Iraq: The War Card

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 has just released an interactive database where you can search who said what, when.

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

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-Qaida. 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 Sept. 11, 2001 to Sept. 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-Qaida. The runner-up, Colin Powell, made 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction and 10 about al-Qaida 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.