A friend and I were trying to compile a list of great lies throughout history, and we can’t really think of anything. All we have is Nixon’s watergate scandal.
Can anyone else think of noteworthy, history making lies?
My best guess is the lying that the Allies had to do to the Germans in WWII. Admittedly, a great deal of the lie was a lie of ommision, but still–if the Allies had mentioned (or acted in a way that would have implied) to the Germans that they had figured out Enigma, I think history would have been a wee bit different. Mind, that is off the top of my head. I am sure that others who are better informed will be 'round in a bit.
You mean other than “The Iraqi government has large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction”? Or are you excluding the current administration?
Excluding the current administration.
“I am not a crook” - Richard Nixon
Tripler
C’mon. I’m sure every candidate has his/her own espionage experts.
“I did not have sex with that woman . . . .”
I suppose that ‘Piltdown Man’ is more of a hoax than a lie, but it’s prolly worth mentioning.
Off the top of my head…
The burning of the Reichstag.
The accusation of Dreyfus.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident.
Stalin’s show trials.
Margaret Thatcher and the sinking of the Belgrano.
Tony Blair’s “45 minutes” claim (well it’s not the current US administration…) and the yellowcake debacle.
“I’ll call you.”
In the context of making history, not a great lie, I grant you; however, this has to be one of the most frequently told.
Greatest lie **throughout **history:
“This new invention will be used solely for peaceful ends.”
Actually, I could name a few greater lies, but this isn’t in GD (yet).
Cite?
Can you cite where this was actually SAID by the current administration? As I understand it, it was claimed
(a) The Iraqi govt at one time had WMD, and these had not been destroyed as per agreement.
(b) The Iraqi govt was seeking to obtain new and better weapons of mass destruction.
© It is intolerable for the Iraqi govt to obtain serious germ warfare agents or nuclear weapons, in addition to the chemical weapons they probably already have (had).
I do not think it was actually claimed the Iraqi govt actually HAD nuclear or biological weapons, only that they were seeking them and were probably close to getting them.
Go easy on him, boys, he’s a newbie here. 
Off the top of my head, “We did not trade weapons or anything else for hostages” – Ronald Reagan.
“To my knowledge, that is not happening.”
King Hussein of Jordan during Gulf War I, in response to Iraq’s flying SCUDs over Jordan’s airspace.
gcarroll, to help trigger your memory:
Did that help?
Anything said by the Iraqi Information Minister Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf during GWII. Some gems:
And, finally:
People favored using his quotes as examples of absurd humor. For a while, people were riffing on him and his preposterous statements to good effect.
Quick point that may apply to several posts above:
Lying includes a measure of intentional deception. To say what one believes to be true, regardless of its actual truth, is not lying.
The check is in the mail.
Trust me, I won’t cum in your mouth.
Bush I as VP: “I wasn’t in the loop.” (Contradicted by sworn testimony by Schultz and otheres.)
The Donation of Constantine.