--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 2005, the Iraq war was entering its…" description: "\"In 2005, the Iraq war was entering its third year and no one believed that we were going to find WMDs any more. The prewar claims of their certain exis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/jesse-armstrong-5759_existence_in-2005-the-iraq-war-was-entering-its-th_3151557.jpg" --- # In 2005, the Iraq war was entering its third year and no… ![“In 2005, the Iraq war was entering its third year and no one believed that we were going to find WMDs any more. The prewar claims of their certain existence were becoming an embarrassing joke, a big present we'd been offered that was getting ever later in showing up.” quote by Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/jesse-armstrong-5759_existence_in-2005-the-iraq-war-was-entering-its-th_3151557.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/jesse-armstrong-5759_existence_in-2005-the-iraq-war-was-entering-its-th_3151557.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/jesse-armstrong-5759_existence_in-2005-the-iraq-war-was-entering-its-th_3151557.jpg) > “In 2005, the Iraq war was entering its third year and no one believed that we were going to find WMDs any more. The prewar claims of their certain existence were becoming an embarrassing joke, a big present we'd been offered that was getting ever later in showing up.” [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote satirically notes the failure of prewar intelligence, highlighting how political narratives can become absurd over time. **In simple terms:** The Iraq war’s missing weapons became a joke as time went on. Key Takeaway Question the credibility of political claims. Themes politics war media criticism Mood critical skeptical Type satirical analytical When to use this quote - policy analysis - journalism - historical research - public discourse Key Concepts propaganda intelligence failure Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms prevent intelligence errors? - How do societies remember failed narratives? A Different Perspective Overreliance on faulty intel can cause lasting damage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Iraq war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq-war/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“We worried for decades about WMDs – Weapons of Mass Destruction. Now it is time to worry about a new kind of WMDs –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mariotti/we-worried-for-decades-about-wmds-weapons-of-mass-destruction-now-it/) John Mariotti > [“In short, WMDs are targeting us all. And they’ll continue to multiply, sowing injustice, until we take steps to stop them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-o-neil/in-short-wmds-are-targeting-us-all-and-they-ll-continue-to-multiply/) [Cathy O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-o-neil/) > [“We’ve seen time and again that mathematical models can sift through data to locate people who are likely to face great challenges, whether from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-o-neil/we-ve-seen-time-and-again-that-mathematical-models-can-sift-through/) [Cathy O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-o-neil/) > [With every character you play, as these guys will tell you, there's a part of you goes into that in terms of the ingredients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/with-every-character-you-play-as-these-guys-will-tell-you-there-s-a/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [Instead of showing up to let everyone know how great we are, show up to find out how great everyone else is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/instead-of-showing-up-to-let-everyone-know-how-great-we-are-show-up/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [what shall we drink to?" "How about family?" Stacy said, showing up just in time to pour a fourth shot. "To those who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/what-shall-we-drink-to-how-about-family-stacy-said-showing-up-just-in/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [People still struggle with this notion of gifted writers somehow being in touch with a higher power, but it's all about showing up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lippman/people-still-struggle-with-this-notion-of-gifted-writers-somehow/) [Laura Lippman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lippman/) > [I've tried open-ended jobs and found myself incredibly unhappy. I don't like the monomania of showing up every day and doing the same thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-klausner/i-ve-tried-open-ended-jobs-and-found-myself-incredibly-unhappy-i-don/) [Julie Klausner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-klausner/) > [Showing up fully exactly where you are is the fastest way to get where you want to go!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-forleo/showing-up-fully-exactly-where-you-are-is-the-fastest-way-to-get/) [Marie Forleo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-forleo/) > [Showing up is like 90 percent of the battle, and just make sure your hair is really cute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willam-belli/showing-up-is-like-90-percent-of-the-battle-and-just-make-sure-your/) [Willam Belli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willam-belli/) > [The forces of immorality and Marxism and evil count on one thing: Us not showing up. And often, they're justified in that. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-shea/the-forces-of-immorality-and-marxism-and-evil-count-on-one-thing-us/) [Matt Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-shea/) > [Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/courage-starts-with-showing-up-and-letting-ourselves-be-seen/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I've never held out. I'm a first-class guy in any relationship. The first way of getting better is showing up, so I'm always going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-brown/i-ve-never-held-out-i-m-a-first-class-guy-in-any-relationship-the/) [Antonio Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-brown/) > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I think naturally I've been kind of a lead-by-doing guy. Just showing up to work every day. You never ask teammates something you wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrell-suggs/i-think-naturally-i-ve-been-kind-of-a-lead-by-doing-guy-just-showing/) [Terrell Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrell-suggs/) ## More by Jesse Armstrong > [You've got to trust the audience, and hopefully if you do interesting work you'll get an audience that are interested and engaged. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/you-ve-got-to-trust-the-audience-and-hopefully-if-you-do-interesting/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [Wars are hard to look at head-on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/wars-are-hard-to-look-at-head-on/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [I'm in the game of realism so happy endings probably feel a little bit too neat for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/i-m-in-the-game-of-realism-so-happy-endings-probably-feel-a-little/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [Because Oswestry is very much an Anglo-Welsh mix it can lead you to feeling a bit bipolar sometimes. I mean, you're in England but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/because-oswestry-is-very-much-an-anglo-welsh-mix-it-can-lead-you-to/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [I like people to make their own decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/i-like-people-to-make-their-own-decisions/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [There are lots of great characters in fiction who viewers and readers have engaged with that behave badly. Great characters can be unfaithful. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/there-are-lots-of-great-characters-in-fiction-who-viewers-and-readers/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [The writers' room is an open forum where anything mad or weird that aggressively shakes up the show can be suggested and considered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/the-writers-room-is-an-open-forum-where-anything-mad-or-weird-that/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [Trump is just extraordinarily unusual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/trump-is-just-extraordinarily-unusual/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [I do think it's really tough being super-rich, really hard-working and wanting to get some sort of immortality by passing on the organisation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/i-do-think-it-s-really-tough-being-super-rich-really-hard-working-and/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [Most of us now have opinions on such things as road tolling, the U.S. position on climate change, and the correct colour of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/most-of-us-now-have-opinions-on-such-things-as-road-tolling-the-u-s/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [Unlike many hour-long scripted American dramas, 'Succession' has very few standing sets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/unlike-many-hour-long-scripted-american-dramas-succession-has-very/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [There's loads of succession stories to draw on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/there-s-loads-of-succession-stories-to-draw-on/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [As a private individual, it's probably not worth having a foreign policy of your own at all. Not unless you own at least a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/as-a-private-individual-it-s-probably-not-worth-having-a-foreign/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [Why do I bother having all my stupid opinions? I mean, really, my ever evolving Balkan policy of the mid-1990s - what did I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/why-do-i-bother-having-all-my-stupid-opinions-i-mean-really-my-ever/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [There's an underlying sense that your family should accord you a greater level of safety in your interactions with them. When that's violated, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/there-s-an-underlying-sense-that-your-family-should-accord-you-a/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) [Explore all 100 Jesse Armstrong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In 2005, the Iraq war was entering its third year and no one believed that we were going to find WMDs any more. 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