Email from Sen. Norm Coleman regarding DSM

[Chichiri]

I can't believe this guy's my senator . . .


Dear Mr. (removed) :

Thank you for taking the time to contact me concerning a British memo about pre-Iraq war intelligence.

As you may know, on May 1, 2005, the London Sunday Times published a memo written by British foreign policy aide Matthew Rycroft based on notes he had taken during a July 2002 meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair and his advisors. The memo reflected Mr. Rycroft's opinion that the U.S. was intent on removing Saddam Hussein from power and was fixing intelligence around that policy.

Clearly there have been shortcomings in intelligence about Iraq 's prewar capabilities. However, the U.S. was not alone in our assessment about Saddam's weapons programs. Foreign intelligence agencies, including the British and Australian services, as well as the UN, believed Saddam had weapons of mass destruction ( WMDs ). UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which passed unanimously in 2002, stated that Iraq posed a threat to international peace and security because of its WMD proliferation.

After Saddam was removed from power, the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) was assigned the task of investigating Saddam's WMD program. The ISG report by Charles Duelfer details Saddam Hussein's attempts to end U.N. sanctions against him while preserving his capacity to reconstitute his WMD programs once the sanctions were lifted.

Saddam Hussein used WMDs against his own people and clearly did not abandon his WMD ambitions. He personally directed efforts to hide and preserve documentation related to Iraq 's nuclear program and prevented Iraqi scientists from leaving Iraq , enabling him to restart his WMD programs. Although stockpiles of WMDs were not found in Iraq, the facts contained in the Duelfer report show that Saddam Hussein maintained the capacity to rebuild his WMD programs in a short amount of time, and that he was actively undercutting the sanctions against him. Given the multiple sources of pre-war intelligence, as well as the findings of the Duelfer Report, there is little evidence to support the Rycroft memo.

In order to address failures with pre-war intelligence, however, I worked closely with my colleagues in the 108 th Congress to construct and pass a comprehensive intelligence reform bill, the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 (S. 2845) which became public law on December 17, 2004. I also supported Ambassador John Negroponte to be the first Director of National Intelligence for the United States and oversee this major intelligence reorganization.

Thank you once again for contacting me. I value your advice. If I may be of further assistance to you in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Sincerely,
Norm Coleman
United States Senate

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Well, he's pretty useless.

[T Roosevelt]

2. blah blah blah blah

It was glorious when George Galloway ripped him multiple new a$$holes...

[gumby]

3. Who needs Rush Limbaugh when we have Normie?

Geeze, that is really, really bad. Wind 'em up and they all vomit the same bile.

[Chichiri]

4. Anyone want to help me with a rebuttal?

[LaReservaPr]

6. This site might help you

http://downingstreetmemo.com/realitycheck.html#opinion

[MASSAFRA]

7. I like

the way he says that Saddam had WMDs and used them against his people. My rep. tried that on me at a meeting. I told him he makes it sound like it just happened. It happened when Reagan was president and we sent Rumsfield over to thank him.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. In other words, Normie,

Saddam Hussein didn't have WMD, but he may have been thinking about making them.

That's basically what your paragraphs of blather boil down to.

[mac56]

8. Normie is lower than whale shit.

Can't believe he's my Senator.
Can't believe he actually claimed to be a better Senator than Paul Wellstone.

[roguevalley]

9. so basically he ignores it and talks out his ass.

[unhappycamper]

10. He's never been the same since Galloway bitch-slapped him.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[KitchenWitch]

11. God I miss Wellstone

Norm Coleman is a carpetbagging lapdogging POS opportunistic turncoat.

[Chichiri]

12. My reply to Coleman

Dear Senator Coleman,

Thank you for responding to my email. I'm afraid that there are a few aspects of your email on which I must correct you.

First, while it is true that many governments believed Saddam Hussein had WMD, belief that someone is true is no basis for a war. The "multiple sources of pre-war intelligence," in and of itself, is not a basis to go to war, inasmuch as those sources were themselves less than credible, oftentimes coming from paid informants who, in some cases, were later proven to be fabricators. Furthermore, there was virtually no intelligence coming out of Iraq itself.

Second, the memo does NOT simply reflect Mr. Rycoft's opinion. The minutes of the meeting in question were circulated to everyone who took part in this meeting. Moreover, the players involved -- including the Prime Minister and members of his cabinet -- have been given numerous opportunities to refutte or clarify any of the memo's contents. None of them have done so.

Third, your statement regarding Saddam's possession and use of WMDs is misleading. The factual content is true, but you make it sound like it just happened -- in fact, it happened during the Reagan administration, and not only did the United States take no action to stop him, we actually sent Donald Rumsfeld over to THANK him for it!

I'm afraid that, based on your email, it is not the DSM's credibility that I would call into question, but yours. I urge you to look over the facts once more. I realize that you are undoubtedly under enormous pressure from your party, as well as your own sense of identity as a Republican, to simply bury this under the rug, but please do not do so. This country cannot stay strong under incompetent leadership, and a public discourse must be held as to whether the current administration qualifies. You do no service to this country, or to your constituents, by simply rehashing GOP/Fox News talking points. I beg you to re-examine your position.

Sincerely,

[RobbinsdaleDem]

13. He's my senator, too.

How did we get such a sleaze ball here in Minnesota?