They honestly believed that there were chemical weapons. Saddam Hussein had used chemical weapons on his own people previously. He'd used them on his neighbor, the Iranians. And they believed he had those weapons. We believed he had those weapons.
Rumsfeld defends the belief in Iraq's possession of chemical weapons.
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More from Donald H. Rumsfeld
You're looking for some sort of a guillotine to come falling down if some date isn't met. That is not what this is about. So, you ought to just back off, take a look at it, relax, understand that it's complicated; it's difficult.
Our goal is to defend the American people and to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and to liberate the Iraqi people.
There are many who did their duty professionally, and we should mention that, as well. First, Specialist Joseph Darby, who alerted the appropriate authorities that abuses were occurring.
This war, like other wars, has not been a steady, smooth upward path. To some, that's a surprise. To those who study history, it is not a surprise.
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