WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- President Bush and his top aides publicly made 935 false statements about the security risk posed by Iraq in the two years following September 11 , 2001 , according to a study released Tuesday by two nonprofit journalism groups . President Bush addresses the nation as the Iraq war begins in March 2003 . `` In short , the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19 , 2003 , '' reads an overview of the examination , conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and its affiliated group , the Fund for Independence in Journalism . According to the study , Bush and seven top officials -- including Vice President Dick Cheney , former Secretary of State Colin Powell and then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice -- made 935 false statements about Iraq during those two years . The study was based on a searchable database compiled of primary sources , such as official government transcripts and speeches , and secondary sources -- mainly quotes from major media organizations . See CNN viewers ' reactions to the study » . The study says Bush made 232 false statements about Iraq and former leader Saddam Hussein 's possessing weapons of mass destruction , and 28 false statements about Iraq 's links to al Qaeda . Bush has consistently asserted that at the time he and other officials made the statements , the intelligence community of the U.S. and several other nations , including Britain , believed Hussein had weapons of mass destruction . Responding to the study Wednesday , White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not speak directly to the `` false claims '' characterization . But he said the United States was part of a broad coalition of nations that took part in the Iraq invasion and that the invasion was based on intelligence from multiple countries . He called Hussein a threat to international security and a sponsor of terrorism , and said the world is better off without him . White House press secretary Dana Perino called the study `` flawed . '' `` They only looked at members of the administration , rather than looking at members of Congress or people around the world , '' she said . `` Because as you 'll remember , we were part of a broad coalition of countries that deposed a dictator based on a collective understanding of the intelligence . '' `` And the other thing that that study fails to do is to say that after realizing that there was no WMD , as we thought as a collective body that there was , that this White House , the President set about to make reforms in the intelligence community to make sure that it does n't happen again . '' Bush has repeatedly said that despite the intelligence flaws , removing Hussein from power was the right thing to do . The study , released Tuesday , says Powell had the second-highest number of false statements , with 244 about weapons and 10 about Iraq and al Qaeda . Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Press Secretary Ari Fleischer each made 109 false statements , it says . Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz made 85 , Rice made 56 , Cheney made 48 and Scott McLellan , also a press secretary , made 14 , the study says . `` It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to al Qaeda , '' the report reads , citing multiple government reports , including those by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence , the 9/11 Commission and the multinational Iraq Survey Group , which reported that Hussein had suspended Iraq 's nuclear program in 1991 and made little effort to revive it . The overview of the study also calls the media to task , saying most media outlets did n't do enough to investigate the claims . `` Some journalists -- indeed , even some entire news organizations -- have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical , '' the report reads . `` These mea culpas notwithstanding , much of the wall-to-wall media coverage provided additional , 'independent ' validation of the Bush administration 's false statements about Iraq . '' The quotes in the study include an August 26 , 2002 , statement by Cheney to the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars . `` Simply stated , there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction , '' Cheney said . `` There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends , against our allies , and against us . '' E-mail to a friend .
Study searched database for statements by Bush , allegedly , in 2001 - 2003 . Bush made 260 false statements about Iraqi weapons , al Qaeda , he says . Study accuses former Secretary of State Colin Powell of 244 false statements . Also on the list : Powell , Bush , Rice , former White House spokesmen .