Petition Time
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Ok, its a bit late but better late than never, check out and support Barbara Boxer.
http://ga4.org/campaign/ricehearings/step1.tcl
Barbara plans on asking the Condi Rice why she lied about the Saddam/Bin Laden connection and why we were not better prepared for an attack. We all know Condi will be confirmed but it would be nice to actually have some answers from this administration for a change.
from www.dailykos.com
This is an excerpt of Barbara's opening statement for the hearings.
It is my hope that today, we will have a candid discussion, Dr. Rice, because I believe it is crucial that a Secretary of State speak openly and honestly with the American people and with Congress. Frankly, this issue of candor is where my concern lies.
Since 9/11, we have been engaged in a just fight against terrorism. I voted to use force against Osama bin Laden and the terrorists in Afghanistan, and I assumed that we would focus on that challenge, not stopping until we got bin Laden, dead or alive, and broke the back of al Qaeda.
However, instead, with you in a lead role Dr. Rice, we went into Iraq. I want to read you one paragraph that best expresses my views, and the views of millions of Californians, on the impact of the Iraqi war on the war against terrorism. It was written by one of the world's experts on terrorism and foreign policy, Peter Bergen, five months ago.
He wrote:
"What we have done in Iraq is what bin Laden could not have hoped for in his wildest dreams: We invaded an oil-rich Muslim nation in the heart of the Middle East, the very type of imperial adventure that bin Laden has long predicted was the United States' long-term goal in the region. We deposed the secular socialist Saddam, whom bin Laden has long despised, ignited Sunni and Shia fundamentalist fervor in Iraq, and have now provoked a "defensive" jihad that has galvanized jihad-minded Muslims around the world. It's hard to imagine a set of policies better designed to sabotage the war on terrorism."
This conclusion was reiterated last Thursday by the National Intelligence Council, the CIA Director's think tank, which released a report saying that Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation of "professionalized" terrorists. NIC Chairman Robert L. Hutchings said that Iraq is "a magnet for international terrorist activity."
These quotations are significant to this hearing, Dr. Rice, because as a major proponent and spokesperson for the war in Iraq, and as someone who was asked by the President to make the case for this war to the American people, and as the person in charge of the reconstruction effort- you have many questions to answer to the American people.
This war was sold to the American people- as Chief of Staff to President Bush, Andy Card said-like a "new product." You rolled out the idea and then you had to convince the people, and as you made your case, I personally believe that your loyalty to the mission you were given overwhelmed your respect for the truth. That was a great disservice to the American people.
But worse than that, our young men and women are dying. So far, 1342 American troops have been killed in Iraq. More than 25 percent of those troops were from California. More than 10,000 have been wounded. I don't want their families to think for a minute that their lives and bodies were given in vain. Because when your commander in chief asks you to sacrifice yourself for your country, it is noble to answer the call. I am giving their families all the support that they want and need, but I will also not shrink from questioning a war that was not built on the truth.
Posted by mardenhill 1/18/2005 11:35:00 AM
Condi 08
Bulick