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← The Iraq WMD Precedent

Netanyahu Before Congress, 12 September 2002: "No Question Whatsoever"

The hearing​

On 12 September 2002, Benjamin Netanyahu, then a former Israeli prime minister, testified before the House Committee on Government Reform at a hearing titled "Conflict with Iraq: An Israeli Perspective." From the official transcript (GovInfo):

  • "There is no question whatsoever that Saddam is seeking and is working and is advancing toward the development of nuclear weapons."
  • "He can produce it in centrifuges the size of washing machines that can be hidden throughout the country."
  • "if you take out Saddam's regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region."

In the same hearing he spoke of young people "right next door in Iran."

What the record showed​

No such weapons program existed. The Senate Intelligence Committee found in 2004 that the claim Iraq "is reconstituting its nuclear program" was "not supported by the intelligence" (Senate 2004 Findings). In 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry said Netanyahu "was profoundly forward-leaning and outspoken about the importance of invading Iraq" (Times of Israel, 2015).

The same voice on Iran​

In February 2002, per a later timeline, Ariel Sharon warned Bush that war against Iraq would empower Iran, while Netanyahu's faction "wanted to hit Iraq first and foremost" (X search snippet, May 2026). On 29 December 2025 at Mar-a-Lago, Netanyahu said "Iran could soon be capable of targeting U.S. cities with nuclear weapons" (as quoted by Countercurrents). U.S. intelligence at the time said Iran was not building a weapon. Joe Kent's resignation letter named the pattern: "This is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war" (letter). See Netanyahu's Campaign for US Action.

Sources​

Status: Benjamin Netanyahu: Alive. John Kerry: Alive. Ariel Sharon: Deceased (2014).

Last Updated: 2026-09-26

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