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Title: Democrats intensify criticism of war, seek White House probe
Source:
Boston Globe
URL Source: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/w ... seek_white_house_probe?mode=PF
Published: Oct 29, 2005
Author: Rick Klein
Post Date: 2005-10-29 04:19:20 by Uncle Bill
Keywords: Democrats, intensify, criticism
Views: 70
Comments: 7
Boston Globe WASHINGTON -- Democrats yesterday used the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's top aide to intensify their criticism of the Bush administration's push for war in Iraq, with calls for congressional probes and an expanded investigation that would look into White House attempts to manipulate intelligence. Senate minority leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said the case raises questions about ''misconduct at the White House" in the run-up to war that must be answered by President Bush directly. ''This case is bigger than the leak of highly classified information," Reid said. "It is about how the Bush White House manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to bolster its case for the war in Iraq and to discredit anyone who dared to challenge the president." The charges cut to the heart of the administration's case for war because of the man they were filed against: I. Lewis ''Scooter" Libby, the vice president's chief of staff and national security adviser. Libby helped lead efforts inside Cheney's office to seek evidence suggesting that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The five-count indictment against Libby stemmed from an apparent effort to discredit a critic of that intelligence, a fact that demands further scrutiny of the actions inside the Bush White House, said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts and a leading critic of the Iraq war. ''This is far more than an indictment of an individual," Kennedy said. ''In effect it's an indictment of the vicious and devious tactics used by the administration to justify a war we never should have fought." Republicans kept their distance from the news. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and majority leader Roy Blunt issued news releases touting Commerce Department figures that suggest strong economic growth, but they were silent on the results of the leak investigation. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican who on Sunday minimized the importance of any indictment that would come on ''some perjury technicality," issued a more measured response yesterday that was typical of the reactions from Republicans. ''Out of respect for our system of justice, everyone needs to take a deep breath and not judge those involved until it has been proven they are anything other than innocent," Hutchison said. Democrats quickly broadened the issue to the war as a whole. A group of 40 House Democrats called on special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald to expand his investigation into the motives behind the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's identity. The top Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, renewed his request for an investigation of the Bush administration's handling of classified information. The leak of Wilson's name -- which prompted the investigation that ensnared Libby -- raises important questions about who has access to sensitive information and how such information is guarded internally, Waxman said. ''It goes to the question of how the administration is handling classified information," he said. ''And it goes into questions of how we got into the war in Iraq." Libby's indictment was handed up amid a torrent of problems for the Republican Party. Gas prices remain near record highs. The death toll of US forces in Iraq just passed the 2,000 mark. The president's choice for the Supreme Court was forced to step aside because of a conservative backlash. Bush continues to face criticism for his handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the former House majority leader, is under indictment in an alleged campaign finance scheme, and Senate majority leader Bill Frist of Tennessee is under investigation in a possible insider-trading case. Democrats hope to take advantage of those troubles in next year's congressional elections. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, called the indictment ''another chapter in the Republicans' culture of corruption," and senators including John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and Jack Reed of Rhode Island likened the Bush White House's punishing of critics to that of President Nixon. But some Democrats were cautious about scoring political points in a case with national security implications. ''I don't think it requires a political interpretation," said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. ''It speaks for itself." The administration's use of prewar intelligence has long been a point of contention between the White House and Democrats in Congress. The Senate Intelligence Committee promised to conduct an investigation into that matter after last year's presidential election, but Senate leaders have rebuffed Democrats' requests to start the investigation. Libby's indictment was a reminder of the need to get to the bottom of alleged efforts by the administration to manipulate intelligence, said Representative John F. Tierney, a Salem Democrat who serves on the House intelligence committee. ''There was a strong proclivity on the part of the White House to try to fashion the intelligence to fit their already-drawn conclusions," Tierney said. ''It plays right into what happened here. It looks like there was an effort to make sure nobody delved too deeply into what the White House was doing."
Democrats intensify criticism of war,
seek White House probe
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff
October 29, 2005
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#1. To: Uncle Bill (#0)
I just saw a Greenspan's wife on Conan saying "This is realy a big deal". LOL
CNN coverage is vicious
They're alluding to "Scooter's" connection to PNAC on CNN Headline News.
Hi valis. Good!
Senate minority leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said the case raises questions about ''misconduct at the White House" in the run-up to war that must be answered by President Bush directly. Gee. It's about fucking time.
Yawn, biggest bunch of limpdicked, spineless, ballless, no backbone pukes who went along with the war until it went really bad. Bastards were Bush's Blowjob queens thru 2002, never advocated any strategy different from Dubya's, went along with his asininely formulated war on a fucking tactic, expected Fitzie to do their job for them, were/are too scared to confront Bush, and now they're gonna get serious? Fuck 'em. Slimy cocksuckers. Cowards.
"I want the American people to know that our dreams are gone, our work was in vain. There will be no future for our children and our grandchildren in the new Iraq. The future is for the clerics. This is not the democracy we dreamed of. "--Dr. Raja Kuzai
Arianna Huffington Thu Oct 27, 1:43 PM ET With Plamegate dominating the day, the table is set for the Democratic Party to seize the moment. The scandal has reignited a national debate about the White House lies and deceptions that led us to war in Iraq, public support for the president’s handling of the war has hit an all-time low, and the 2,000th soldier killed in action has put the human cost of the war back on page one. So how have the Democrats reacted? You be the grand jury (Warning: have some Xanax or other suitable anti- depressant handy): Exhibit A is the story NPR ran on Tuesday in which Senate Dems were asked if they regretted their votes to authorize the war in Iraq. Ben Nelson was among those who defended his vote, saying, “You just don’t look back.” Really? Why not? Afraid you might actually learn something from your mistakes, Senator? Hillary Clinton refused to even address the question, telling reporter David Welna, “I really can’t talk about this on the fly, it’s too important”. As with everything Hillary says and does these days, you could hear her and her consultants doing the math: Expressing regret = too soft for the Oval Office. Continuing to express support of the administration’s Iraq policy = risking being overtaken by the post-Plamegate reassessment of the war. (So would offering a glowing assessment of progress in Iraq, as Clinton did during her visit there in February when she explained that suicide bombers are “an indication” of the “failure” of the insurgency, and that much of Iraq was “functioning quite well”). Clinton and Nelson should get a copy of the NPR segment and listen to the responses of Sens. Dodd, Feinstein, Rockefeller, and Harkin who all said they would not have voted the way they did. They should also listen to the speech John Kerry gave today in which he said that “knowing what we know now” he would not have voted to give the administration the authority to go to war. Exhibit B was Chuck Schumer’s disheartening appearance on Meet the Press last Sunday. When Tim Russert asked him if he regretted having voted for the war, Schumer replied: “No, Tim, because my vote was seen -- and I still see it -- as a need to say we must fight a strong and active war on terror” (a ludicrous response he echoed on NPR). The senior senator from New York really ought to have gotten the memo by now that the Iraq-al Qaeda connection was just a Bush fantasy. Until we invaded Iraq, that is. And far from leading to “a strong and active war on terror”, his vote has helped turned Iraq into a breeding ground for terrorists while making us far less safe here at home. Exhibit C was the report I got from the intimate Democratic strategy session held at Ron Burkle’s house in Los Angeles to discuss the Dems’ need for a united message. Those present included Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid’s chief of staff, Susan McCue, pollster Doug Shoen, Haim Saban, Rob Reiner, Steve Bing, and Warren Beatty. Among the highlights was the Hollywood unveiling of the Dems’ new slogan -- “America Can Do Better” -- a soulless and vacuous phrase that sums up a party that’s become pathologically risk-averse. The discussion also included the latest report from Democracy Corps, run by James Carville and Stan Greenberg, which is calling for an agenda focused on “heath care, education and energy, followed by a top end tax cut repeal and homeland security”. In other words, let’s party like it’s 2004! [snip]
#2. To: Uncle Bill (#0)
#3. To: All (#2)
#4. To: valis (#3)
#5. To: Uncle Bill (#0)
Democrats yesterday used the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's top aide to intensify their criticism of the Bush administration's push for war in Iraq, with calls for congressional probes and an expanded investigation that would look into White House attempts to manipulate intelligence.
#6. To: Uncle Bill (#0)
#7. To: swarthyguy (#6)
limpdicked, spineless, ballless, no backbone pukes who went along with the war until it went really bad
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