The Unknown Known Page #3

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Osama gets away,

and a confusion sets in.

People began to think

that Saddam was connected

with Al-Qaeda and with 9/11.

Oh, I don't think so.

It was very clear that

the direct planning for 9/11

was done by

Osama Bin Laden's people,

Al-Qaeda,

and in Afghanistan.

I don't think

the American people

were confused about that.

In 2003,

in a Washington Post poll,

69% said they believe

it is likely

the Iraqi leader

was personally involved

in the attacks

carried out by Al-Qaeda.

I don't remember anyone

in the bush administration

saying anything like that,

nor do I recall

anyone believing that.

Mr. secretary, today

in a broadcast interview was...

Saddam Hussein said,

"there is only one truth.

Iraq has no weapons

of mass destruction whatsoever."

And he went on to say,

"I would like to tell you

directly

we have no relationship

with Al-Qaeda."

And Abraham Lincoln was short.

Would you care

to respond directly

to what Saddam Hussein

has said today?

I...

how does one respond to that?

It's just a continuous pattern.

This is a case of the local liar

coming up again

and people repeating

what he said

and forgetting to say

that he never...

almost never...

rarely tells the truth.

There are two sides to the coin.

One is,

"belief in the inevitability

of conflict

can become one

of its main causes."

That is a truth.

The other side of the coin,

which is also true, is,

"if you wish for peace,

prepare for war."

But if both were true,

well, you can use that

to justify anything.

There's a similar thing

in Rumsfelds rules

where I say,

"all generalizations are false,

including this one."

There it is.

The president did

harden his stand towards...

the United States

is on the road to war.

Administration

officials say the effort

to pressure Iraq has moved

into a final phase.

All the military pieces

should be in place

to go to war with Iraq.

On January 11, 2003,

the vice president's office

called

and requested that I come over

to meet with him

and the Saudi ambassador,

prince Bandar.

It was unusual.

I mean, I...

I wasn't often

in the vice president's office.

We sat down.

Dick proceeded to tell Bandar

that the president

was going to invade Iraq

and change the regime in Iraq.

That was the first time

that I'd heard anything

that sounded truly definitive.

What was the Saudi

ambassador's reaction to this?

He wanted reassurance

that when it was all over,

Saddam Hussein would be gone.

They needed to know

that the president was serious.

That is why, I'm sure,

the vice president said it

the way he said it.

Is it at all strange

that you would hear about it

in this way?

No.

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