Was the phrase "imminent threat" used by the Bush Administration to reference Iraq before the war?

"For centuries, international law recognized that nations need not suffer an attack before they can lawfully take action to defend themselves against forces that present an imminent danger of attack. Legal scholars and international jurists often conditioned the legitimacy of preemption on the existence of an imminent threat—most often a visible mobilization of armies, navies, and air forces preparing to attack.

We must adapt the concept of imminent threat to the capabilities and objectives of today’s adversaries. Rogue states and terrorists do not seek to attack us using conventional means. They know such attacks would fail. Instead, they rely on acts of terror and, potentially, the use of weapons of mass destruction—weapons that can be easily concealed, delivered covertly, and used without warning..."

"MR. RUSSERT: You said 'imminent threat.' The president says he never said 'imminent threat.' Scott McClellan, who was then deputy press secretary, used the words 'imminent threat,' but for the record and it's important to be clarified, he was referring that Turkey was under imminent threat from Iraq, not the United States. That's an important distinction.

SEN. KENNEDY: It's a semantic denial. 'Grave,' 'unique,' 'immediate threat.' Synonym with 'imminent threat,' 'immediate threat.' And then a 'mushroom cloud.' 'Mushroom cloud.' What does that mean? That means imminent threat. And the fact is there was a distortion, a misrepresentation all the way through."

"BIDEN: And if you notice, what you had the president on a moment ago in a clip, and he said, and I quote, there is -- he is convinced, quote, 'There is a grave and gathering threat.' That's fundamentally different than what he said before the war. He said there was an imminent threat. If you noticed, Wolf, he dropped 'imminent' for 'gathering'.

BLITZER: Well, let me interrupt you for one second. Some of his aides repeatedly used the word 'imminent,' but the president, in his defense, he repeats he never used, personally, the word 'imminent,' though some of his top aides used that word. He used the word 'gathering,' if you will. It might be nitpicking, but that's just a point that the White House makes.

BIDEN: Well, I don't think it's nitpicking. I think it's important. And if that's correct, then I stand corrected...

But everybody I spoke to, everybody that came before our committee, all the administration officials, talked about an imminent threat.

If it was a gathering threat, Wolf, then there was no need to move when we did without the help of the world."