[Mb-civic] What Harry Reid said in the Senate today

[Mha Atma Khalsa]

http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3689


Mr. Reid:

 Thank you very much, Mr. President. Just a couple of
days ago, my son Lief called me and indicated that his
lovely wife Amber was going to have another baby. That
will be my --? our 16th grandchild. Mr. President, I
have thought about that, and I have to say that I've
been in public service a long time.

 Never have I been so concerned about our country. We
have gas prices that are really unbelievable. This
year they've been over $3 in the state of Nevada.
Diesel fuel is still over $3 a gallon in Nevada. The
majority leader of the House of Representatives is
under indictment. The man in charge of contracting for
the federal government under indictment.

Deficits, Mr. President, so far you can't see them.
The deficits have been basically run up by President
Bush's Administration these last five years. We're the
wealthiest nation in the world but we are very poor as
it relates to health care. We have an intractable war
in Iraq. Is it any wonder that I'm concerned about my
family, my grandchildren

This past weekend, we witnessed the indictment of L.
Lewis Libby, the Vice President's chief of staff, also
on the President's staff, a senior advisor to the
President. Mr. Libby is the first sitting white House
staffer to be indicted in 135 years. Is it any wonder,
Mr. President, that i'm concerned about my
grandchildren?

This indictment raises very serious charges. It
asserts this Administration engaged in actions that
both harmed our national security and were morally
repugnant. The decision made to place united states
soldiers, our military into harm's way I believe is
the most significant responsibility the constitution
vests in the Congress and in the President. The Libby
indictment  provides a window into what this is really
all about, how this Administration manufactured and
manipulated Intelligence in order to sell the war in
Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to
challenge its actions.

Mr. President, these are not just words from Harry
Reid. Larry Wilkerson, Colonel Larry Wilkerson, Colin
Powell's former chief of staff -- Colin Powell, of
course, was Secretary of State. This man was his chief
of staff for four years. Here's what he said about the
war in Iraq.

    "In President Bush's first term, some of the most
important decisions about U.S. National security,
including vital decisions about post-war Iraq, were
made by a secretive, little-known cabal, was made up
of a very small group of people led by Vice President
Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But
the secret process was ultimately a failure. It
produced a series of disastrous decisions."

That's what I'm here to talk about today, Mr.
President. As a result of its improper conduct, a
cloud now hangs over this Administration. This cloud
is further darkened by the Administration's mistakes
in prisoner abuse, hurricane Katrina, and the cronyism
and corruption in numerous agencies throughout this
Administration.

And unfortunately, it must be that said a cloud also
hangs over this Republican-controlled Congress for its
unwillingness to hold this Republican Administration
accountable for its misdeeds on these issues. During
the time that we had a Democratic President, eight
years, and when the Democrats were in charge of the
Committees, we were in the majority, oversight
hearings were held covering the gamut of what went on
in this Administration -- that Administration. Today
there is not an oversight hearing held on anything.

Let's take a look at back how we got here with respect
to Iraq. The record will show that within hours of the
terrorist acts of 9/11, senior officials in this
Administration recognized those attacks could be used
as a pretext to invade Iraq. The record will also show
that in the months and years after 9/11, the
Administration engaged in a pattern of manipulation of
the facts and retribution against anyone who got in
its way as it made its case for attacking, for
invading Iraq.

There are numerous examples of how the Administration
misstated and manipulated the facts as it made the
case for war. The Administration’s statements on
Saddam's alleged nuclear weapons capabilities and ties
with Al Qaeda represent the best examples how it
consistently and repeatedly manipulated the facts. The
America people were warned time and time again by the
President, the Vice President, the current Secretary
of State and their other capacities about Saddam's
nuclear weapons capabilities. The Vice President said
-- and I quote --

    "Iraq has reconstituted its nuclear programs,"


Playing upon the fears of Americas after September 11,
these officials and others raised the specter that
left unchecked, Saddam could soon attack America with
nuclear weapons.

Obviously we know now that their nuclear claims were
wholly inaccurate. But more troubling is the fact that
a lot of Intelligence experts were telling the
Administration then that its claims about Saddam's
nuclear capabilities were false. The situation is very
similar with respect to Saddam's links to Al Qaeda.
The Vice President told the America people -- I quote
again –

    "...we know he's out trying once again to produce
nuclear weapons and we know he has a long-standing
relationship with various terrorist groups, including
the al qaeda organization."

These assertions have been totally discredited, not a
little bit, totally discredited. But again, the
Administration went ahead with these assertions in
spite of the fact that the government's top experts
did not agree with these claims.

Again, Wilkerson is a person in point. What has been
the response of this Republican-controlled Congress to
the Administration's manipulation of Intelligence that
led to this protracted war in Iraq nothing. Did the
Republican-controlled Congress carry out its
constitutional obligations to conduct oversight no.
Did it support our troops and their families by
providing them the answers to many important questions
No. Did it even attempt to force this Administration
to answer the most basic questions about its behavior?
No.

Unfortunately, the unwillingness of the
Republican-controlled Congress to exercise its
oversight responsibilities is not is not limited to
just Iraq. We see it with respect to the prison abuse
scandal. We see it with respect to Katrina, and we see
it with respect to the cronyism and corruption that
permeates this Administration.

Time and time again, this Republican-controlled
Congress has consistently chosen to put its political
interests ahead of our national security. They have
repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican
Administration rather than to get to the bottom of
what happened and why it happened.

There's also another disturbing pattern, namely, about
how this Administration responded to those who
challenged its assertions. Often this Administration
has actively sought to attack and undercut those who
dared to raise questions about its preferred course.
For example, when General Shinseki indicated several
hundred thousand troops would be needed in Iraq, his
military career was ended -- fired, relieved of duty
when he out its inspectors.

When Nobel prize winner and head of the IAEA raised
questions about the Administration's claims of
Saddam's nuclear capabilities, the Administration
attempted to remove him from his post.

When ambassador Joe Wilson stated that there was an
attempt by Saddam -- no attempt by Saddam to acquire
weapons from Niger, the Administration not only went
after him to discredit him, they launched a vicious
and coordinated campaign, going so far as to expose
the fact that his wife worked as a C.I.A. spy.
These people are now having 24-hour protection fearing
for their own safety.

Given this Administration's pattern of squashing those
who challenge its misstatements, and I've only
mentioned a few, what has been the response of the
Republican-controlled Congress?

Absolutely nothing. And where with their inactions
they provide political cover for this Administration
at the same time they keep the truth from our troops
who continue to make large sacrifices in Iraq. Now
everyone may think that the troops in Iraq are 100%
Republican.

I've made a friend. He's a Marine. He was over in Iraq
when the elections were held ten months ago. He said
where he was and he never even went to the bathroom
without a rifle, wherever he was in his duty all over
this area, he said he couldn't find anyone that was
happy with the way the elections turned out.


They, the Republicans, do anything they can to keep
the truth from people like my Marine friend. This
behavior -- I would give you his name -- this behavior
is unacceptable. The toll in Iraq is as staggering as
it is solemn. More than 2,000 -- 2,025 now --
Americans have lost their lives. Over 90 Americans
have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the month of
October alone, the fourth deadliest month in this
going-on-three-year war. More than 15,000 have been
wounded. More than 150,000 remain over there in harm's
way. Enormous sacrifices have been made and continue
to be made.

Mr. President, we've had soldiers and Marines from
Nevada killed, from Eli, from Las Vegas, from
Henderson, from Boulder City, from Tonapaw. Every time
one of these deaths occur, it's a dagger in the heart
of that community. This behavior is unacceptable.

I'm a patient man, Mr. President. I'm a legislator and
I know things don't happen over night. I'm a patient
man but the call from my son has put this in
perspective. I'm worried about my family. The toll in
Iraq is as staggering as, I repeat, it is solemn.

The troops have a right to expect answers and
accountability worthy of that sacrifice. For example,
more than 40 Democrats wrote a substantive and
detailed letter to the President canning -- asking
four basic questions about this Administration's Iraq
policy, and we received, Mr. President, -- we received
a four-sentence fence that is response:

    "Thank you for your letter to the President
expressing your concerns with Iraq. I've shared your
letter with the appropriate Administration officials."

     --Remember we wrote it to the President --
    "and agencies responsible in this area. Please be
assured your letter is receiving the attention it
deserves. Thank you for your compliments, Candy Wolf."

That's the letter the Senators of the United States
wrote to the President of the its body and we get a
letter from Candy Wolf saying,

    “Thanks, we're working on it.”


America deserves better than this. They also deserve a
searching and comprehensive investigation into how the
Bush Administration brought this country to war.

Key questions that need to be answered include:

~~How did the Bush Administration assemble its case
for war against Iraq? We heard what Colonel Wilkerson
said.

~~Who did the Bush Administration officials listen to
and ignore?
How did the senior Bush Administration officials
manipulate or manufacture Intelligence presented to
the Congress or the American people?

~~What was the role of the White House Iraq Group, a
group of senior White House officials, tasked with
marketing the war and taking down its critics?  We
know what Colonel Wilkerson says.

~~How did the Administration coordinate its efforts to
attack individuals who dared to challenge the
Administration's assertions? We know what happened to
them. I listed a few.

~~Why has this Administration failed to provide
Congress with the documents that would shed light on
their misconduct and the misstatements?

Unfortunately, the Senate Committee that should be
taking the lead in providing these answers is not.

Despite the fact that the Chairman of the Senate
Intelligence Committee publicly committed to examine
these questions more than a year and a half ago, he
has chosen not to keep that commitment.

Despite the fact that he's restated the commitment
earlier this year on national television, he has still
done nothing except assemble a few quotes from
Democratic and Republican Senators going back to the
first Iraq war.

We need a thorough investigation that that Committee
is capable and tasked to do. At this point, we can
only conclude he will continue to put politics ahead
of our national security. If he does anything at this
point, I suspect it will be playing political games by
producing an analysis that files any of these
important questions.

Instead, if history is any guide, this analysis will
attempt to disperse and deflect blame away from this
Administration. Key facts about the Intelligence --

  a Senator: Would the Senator yield for a question.

 Mr. Reid:

Key facts

June 4, 2003, Intelligence Committee commits to
bipartisan review of the deeply flawed Intelligence in
Iraq's w.m.d.
Phase one.

February 12, 2004, Intelligence Committee commits to
Phase 2, an investigation looking at five areas
including whether the Administration exaggerate and
manipulated [unintelligible].

July 9, 2004, Committee publishes phase one report on
the Intelligence agencies mistakes on Iraq. Senator
Rockefeller says publicly that phase two is as yet
unbegun. Republican Chairman Roberts says it is one of
my top priorities.

July 11 on Meet the Press, Republican Chairman Roberts
says, “Even as I'm speaking our staff is working
on phase two and we'll get it done.”

Fall of 2004, House Intelligence Committee, after no
follow through on the Iraq w.m.d. Investigation, the
House announced on May 2003, “No final
report.”

Republican Committee Chairman Peter Goss is selected
to C.I.A. Director. Regarding the question of vetting
the Valerie Plame leak, Goss said,

“Show me a blue dress and some DNA and I'll give
you an investigation.”

End of quote.

November, 2004, we had the Presidential election.

March 2005, President's hand-picked w.m.d.
Intelligence Committee says the Intelligence agencies
got the Intelligence dead wrong, but says that under
the President's terms of reference we are not
authorized to investigate how policy-makers used the
Intelligence assessments they received from the
Intelligence community.

March 31, 2005, Senator Roberts says it would be
monumental waste of time to replow this ground any
further replow
April 10, 2005, "Meet the Press" Senator Roberts
commits to Tim Russert that the review will get done.

September 2005, Committee Democrats file additional
views to their authorization bill blasting the
Committee for failing to conduct phase two. There have
been letters written to the Committee, a press release
was issued even saying that they were going to go
forward with this. Mr. President, enough Time has gone
by. I demand on behalf of the America people that we
understand why these investigations aren't being
conducted, and in accordance with rule 21, i now move
that senate go into closed session.

Mr. Durbin: Mr. President, I second the motion.

The presiding officer: The motion has been made to
closed session. The chair pursuant to rule 21 directs
the sergeant at arms to clear all galleries, clear all
doors of the Senate Chamber and exclude from the
chamber and its immediate corridors all employees and
officials of this senate who under the rule are not
eligible to attend the closed session and are not
sworn to secrecy. The question is nondebatable.





		
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