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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion January 12, 2004
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Former Treasury Secretary Says War in Iraq Was Planned Before 9/11



Last year, President Bush made the case for war in Iraq by saying that America needs to protect itself from terrorism in a post-9/11 world. Bush told the nation that "the dynamics have shifted since 11 years ago, because of what happened on September the 11th," adding, "No longer are we secure." Bush also assured the nation that use of force in Iraq was a last resort, saying, "A military option is my last choice, the last choice."1 However, new revelations from one of Bush's former cabinet members show that war plans were being developed long before the terrorist attacks.

Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill told 60 Minutes that regime change in Iraq was the main topic at the very first meeting of Bush's National Security Council - a full eight months before 9/11. O'Neill said, "It was all about finding a way to do it. That was the tone of it. The president saying 'Go find me a way to do this.'"2

Since this story broke, the administration has attempted to discredit O'Neill, claiming that "the treasury secretary is not in the position to have access to that kind of information."3 Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Ron Suskind, who has worked with O'Neill for a year on a book about the Bush White House, calls that allegation "simply wrong," adding, "[O'Neill] got every file from [CIA Director] George Tenet."4 Suskind has reviewed nearly 19,000 internal administration documents provided by O'Neil.5

Sources:
  1. Remarks by the President at Tennessee Welcome, 10/8/02.
  2. Bush Sought "Way" To Invade Iraq?, 60 Minutes, 1/11/04.
  3. O'Neill: Bush planned Iraq invasion before 9/11, CNN, 1/11/04.
  4. The Today Show, 1/12/04
  5. Bush Sought "Way" To Invade Iraq?, 1/11/04.



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