I met with King Abdullah II of Jordan in his home in Amman on the afternoon of Thursday, January 23, 2003. "General," he said, "from reliable intelligence sources, I believe the Iraqis are hiding chemical and biological weapons."

The Jordanians did have reliable intelligence sources in Iraq. I trusted them, and I trusted the king's judgment. And I wasn't surprised at what his sources had reported. I'd spent days and nights over the previous twelve years worrying over Saddam's WMD program, and the effect that such weapons could have on our troops - or on my country. I thanked the king, left his home, drove to the hotel, and straight to the Comm room to pass the information I'd been given to Secretary Rumsfeld.

Four days later, on Monday, January 27, I was flying from Pakistan to refuel at Crete when my trip coordinator, Air Force Lt. Colonel Manny Chaves, tapped me on the shoulder. "Thirty-five knot crosswinds at Souda Bay, General," he reported. "Looks like we're going to have to head to Cairo."

...Hosni Mubarak was friendly as always. But he was clearly concerned with our military buildup and the tension in Iraq.

He leaned close and spoke to me in accented but readily comprehensible English. "General Franks," he said, choosing his words carefully, as Abdullah had done. "You must be very, very careful. We have spoken with Saddam Hussein. He is a madman. He has WMD - biologicals, actually - and he will use them on your troops."

An hour later, in the Embassy communications room, I passed this message to Don Rumsfeld."