Sound Familiar? Is it 2002 and Iraq or 2008 and Iran?

In the last two weeks, both President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have repeated claims that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Vice President Dick Cheney charged in an interview with ABC's Martha Raddatz released on March 25, “Obviously, they're also heavily involved in trying to develop nuclear weapons enrichment, the enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade levels.” The previous week, President Bush said at the end of an interview with Radio Farda on the occasion of Nowruz (Persian New Year), “...[The Iranians have] declared they want to have a nuclear weapon to destroy people – some – in the Middle East. And that's unacceptable in the United States and it's unacceptable to the world.” A White House spokesman later backpedaled, calling the president's remarks "shorthand."

Meanwhile, Senator John McCain told reporters on March 18, “Well, it’s common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That’s well known.”


Someone should start keeping a database of these comments now so that the Center for Public Integrity doesn't have to do it later.