George W. Bush Iraq Quotations

I sent American troops to Iraq to make its people free, not to make them American. Iraqis will write their own history and find their own way.

The United States prefers that Iraq meet its obligations voluntarily, yet we are prepared for the alternative.

Iraq is no diversion. It is a place where civilization is taking a decisive stand against chaos and terror, we must not waver.

I believe in the transformational power of liberty. I believe that the free Iraq is in this nation's interests. I believe a free Afghanistan is in this nation's interest.

America is a friend to the people of Iraq. Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children.

The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.

The once all-powerful ruler of Iraq was found in a hole, and now sits in a prison cell.

Some have argued that confronting the threat from Iraq could detract from the war against terror. To the contrary, confronting the threat posed by Iraq is crucial to winning the war on terror.

The regime must allow immediate and unrestricted access to every site, every document, and every person identified by inspectors. Iraq can be certain that the old game of cheat-and-retreat tolerated at other times will no longer be tolerated.

If Iraq fails to fully comply, the United States and other nations will disarm Saddam Hussein.

Combat forces of the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Poland, and other countries enforced the demands of the United Nations, ended the rule of Saddam Hussein - and the people of Iraq are free.

Terrorists like bin Laden are serious about mass murder - and all of us must take their declared intentions seriously. They seek to impose a heartless system of totalitarian control throughout the Middle East, and arm themselves with weapons of mass murder. . . . Their aim is to seize power in Iraq, and use it as a safe haven to launch attacks against America and the world.

As Iraqi forces gain experience and the political process advances, we will be able to decrease our troop level in Iraq without losing our capability to defeat the terrorists. These decisions about troop levels will be driven by the conditions on the ground in Iraq and the good judgment of our commanders, not by artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington.

Coalition forces have encountered serious violence in some areas of Iraq. Our military commanders report that this violence is being insticated by three groups.

I saw a poll that said the right track/wrong track in Iraq was better than here in America. It's pretty darn strong. I mean, the people see a better future.

The enemy understands a free Iraq will be a major defeat in their ideology of hatred. That's why they're fighting so vociferously.

I can look you in the eye and tell you I feel I've tried to solve the problem diplomatically to the max, and would have committed troops both in Afghanistan and Iraq knowing what I know today.

I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is -- my point is, there's a strong will for democracy.

I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, 'George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan .' And I did, and then God would tell me, 'George go and end the tyranny in Iraq ,' and I did.

The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

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.

The solution to Iraq -- an Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself -- is more than a military mission. Precisely the reason why I sent more troops into Baghdad.

Iraq is a very important part of securing the homeland, and its a very important part of helping change the Middle East into a part of the world that will not serve as a threat to the civilized world, to people like -- or to the developed world, to people like -- in the United States.

Of course we're after Iraq.. eh.. Saddam Hussein.. I mean bin Laden.

We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11th.

I would still invade Iraq even if Iraq never existed

We have learned that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. And the surest way to avoid attacks on our own people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans. We are fighting that enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities.

The Iraqi regime . . . possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas.

"My fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended." Under the banner "Mission Accomplished."

Should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from Saddam Hussein.... don't follow that order. Because if you choose to do so, when Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried and persecuted as a war criminal.

[T]he people of Iraq have spoken to the world, and the world is hearing the voice of freedom from the center of the Middle East.

If our commanders on the ground say we need more troops, I will send them. But our commanders tell me they have the number of troops they need to do their job. Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever, when we are, in fact, working for the day when Iraq can defend itself and we can leave.

”Iraq and Afghanistan …are now democracies and they are allies in the cause of freedom and peace.”

God told me to smite Osama bin Laden, so I invaded Afghanistan. Then He told me to smite Saddam Hussein, so I invaded Iraq. Now He wants me to work on the Middle East problem...

The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We've removed an ally of al Qaeda.

I'm not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam Hussein - because he had a weapons program.

We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so.

He tried to fool the United Nations and did for 12 years by hiding these weapons. And so, it's going to take time to find them. But we know he had them, and whether he destroyed them, moved them or hid them, we're going to find out the truth.

We are learning more as we interrogate or have discussions with Iraqi scientists and people within the Iraqi structure, that perhaps he destroyed some, perhaps he dispersed some. And so we will find them.

It appears to be a re-run of a bad movie. [Iraqi President Saddam Hussein] is delaying. He's deceiving. He's asking for time. He's playing hide-and-seek with inspectors. One thing is for certain - he's not disarming.

Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons...We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons - the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have.

We really don't need the United Nations approval to act. When it comes to our security, we do not need anyones permission.

The course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others.

My answer is bring 'em on.

We're still being challenged in Iraq and the reason why is a free Iraq will be a major defeat in the cause of freedom.

Some say that by fighting the terrorists abroad since September the 11th, we only stir up a hornets' nest. But the terrorists who struck that day were stirred up already. If America were not fighting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere, what would these thousands of killers do - suddenly begin leading productive lives of service and charity? ... We are dealing here with killers who have made the death of Americans the calling of their lives.

[Should] Iraq acquire fissile material, it would be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year.

There was no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the attack of 9/11, I've never said that and never made that case prior to going into Iraq.

One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.

Our goal in Iraq is victory. Our goal is for a young democracy to be able to sustain itself, govern itself, and defend itself and serve as an ally in the war on terror.

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.

The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th.

I firmly believe that a free Iraq will be a catalyst to other substantive and important changes in that part of the world.

My message is, is that although some of you didn't agree with the actions we took, now let's work together to rebuild Iraq, rebuild Afghanistan, fight AIDS and hunger, deal with slavery, like sex slavery, and deal with proliferation. Let's work together on big issues.

We`ll fight terrorists in Iraq, we'll fight them across the world, and we will stay in the fight until the fight is won.

The work in Iraq is difficult and it is dangerous. Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying, and the suffering is real.

In this global war against extremists who use murder as a weapon, Iraq is now the central front.

There are some similarities, of course (between Iraq and Vietnam). Death is terrible.

Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.

We will be changing the regime of Iraq for the good of the iraqi people.

The longer Iraq's leaders delay in forming a unity government, the greater the risk that the terrorists and former regime elements will succeed in their efforts to foment division and to stop the progress of an Iraq democracy.