September 24, 1992 IT'S TIME TO COME CLEAN, GEORGE BUSH Statement by George Stephanopoulos, Communications Director] It's time for George Bush to come clean with the American people. Time after time, his administration secretly deals with dictators and terrorists, to the detriment of U.S. interests. Then, when the policy blows up, Bush and other officials deny the facts and try to cover-up. When it comes to Iraq, like Iran-Contra before it, Bush's flat denials are consistently refuted by the evidence. These ongoing contradictions concern matters of great public importance. They demand a full response, not more evasions. What did Bush know and when did he know it? Why won't he tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? IRAN-CONTRA Bush said he was "out of the loop." Newly released secret memos tell a different story. When will Bush come clean on his real role in Iran-Contra? Why does he continue to tell a story that's contradicted by every piece of evidence? Bush said he was unaware that Secretary of State George Schultz and Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger were strongly opposed to selling arms to Iran. "If I'd have sat there and heard George Schultz and Cap express it [opposition] strongly, maybe I would have had a stronger view," Bush told the Washington Post. "But when you don't know something, it's hard to react. . . . We were not in the loop." BUT.... Today's Washington Post reports a memo in the possession of prosecutors that shows Bush was present at a January, 1986 meeting where Weinberger argued against arms sales. BUT.... Notes dictated by Schultz quote Weinberger as calling Schultz and saying that Bush had said he was "not exposed to Cap or my arguments on Iran arms. Cap called me + sd [and said] that's terrible. He [Bush] was on the other side. It's on the record. Why did he say that." The notes came out on August 25 as part of Cap's pretrial procedures. Bush said in his autobiography that the first time he knew that the arms sales were in fact an arms for hostages deal was when Sen. David Durenberger visited him in December, 1986. BUT.... According to the Washington Post, Bush was present at "several dozen" daily Presidential national security briefings where the arms for hostages deal was discussed. BUT.... Bush was one of only five people present at the January 17, 1986 meeting where Reagan signed the intelligence finding that for the first time authorized the U.S. to sell arms directly -- instead of through Israel -- to Iran in exchange for hostages. One month later, the U.S. shipped 1,000 TOW missiles to Iran. AND.... According to today's Washington Post, "He attended three White House meetings in November 1986 that Iran-contra prosecutors working for independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh have concluded set the stage for an attempted coverup of one particular set of Hawk missile shipments to Iran in 1985." QUESTION: HOW CAN BUSH CONTINUE TO CLAIM HE DIDN'T KNOW SCHULTZ AND WEINBERGER WERE STRENUOUSLY AGAINST THE ARMS DEAL? IS HE SAYING THEY ARE BOTH LYING? QUESTION: WHY DID BUSH SAY HE DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS AN ARMS-FOR-HOSTAGES DEAL, WHEN HE WAS AT SEVERAL DOZEN MEETINGS WHERE THE SCHEME WAS DISCUSSED? QUESTION: DID BUSH PARTICIPATE IN PLANNING A COVER UP OF MISSILE SALES, AS REPORTED IN TODAY'S WASHINGTON POST? IRAQGATE: SECRET HELP FOR SADDAM HUSSEIN We know now that Saddam Hussein used billions of dollars in American taxpayers' foreign aid to build up his weapons of mass destruction -- the very weapons our troops faced in Desert Storm. George Bush and James Baker have denied knowing anything about it at the time. Newly released document confirm that they did know -- and didn't act to stop it. Bush has repeatedly said that the Administration did not know that Saddam Hussein was skimming American money to build Iraqi military capabilities: On CBS Morning News (7/1/92), Harry Smith asked: "Why did we continue to support Saddam Hussein even though we knew he was skimming US support to help develop nuclear arms?" Bush replied: "We didn't know that. I don't know where you got that, Harry. The State Department didn't know it, and what we did is try to bring him into the family of nations. And what you're doing is repeating something that these candidates are saying. We did not go to enhance his nuclear, biological or chemical capabilities." In July, Bush said: "We didn't know that. The State Department didn't know it. . . . You can talk about what one State Department employee, and if we had known it wouldn't have happened." (NY Times, 7/9/72) BUT.... The State Department document released yesterday -- a July 24, 1990 memo signed off on by James Baker -- directly contradicts this statement: "Iraq is actively engaged in developing chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missile systems, and may be seeking to develop nuclear weapons as well. Iraq has been attempting to obtain items to support these proliferation activities from U.S. exporters, in some cases successfully." AND.... Just one week after Baker signed off on the memo, U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie was assuring Iraqi officials of State Department efforts to continue agriculture credits to Iraq. Baker instructed Glaspie to assure Saddam Hussein that the U.S. would take no position on Iraq's buildup against Kuwait. QUESTION: WHY DID GEORGE BUSH SAY THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT DIDN'T KNOW THAT SADDAM HUSSEIN WAS GETTING HELP FROM U.S. FIRMS IN HIS DEADLY WEAPONS BUILDUP? HOW DOES HE RECONCILE HIS FLAT DENIALS WITH THE EMERGING EVIDENCE? QUESTION: DID GEORGE BUSH KNOW THAT IRAQ WAS DEVELOPING CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS? IF HE DID, WHEN DID HE KNOW IT AND WHY DID HE CONTINUE U.S. AGRICULTURAL LOANS TO IRAQ? IF HE DID, WHY DOES HE CONTINUE TO ISSUE BLANKET DENIALS OF ANY KNOWLEDGE? QUESTION: WHAT DID JAMES BAKER TELL GEORGE BUSH ABOUT THE IRAQI WEAPONS PROGRAM? HOW EARLY DID BAKER KNOW? QUESTION: HOW DOES JAMES BAKER RECONCILE HIS MEMO TO BOB MOSBACHER WITH HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO APRIL GLASPIE ASSURING SADDAM THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE AGRICULTURAL CREDITS? End of Statement