“In the case of Iraq, there are, for me, three first order questions. Do weapons of mass destruction in the hands of Saddam Hussein pose a grave danger to us and to our friends and allies, particularly those in the Middle East, but also in Europe? To me the answer is clearly yes. Second, if in the end we are unable to eliminate these weapons of mass destruction, and any and all means to produce more, if we are unable to do so through tough, unfettered inspections or other non-military means, would use of force to accomplish this be the right thing to do? Again, my answer is yes. And question three, in my mind, has to do with timing. Since the threat posed by these weapons in the hands of Saddam Hussein has existed for some time, what has changed to create this new sense of urgency? Here I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld has it right; what has changed is 9/11 and our new realization of just how vulnerable we are to terrorist attacks, and the catastrophic damage terrorists with weapons of mass destruction could inflict on the United States.” (John Shalikashvili, Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, 9/23/02)