1. Causes of War in Iraq 2003-???

2. “Nobody is supporting Saddam Hussein, but everybody recognizes that in international politics you have to process. Before you invade a sovereign (independent) country there has to be reason for it or we’re going to have chaos.”

3. Bill Graham Former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Feb 14, 2002

4. “There is already a mountain of evidence that Saddam Hussein is gathering weapons for the purpose of using them. And adding additional information is like adding a foot to Mount Everest.”

5. Ari Fleisher Former White House Spokesperson Sept 6, 2002

6. Judging Reliability of Sources: 1st Key Proximity “Access” to information Always ask: How close to the event/person/issue is the source? Do not confuse with being “Primary” ie a secondary source can still have close proximity. The closer the proximity the more reliable the source!

7. “The U.S. Administration wants to destroy Iraq in order to control the Middle East Oil, and consequently control the politics as well as the oil and economic policies of the whole world.”

8. Saddam Hussein, Former Dictator of Iraq Sept 19, 2002 (in a letter to the UN)

9. “The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary; he is deceiving. From intelligence sources we know, for instance, that thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the UN inspectors, sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors themselves.”

10. George W. Bush, Former US President, Jan 28, 2003

11. Judging Reliability of Sources: 2nd Key Corroboration Similar to “support”; “backed up” Always ask: Does this source have the same information as other sources? Can the source be checked for accuracy. The more corroboration the greater the reliability!

12. “And I challenge Bush and his government to present any evidence of that… Everybody in the region, everybody in the world knows Iraq has no connection with al-Qaeda (9/11 terrorists).”

13. Tariq Aziz, Former Iraqi Deputy Minister, Jan 29, 2003

14. Judging Reliability of Sources: 3rd Key Contradiction The opposite of corroboration Has opposing evidence from other sources The more contradiction the lesser the reliability

15. Judging Reliability of Sources: 4TH Key BIAS Always ask: What are the main/obvious BIASES?, Do they “get in the way” of the facts? * 2 other things to think about with 4 th Key: MOTIVE: Why was this source created? What was the creator hoping to accomplish? AUDIENCE: Who was intended to read/see/hear this source? Do the answers for A and B make it more biased? *Remember: everyone has biases therefore everything has a bias. The LESS biased the source, the greater the reliability!

16. “ A proof is a proof. What kind of proof? It’s a proof. A proof is a proof. And when you have a good proof, it’s because it’s proven.”

17. Jean Chretien, Former Canadian Prime Minister, Sept 5, 2002