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Edited on Sat Sep-08-07 06:54 PM by sandnsea
April 18 2003
Re: Request for Congressional Inquiry
Dear Congressman DeFazio:
In light of events and evidence arising from the Iraq military action, I am writing to request a Congressional Inquiry into the core rationale and motives for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Questions regarding this military action are beginning to rise from many quarters, including the Labour Party in Britain. Lindsay Hoyle, the Labour MP for Chorley, recently stated "We were led to believe that the Iraqis could fire them within 45 minutes. If that was the case where have they vanished to? We were told there was hard evidence." In fact, it is not whether weapons have vanished; but rather, the extent to which hard evidence has proven accurate or useful in the securing of weapons stockpiles and factories. The national interest demands and requires a moral and legal standard of scrutiny be applied to any and all material and testimony presented to Congress. A complete lack of correlation between the pre-war intelligence and the post-war identification of weapons stockpiles and production facilities compels Congress to examine the quality and accuracy of information provided to it as a basis for The Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq.
Senator Rockefeller has requested an FBI investigation of the forged Niger documents. Rep. Shays has convened a hearing regarding the health exams required by Public Law 105-85. Reps. Dingell and Waxman asked GAO to investigate Defense Department contracts awarded to Halliburton over the past two years and to review the process by which the Administration has signed or intends to sign contracts with private firms for development work in Iraq. The U.N. has launched an investigation into spying by the United States. With more unanswered questions than before the war, perhaps an efficient investigative course could combine all pertinent issues into a joint session venue.
1. On Sept 7, President Bush stated “the IAEA, that they were six months away from developing a weapon. I don't know what more evidence we need.” However, in his address to the UN, just six days later, he stated, “Iraq continues to withhold important information about its nuclear program… It retains physical infrastructure needed to build a nuclear weapon…. Should Iraq acquire fissile material, it would be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year.” On Dec 12, Ari Fleischer omits nuclear weapons accusations, stating, “you've heard the President say repeatedly that he has chemical and biological weapons.” What did the intelligence truly show regarding the existence of weapons and an imminent threat from Iraq?
2. Various documents and testimony were provided to Congress, the American People and the UN that were later shown to be suspect, misleading or completely false. Appearing before the UN on September 12, 2002, Pres. Bush stated "several attempts to buy-high-strength aluminum tubes used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.” This information was refuted by numerous scientists; in addition to the IAEA on February 7 and March 7. Secy Powell testified to the UN "Iraq is trying to procure uranium," and National Security Advisor Rice wrote in the New York Times regarding “Iraq's efforts to get uranium from abroad.” As we know, this information was found to originate from forged documents. On September 26, 2002, Ms. Rice stated “There clearly are contacts between al Qaeda and Iraq that can be documented.” On October 7, 2002, the CIA sent a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee stating, “Our understanding of the relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda is evolving and is based on sources of varying reliability” which clearly indicates a lack of evidence regarding an al Qaeda – Iraq link. Did Cabinet members violate 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001 with materially false and fraudulent statements and documents, or attempt to conceal or cover up material facts with tricks and schemes? Did Congress unknowingly rely on suspect testimony and reports when enacting Law 107-243?
3. On October 8, 2002, Assistant Secretary of Defense Clarke presented the DoD’s report, Denial and Deception, which described Iraq “operations that are very organized, that are very comprehensive and clearly intended to hide Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.” Again, this is in direct opposition to Secy Rumsfeld’s statement of March 30, “We know where they are, they (WMD) are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad.” This also conflicts with President Bush’s statement in the State of the Union “hidden materials across a country the size of California” and Mr. Wolfowitz’s statement of January 23, 2003 “It is quite unreasonable to expect a few hundred inspectors to search every potential hiding place in a country the size of France..”. To what extent was the media used to intentionally transform intelligence of denial into intelligence of possession of weapons and perpetrate a fraud against the American people?
4. On March 13, 2002, President Bush stated “Under UN Resolutions 678 and 687 - both still in effect - we are authorized to use force in ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.” Article 42 of the UN Charters states that the Security Council determines “action by air, sea or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.” On March 20, Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched, in contempt of the UN Charter and hence the Constitution. On March 21, 2002, President Bush thanked Congress for its support on “…the war to liberate Iraq and to remove weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq proceeds” and, according to the White House web site, to “liberate the Iraqi people from one of the worst tyrants and most brutal regimes on earth.” Did Congress authorize military action to liberate the people of Iraq? Was the military action by President Bush against Iraq within the sense of the Congress when authorizing the enforcement of U.N. Security Council Resolutions or defense of the National Security of the United States?
5. It is the highest duty of the Joint Chiefs, Secretary of Defense and the President to protect the troops. As reported in the Los Angeles Times on March 8, 2003, “<Senator Levin> warned of a ‘nightmare scenario’ if U.S. troops are attacked with weapons of mass destruction from sites that could have been inspected had the CIA shared information.” While Iraqi oil fields and oil production facilities were immediately secured, our Marines were offered chickens according to a March 2, 2003 report in the San Jose Mercury News. “’They will be like the proverbial canary in the coal mine,’ said Lt. Col. Rob Abbott, commander of the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion from Camp Pendleton, Calif… Unfortunately, all but one of the chickens in the first shipment died within the first week.” In addition, WMD stockpiles and production facilities were left unguarded with looting at the Baghdad Central Public Health Laboratory and as many as 7 nuclear facilities including Al Furat, Al Tuwaitha, Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility. Did all available intelligence, including ground SpecialOps, not identify any KNOWN stockpile or active facility; or was the disregard of these locations a failure in protecting our troops and civilian Iraqis on the part of the Joint Chiefs, General Franks, Secy Rumsfeld, and President Bush? In addition, was there a similar failure to protect hospitals in violation of Article 18 of the Geneva Convention (IV) and 18 U.S.C. §§ 2441 and a reckless disregard in protecting the Iraqi National Museum in consideration of the high regard placed on cultural property as evidenced by the ratification of the 1970 UNESCO Convention?
Enclosed is an Addendum of resources and statements for additional assessment of the need for a Congressional Inquiry. I appreciate the tremendous efforts you have made on behalf of those of us in Lane County, as well as other like-minded Americans, who are concerned about the first pre-emptive strike in U.S. history. Our nation is treading precarious waters and while much is murky, this is clear: a public evaluation of the data that was used as a pretext for this war is vital to informed decisions for the future of our nation and indeed the world.
Respectfully,
ME
cc:
Senator John D. Rockefeller
Representative Jane Harman
Senator Bob Graham
Senator Carl Levin
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