Lies of top Bush administration officials leading up to the Iraq war

Iraq: The War Card (Photo: Center for Public Integrity)

As part of its investigation into the false statements made by top Bush administration officials leading up to the Iraq war, the Center for Public Integrity in 2008 released an interactive database where you can search who said what, when.

The Center examined every public pronouncement by President Bush and seven top officials on the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and on the links between Iraq and Al Qaeda. They concluded that eight individuals — President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House Press Secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan — made 935 false statements from September 11, 2001 to September 11, 2003.

Who had the biggest problem with the truth? That honor goes to President Bush, who made 232 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 false statements about Iraq’s connections with Al Qaeda. The runner-up, Colin Powell, made 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction and 10 about Al Qaeda links.

Search the interactive 935 Iraq War false statements database by clicking on an individual’s photo to see a timeline, as well as the statements in full.

Watch this 2008 Interview about the 935 LIES