What Bibi Said In the Run-Up To Iraq

In 2002, a year and a day after the attacks of September 11, Benjamin Netanyahu gave a marathon two-and-a-half-hour testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The upshot? That the U.S. should attack Iraq, "the sooner the better," as he put it. A choice excerpt:

…If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region.

Another:

There is not question whatsoever that Saddam is seeking and is working and is advancing towards the development of nuclear weapons — no question whatsoever. And there is no question that once he acquires it, history shifts immediately.

Another:

If a preemptive action will be supported by a broad coalition of free countries in the United Nations, all the better. But if such support is not forthcoming, then the United States must be prepared to act without it.

Jim Lobe collected all these at his blog, where he gives them ample context.