Congress Members Who Have Seen Classified Evidence About Syria Say It Fails to Prove Anything

[JohnyCanuck]

But numerous congressional members who have seen the classified intelligence information says that it is no better than the public war brief … and doesn’t prove anything.

Congressman Justin Amash said last week:

What I heard in Obama admn briefing actually makes me more skeptical of certain significant aspects of Pres’s case for attacking

He noted yesterday, after attending another classified briefing and reviewing more classified materials:

Attended another classified briefing on #Syria & reviewed add’l materials. Now more skeptical than ever. Can’t believe Pres is pushing war.

Congressman Tom Harkin said:

I have just attended a classified Congressional briefing on Syria that quite frankly raised more questions than it answered. I found the evidence presented by Administration officials to be circumstantial.

Congressman Michael Burgess said:

Yes, I saw the classified documents. They were pretty thin.


More at: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/09/classified-intelligence-doesnt-prove-anything.html

[AzDar]

1. K & R

[Link Speed]

2. So what am I gonna do with all of those cruise missiles in my garage?

I wish those guys would just hop on the bandwagon and stop being speedbumps along the road to righteousness.

KnR

[durablend]

3. Come on congressmen!

There's people we need to bomb democracy into. Stop stalling!

[KittyWampus]

4. Article is bullshit and takes Harken's quotes out of context. From same Harken statement

"We believe President Obama is correct that the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons requires a military response by the United States and our friends and allies" Senator Harken's own words in linked quote

As for the Republicans, not even going to bother.

[another_liberal]

6. I think he was saying . . .

You may be the one quoting Harken out of context. I think he was saying that if Assad used chemical weapons then a military response is required. Otherwise the contradiction makes no sense at all.

[KittyWampus]

7. No, I'm not. I read the whole thing. Follow the links yourself. Harken doesn't qualify his statement

with an if

[another_liberal]

8. If what you contend is accruate.

Harken must be contradicting himself. The two statements, as you read them, make no sense.

[Thinkingabout]

10. The full statement was not in the post and if it had been the complete statement had been

Included it would not agreed with thread subject.

[another_liberal]

11. The central question seems to be . . .

Did Harken or did he not say, "I found the evidence presented by Administration officials to be circumstantial."

[Thinkingabout]

17. Apparently you only want to include the portion you choose but it makes you tread title

Very misleading and is this what you want? If it the result you want then run with it but the complete statement by Harkin is readily available.

[dsc]

15. that is not from the same Harkin statement

it is from a McCain statement later in the same article.

[eomer]

19. That quote is from Republicans John McCain and Lindsey Graham.

President Obama has some work to do if he wants congressional authority to bomb Syria. Already some of his liberal allies are questioning the evidence which is supposed to show that Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on his own people.

“I have just attended a classified Congressional briefing on Syria that quite frankly raised more questions than it answered. I found the evidence presented by Administration officials to be circumstantial. The atrocious use of chemical weapons against civilian is an affront to human values and a violation of international law. It should be condemned by the international community as a whole," liberal Democrat Tom Harkin says in a statement released after today's classified Capitol Hill briefing.

“The coming debate in Congress will hopefully shine the light on outstanding questions -- as will the results of the U.N. inspection team. We must wait for these results before any action is taken. What I hear from Iowans is that the Middle East has a complex history and the conflicts there will not be solved by U.S. military action alone. We should not rush into what may become a new open-ended war without broad international backing or a full understanding of the ramifications.”

On the flip side, Obama will have some work in the other direction if he wants to convince some hawks that attacking Syria is a good idea.

“We believe President Obama is correct that the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons requires a military response by the United States and our friends and allies. Since the President is now seeking Congressional support for this action, the Congress must act as soon as possible," said Republicans John McCain and Lindsey Graham in a statement released yesterday.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/harkin-classified-syria-briefing-frankly-raised-more-questions-it-answered_751549.html

[another_liberal]

5. When it's a war you want . . .

Any kind of crappy "evidence" will do just fine.

[tecelote]

18. With two wars winding down...

The MIC need more business.

So... "Any kind of crappy "evidence" will do just fine."

[woo me with science]

9. K&R

[Javaman]

12. Info from this same blog was blocked yesterday.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014588010

[Harmony Blue]

13. Grayson hinted about this in a roundabout way as well

this does not instill confidence with the administrations case IMO. We shall see what more evidence is presented the next few days however.

[Coyotl]

14. K&R

[99th_Monkey]

16. No wonder it's "Classified"

When offering false evidence, that doesn't prove my premise, the fewer people
who know about the lying the better.

so presto! it's "classified". how handy is that?

[DeSwiss]

20. K&R

- They're so used to getting their way, they don't know how to improvise very well. In this case they just slapped a few HUGE LIES together and threw in a gas attack (an effort most likely hatched by the CIA thru their partners in AL-Queda), and they thought it'd be a lock. Before, it was so easy. All it took was a few sniffs from that ole stage prop bottle of War-Coke and everyone (with a vote) was sold.

K&R




''As the builders say, the larger stones do not lie well without the lesser.'' ~Plato