Colin Powell has spoken up about the onslaught of allegations that he (along with the rest of the Shrub Administration) lied to Congress and the U.N. and the American People and the rest of the world about having indisputable evidence of Sadaam's WMDs.

He's spoken up to say, in a nutshell, "Did not! You can take my word for it."

We're not taking your word for anything Colin. That's what got us into this mess in the first place. Cough up with the evidence or forget it. Put up or shut up.

And this doesn't count (shown within context below) "Iraq used these weapons against Iran in the late '80s" -- what does having weapons in the late 80's have to do with having them last February? You told us that he had them THIS YEAR. Remember? That's why we had to go in to protect ourselves and the rest of the world...remember?

And what's this stuff about not using the information about buying uranium from Niger in his speech? I thought he absolutely used that evidence in one of his U.N. speeches.

You guys want to help me clarify this one way or the other? (Whether or not he used the Niger evidence in his U.N. speech.)
Update 11:13 am PST - Readers have refreshed my memory that it was the Shrub that used the Niger evidence in his January speech, not Colin who used it in one of his U.N. speeches.

Thanks for your help on this guys. -- lisa

Powell Defends Intelligence on Suspected Iraq Arms
By Arshad Mohammed for FindLaw.

Speaking in Rome, Powell said he thought the evidence that Iraq had continued to develop such weapons was "overwhelming."

"There were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It wasn't a figment of anyone's imagination. Iraq used these weapons against Iran in the late '80s," Powell said. "There is no question, there is no debate here."

"There was no doubt in my mind as I went through the intelligence and as I prepared myself for the (Feb. 5) briefing ... that the evidence was overwhelming that they had continued to develop these programs," he added...

Powell told reporters as he flew to Egypt he chose not to cite intelligence suggesting Iraq tried to buy "yellow cake" uranium from Niger -- quoted by other U.S. officials but later found by the International Atomic Energy Agency to be based partly on forged documents -- because he felt there was insufficient substantiation.

"Not that I thought it was untrue, it's just that I didn't think it was solid enough for the kind of presentation I had to give," Powell said. "It turned out to be untrue. That happens a lot in the intelligence business."

Here is the full text of the entire article in case the link goes bad:

http://news.findlaw.com/politics/s/20030602/iraqusaweaponsdc.html

Powell Defends Intelligence on Suspected Iraq Arms

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By Arshad Mohammed

SHARM EL-SHEIKH (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday defended intelligence he presented to justify war against Iraq despite the United States' failure so far to find any weapons of mass destruction in the country.

Speaking to reporters in Rome and en route to Egypt, Powell appeared to be trying to beat back media reports questioning the quality of U.S. intelligence about Iraq's suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.

Powell said he spent days culling down the masses of U.S. intelligence into the selection that he presented to the U.N. Security Council on February 5, rejecting some because he felt it was not sufficiently substantiated to present in public.

Speaking in Rome, Powell said he thought the evidence that Iraq had continued to develop such weapons was "overwhelming."

"There were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It wasn't a figment of anyone's imagination. Iraq used these weapons against Iran in the late '80s," Powell said. "There is no question, there is no debate here."

"There was no doubt in my mind as I went through the intelligence and as I prepared myself for the (Feb. 5) briefing ... that the evidence was overwhelming that they had continued to develop these programs," he added.

Powell noted that the CIA and the Pentagon last week said they had concluded that two truck-trailers found in Iraq could only have been mobile biological weapons factories, although no trace of biological weapons was found in either.

The U.S. failure to find Iraqi biological or chemical weapons has triggered suggestions from former U.S. officials that U.S. intelligence may have been skewed to buttress the case for war, something the Bush administration has denied.

Powell told reporters as he flew to Egypt he chose not to cite intelligence suggesting Iraq tried to buy "yellow cake" uranium from Niger -- quoted by other U.S. officials but later found by the International Atomic Energy Agency to be based partly on forged documents -- because he felt there was insufficient substantiation.

"Not that I thought it was untrue, it's just that I didn't think it was solid enough for the kind of presentation I had to give," Powell said. "It turned out to be untrue. That happens a lot in the intelligence business."