Iraq and weapons of mass destruction Miller helped persuade the American public that Iraq had WMD: in September 2002 she wrote about an intercepted shipment of aluminum tubes which the NYT said were to be used to develop nuclear material. It is now generally understood that they were not intended (or well suited) for that purpose but rather for artillery rockets. The story was followed up with television appearances by Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice all pointing to the story as part of the basis for taking military action against Iraq. Miller's sources were introduced to her by Ahmed Chalabi, an Iraqi exile favorable
Known and Unknown: A Memoir that Hussein said that the nation of France "understood the Iraqi view". Rumsfeld writes, "That particular remark came to my mind on more than one occasion and I never had cause to doubt it." He states that Hussein came across as "rather reasonable". However, he reports that Hussein repeated word for word a line Rumsfeld had used the day before in another meeting— leading Rumsfeld to conclude that he was bugged. Rumsfeld recounts his childhood, with his ex-military father making a living selling real estate near Chicago, Illinois. He discusses becoming an Eagle Scout, wrestling in high-school, and then serving