol of the search that is underway, that is being conducted in a very methodical fashion.

No one is arguing that there may not have been problems with the Intelligence. Perhaps, as John Kerry suggested in the mid-1990s, the CIA just needed less funding. But taking quotes out of context (and linking to someone who does) is rather ethically suspect.

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Comments

We lose credibility if we reference the February 10th quote by McLellan as proof the administration called Hussein an imminent threat to the U.S.   McLellan's comments were about Turkey facing an 'imminent threat.'   Remember how we couldn't convince Turkey to help us more on the northern front?   This is the context in which he used the term "imminent threat."   He did not say Hussein was an "imminent threat" to America.  It's not hard to understand the distinction.

I'm an "Anybody But Bush" person, but the McLellan quote does nothing positive for our argument.   In fact, it makes anyone who clings to it look desperate or stupid.

The Ari Fleischer quote from May 7, 2003 ("Absolutely") is much more apropos, in my opinion.

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Imminent Threat

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