Sen. Kerry has formally weighed in on the DSM controversy, asking the Senate Intelligence Committee to conduct a long overdue investigation into manipulation of intelligence. He was joined by Senators Johnson, Corzine, Reed, Lautenberg, Boxer, Kennedy, Harkin, Bingaman, and Durbin. Their letter asks the Committee to complete its review of the misuse of intelligence by policymakers and specifically mentions the DSM. The letter observes in pertinent part:
"The committee's efforts have taken on renewed urgency given recent revelations in the United Kingdom regarding the apparent minutes of a July 23, 2002, meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and his senior national security advisors. These minutes-known as the 'Downing Street Memo'-raise troubling questions about the use of intelligence by American policy makers-questions that your committee is uniquely situated to address. The memo indicates that in the summer of 2002, at a time the White House was promising Congress and the American people that war would be their last resort, that they believed military action against Iraq was 'inevitable.' The minutes reveal that President 'Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.' The American people took the warnings that the administration sounded seriously-warnings that were echoed at the United Nations and here in Congress as we voted to give the president the authority to go to war. For the sake of our democracy and our future national security, the public must know whether such warnings were driven by facts and responsible intelligence, or by political calculation."
In addition to bringing the Senate Democrats into the debate, this letter serves as an important rejoinder to those who would assert that Downing Street is old news and that its charges have been rebutted through reviews by the Senate Intelligence Committee. In point in fact, such a review has never been done. This makes the Administration's stonewalling all the more troubling.
We have one more week in session before the July 4 recess, and I plan to pursue the Downing Street issue through several additonal avenues. I hope to have more for you next week.
June 22, 2005 The Honorable Pat Roberts, Chairman The Honorable John D. Rockefeller, IV, Vice Chairman United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence SH-211 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Roberts and Senator Rockefeller:
We write concerning your committee's vital examination of pre-war Iraq intelligence failures. In particular, we urge you to accelerate to completion the work of the so-called "Phase II" effort to assess how policy makers used the intelligence they received. Last year your committee completed the first phase of a two-phased effort to review the pre-war intelligence on Iraq. Phase I-begun in the summer of 2003 and completed in the summer of 2004-examined the performance of the American intelligence community in the collection and analysis of intelligence prior to the war, including an examination of the quantity and quality of U.S. intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and the intelligence on ties between Saddam Hussein's regime and terrorist groups. At the conclusion of Phase I, your committee issued an unclassified report that made an important contribution to the American public's understanding of the issues involved. In February 2004-well over a year ago-the committee agreed to expand the scope of inquiry to include a second phase which would examine the use of intelligence by policy makers, the comparison of pre-war assessments and post-war findings, the activities of the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group (PCTEG) and the Office of Special Plans in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and the use of information provided by the Iraqi National Congress. The committee's efforts have taken on renewed urgency given recent revelations in the United Kingdom regarding the apparent minutes of a July 23, 2002, meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and his senior national security advisors. These minutes-known as the "Downing Street Memo"-raise troubling questions about the use of intelligence by American policy makers-questions that your committee is uniquely situated to address. The memo indicates that in the summer of 2002, at a time the White House was promising Congress and the American people that war would be their last resort, that they believed military action against Iraq was "inevitable." The minutes reveal that President "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."
The American people took the warnings that the administration sounded seriously-warnings that were echoed at the United Nations and here in Congress as we voted to give the president the authority to go to war. For the sake of our democracy and our future national security, the public must know whether such warnings were driven by facts and responsible intelligence, or by political calculation. These issues need to be addressed with urgency. This remains a dangerous world, with American forces engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other challenges looming in Iran and North Korea. In this environment, the American public should have the highest confidence that policy makers are using intelligence objectively-never manipulating it to justify war, but always to protect the United States. The contents of the Downing Street Memo undermine this faith and only rigorous Congressional oversight can determine the truth. We urge the committee to complete the second phase of its investigation with the maximum speed and transparency possible, producing, as it did at the end of Phase I, a comprehensive, unclassified report from which the American people can benefit directly.
Sincerely,
John Kerry Co-signers: Sens. Tim Johnson, Jon Corzine, Jack Reed, Frank Lautenberg, Barbara Boxer, Edward Kennedy, Thomas Harkin, Jeff Bingaman, Richard Durbin
Krugman
June 24, 2005 The War President By PAUL KRUGMAN VIENNA
In this former imperial capital, every square seems to contain a giant statue of a Habsburg on horseback, posing as a conquering hero. America's founders knew all too well how war appeals to the vanity of rulers and their thirst for glory. That's why they took care to deny presidents the kingly privilege of making war at their own discretion. But after 9/11 President Bush, with obvious relish, declared himself a "war president." And he kept the nation focused on martial matters by morphing the pursuit of Al Qaeda into a war against Saddam Hussein.
In November 2002, Helen Thomas, the veteran White House correspondent, told an audience, "I have never covered a president who actually wanted to go to war" - but she made it clear that Mr. Bush was the exception. And she was right. Leading the nation wrongfully into war strikes at the heart of democracy. It would have been an unprecedented abuse of power even if the war hadn't turned into a military and moral quagmire. And we won't be able to get out of that quagmire until we face up to the reality of how we got in.
Let me talk briefly about what we now know about the decision to invade Iraq, then focus on why it matters. The administration has prevented any official inquiry into whether it hyped the case for war. But there's plenty of circumstantial evidence that it did. And then there's the Downing Street Memo - actually the minutes of a prime minister's meeting in July 2002 - in which the chief of British overseas intelligence briefed his colleagues about his recent trip to Washington. "Bush wanted to remove Saddam," says the memo, "through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and W.M.D. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." It doesn't get much clearer than that.
The U.S. news media largely ignored the memo for five weeks after it was released in The Times of London. Then some asserted that it was "old news" that Mr. Bush wanted war in the summer of 2002, and that W.M.D. were just an excuse. No, it isn't. Media insiders may have suspected as much, but they didn't inform their readers, viewers and listeners. And they have never held Mr. Bush accountable for his repeated declarations that he viewed war as a last resort. Still, some of my colleagues insist that we should let bygones be bygones. The question, they say, is what we do now. But they're wrong: it's crucial that those responsible for the war be held to account.
20. The letter was to the Intelligence Committee and there is not one
Edited on Sat Jun-25-05 10:09 AM by OmmmSweetOmmm
person from that committee who signed.
Here are the Democrats who sit on that committee:
John D. Rockefeller IV West Virginia, Vice Chairman Carl Levin, Michigan Dianne Feinstein, California Ron Wyden, Oregon Evan Bayh, Indiana Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland Jon S. Corzine, New Jersey
The only members of the Foreign Relations Commitee are Senator Kerry and Senator Boxer. The only member of the Intelligence Committee who signed the letter is Senator Corzine.
Members of Intelligence Committee (Democrat)
Rockefeller, Jay (WV), Vice Chairman Levin, Carl (MI) Feinstein, Dianne (CA) Wyden, Ron (OR) Bayh, Evan (IN) Mikulski, Barbara (MD) Corzine, Jon (NJ) Reid, Harry (NV), Ex Officio
Members of Intelligence Committee (Republican)
Roberts, Pat (KS) , Chairman Hatch, Orrin (UT) DeWine, Mike (OH) Bond, Christopher (MO) Lott, Trent (MS) Snowe, Olympia (ME) Hagel, Chuck (NE) Chambliss, Saxby (GA) Warner, John (VA) , Ex Officio Frist, Bill (TN) , Ex Officio
Members of Intelligence Committee who voted against the IWR.
28. Keep up the noice and Let's Get LOUD!! (repost of activist suggestions)
Listen, please:
HERE is my plan.
1. CALL your senator and representative and find out what their position is on the dsm. Ask them, "What has (insert name) done SPECIFICALLY to call for an investigation of if GWB and DC have violated their oaths of office--if indeed they have committed a high crime and misdemeanor. ASK for them to support an investigation because NO PERSON IS ABOVE THE LAW. Do not let them 'hide' from you...tell them you want to know the specifics: have they made any calls? Have they read the dsm? Have they watched John Conyers and the minority forum? Have they made calls to others asking for an investigation.
2. Write down ALL their answers and post them here and at the democracy cell project http://www.democracycellproject.net at kos and atrios and everywhere else too!
3. Write a letter to the editor, giving your congressman's specific responses, PUBLISH their "lies" or their non-answers. They usually attempt to just hide the truth. Don't let them hide and don't let them dodge. Publish the details in your letter and demand accountability.
4. Take a copy of your LTE and fax it to the Senator's or Congressman's office. Deluge the newspapers and the radio shows and the Congressman's offices.
5. Take a copy of your letter and post it at every local business you can. Post it on lights, post it on car windshields. Include the capital's number too.
6. Stand at a busy intersection with a sign...INVESTIGATE THE DOWNING STREET MEMO...CALL CONGRESS TODAY! 202-224-3121!
7. If you live near a college campus, bring the latest information on recruitment numbers and the latest information about private firms soliciting 30 million names, addresses, and grades from 16-25 year olds to give to recruiters. Include the DSM and and ask, "Fight here and now or fight in Iraq later!"
And check out the democracy cell project to get useful hints in writing effective letters to the editor. (Look in the forum under "tool Kits".
Email this to all your activist friends or family.
8. Salon War Room: "Where are the other Democrats?"
Edited on Sat Jun-25-05 09:05 AM by Pirate Smile
"Where are the other Democrats?
For those who have been itching for someone -- the national media, the White House, Congress, anybody -- to take the Downing Street memo seriously, the news today is mostly good: Even if the Republicans will never let it happen, John Kerry and nine other Senate Democrats have actually asked for an investigation that will include the revelations set forth in the Downing Street memo.
And yet -- where are the rest of the Senate Democrats? There are 44 Democrats in the Senate, and Kerry circulated a draft of his letter to the whole lot of them two weeks ago. In the end, he was able to persuade just nine of his colleagues to sign on: Jon Corzine, Tim Johnson, Frank Lautenberg, Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, Tom Harkin, Jack Reed, Jeff Bingaman and Dick Durbin.
Where are you, Harry Reid? Any reason you didn't sign, Sen. Clinton? And while we wouldn't expect to see a signature from someone like Joe Lieberman on this letter, why don't we see your name there, Sen. Obama?
It would be one thing, we suppose, if Kerry's letter were outrageous somehow -- say, if it impugned the patriotism of millions of Americans or suggested their real "motives" were to put U.S. troops in mortal danger. But Kerry's letter isn't like that. It simply quotes passages from the Downing Street memo and highlights the "troubling questions" that they raise.
Is it that you don't think those questions are worth answers, Joe Biden? Or does the experience of Dick Durbin -- who did, after all, sign the Kerry letter -- have you too scared to raise them?
"A few weeks ago, John Kerry vowed to make an issue of the Downing Street memo in the U.S. Senate. And then nothing happened -- or so it seemed.
In fact, Kerry has been working behind the scenes to get some of his Democratic colleagues to join him in calling for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to look into Downing Street, and now it's finally happening. Kerry -- joined by Sens. Jon Corzine, Tim Johnson, Ted Kennnedy, Frank Lautenberg, Barbara Boxer, Tom Harkin, Jack Reed, Jeff Bingaman and, yes, Dick Durbin -- has just written a letter to the committee's chairman and vice chairman, arguing that the revelations contained in the Downing Street memo "raise troubling questions about the use of intelligence" in the run up to the Iraq war and provide "renewed urgency" for the committee to complete an investigation that Republicans have said is no longer necessary. "
2. We should all be urging our Senators to support this!
I am happy to say my fine Senator Boxer is on there....now I'm going to call Dino Di Feinstein and ask her to do so and demand the truth...unless ofcourse she supports the liars.... :eyes:
He seems to have picked up all of his toys and is waiting to go home. I really think, excuse the :tinfoilhat: that he got scared out for some reason. He was showing strength and then whammo--- nothing.
Hey everyone, I'm definitely new here. I'm also happy to say my fine Senator Tom Harkin is doing his job. Personally, I'd be pretty ashamed if no one was representing me on something that was so important to me.
with copies to the managing Editor, Executive Editor and the Editorial Board of the New York Times. (There were a couple of amazing indictments of America with documented proof at the Tribunal hearings today. The Iraqis also said if the Americans left THERE WOULD BE NO CIVIL WAR. The last session will start about violation of International Law in a few minutes.)
Subject: Bouquets and Brickbats
Dear Paul,
Your recent column in the New York Times
The War President By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: June 24, 2005
certainly touches on one side of the story.
However, your US pResident would never have gone to war if the Mainstream Media (MSM) had done its job.
In my humble opinion it was the MSM WHICH DROVE THE AMERICANS TO THIS ILLEGAL WAR.
The American MSM should also be charged with War Crimes. Without their complicity the war would never have taken place.
Please also note how the MSM is brutally absent in covering the "War Tribunal on Iraq" final conference being held in Istanbul, even as I write this email to you.
Such condemnation of the whole of America is being heard by all of us around the world - LIVE. The American MSM may try to hide this from the American people - but it will not work. We are listening and learning despite every effort by the MSM to curb the knowledge spreading.
May I ask you, Paul, how many column inches the New York Times has given to this historic conference vis-à-vis the Terry Schiavo, the runaway bride or the Michael Jackson story?
I am sure the cowardly Editors to whom I addressing a copy this email will bury their heads in the sand like ostriches, which was certainly not the case when THEY were drumming up the case for war against Iraq!!
22. I half-way apologize about Kerry...still would like to see public pressure
Senator Roberts WILL NOT allow "Phase II" to happen before the 2006 elections, and a nice, well-written letter by Kerry with a few signatories asking him to do so WILL NOT make it happen.
I applaud Kerry's letter and partially apologize for my previous posts criticizing his apparent inaction, but I remain FIRM in my conviction that these actions are "all bark and no bite" without conserted public/media pressure. I want to see Kerry (or any other Dem Senator, for that matter) on MTP or any other major media outlet DEMANDING AN INVESTIGATION...not politely asking for it in a letter.
30. That is my only beef too- nothing even in DU's own LBN about this
...the DEMs need to talk about this more- the letters have been written- now it's time for public discourse on the airwaves about this. The "star" DEMs need to start initiating that.
It's all people--dems or republicans. AND anyone who won't join this investigation, we need to PIN the deaths of 1800 (plus) soldiers, the draft, and the illegal war on their shoulders! (2006!!!)
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