Are We Better Off: In His Own Words

Richard Perle is widely credited as the “intellectual architect” of the Iraq invasion. But with the clarity of hindsight, it’s clear that the former Defense Policy Board member trafficked in more than faulty intelligence; he also put forward a number of prognostications that turned out to be, well, off target.

Photo: AFP Imageforum

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


 

“Iraq is a very wealthy country. Enormous oil reserves. They can finance, largely finance,
the reconstruction of their own country. And I have no doubt that they will.”

PBS interview
July 11, 2002

 

“We are not talking about a massive invasion along the lines of 1991. We’re talking
about a much more modest effort in which the United States would assist Iraqis in freeing
their country.”

—Washington Post interview, August 22, 2002

 

“UN weapons inspectors are being seriously deceived…. It reminds me of the way
the Nazis hoodwinked Red Cross officials inspecting the concentration camp at Theresienstadt
in 1944. The SS even organized a phony concert to show what a wonderful new home the Jews had.
But Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has MORE evidence of secret weapons dumps.”

Writing in the News of the World, February 23, 2003

 

“The predictions of those who opposed this war can be discarded like spent cartridges.
You remember them? We will kill hundreds of thousands. We will create thousands of new terrorists.
The Arab world will rise up and set the region aflame. Tony Blair and George Bush knew better.”

Writing
in the
News of the World, April 13, 2003

 

“Relax, celebrate victory.”

Writing in USA Today, May 2, 2003

What’s independent journalism worth to you?

Our news will always be free to read, watch, and listen to online. But what is its value?

Unbiased reporting on the issues that billionaire-owned newsrooms won’t touch. Fearless research into the dark corners of government and corporations. Ferociously fact-checked news that focuses on the facts, and the facts alone.

It IS free for you and every reader, viewer, and listener to utilize. But it’s not free for our team to make. So, what’s it worth to you? Let us know by making a donation: Make a one-time donation today to support this work. Or make a monthly sustaining donation to help us plan for the future.

Whatever you choose, know that you’re supporting more independent, investigative journalism in a time when we need it most.

What’s independent journalism worth to you?

Our news will always be free to read, watch, and listen to online. But what is its value?

Unbiased reporting on the issues that billionaire-owned newsrooms won’t touch. Fearless research into the dark corners of government and corporations. Ferociously fact-checked news that focuses on the facts, and the facts alone.

It IS free for you and every reader, viewer, and listener to utilize. But it’s not free for our team to make. So, what’s it worth to you? Let us know by making a donation: Make a one-time donation today to support this work. Or make a monthly sustaining donation to help us plan for the future.

Whatever you choose, know that you’re supporting more independent, investigative journalism in a time when we need it most.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate