Wolfowitz on Iraq

On September 18, 1998, Paul Wolfowitz appeared before the House National Security Committee and delivered an impassioned plea for the use of American arms to topple the government of Saddam Hussein. Read the full text of his remarks here. We need to keep in mind that the invasion of Iraq transpired not because of any connection between 9/11 and Iraq (there was none), nor because Iraq presented any immediate threat to the United States (as we now know, the intelligence community’s assessment was that it did not), but rather because of the determination of a small band of individuals to wage a pre-emptive war (that is to say, a war of aggression) against Iraq. Wolfowitz was one of the loudest of those voices. He is feverishly trying to distance himself from that legacy now. He should not be permitted to do so.