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June 5, 2008

Whitehouse: Report shows Bush misled nation on Iraq

WASHINGTON -- A new Senate report debunking the Bush administration’s pre-war claims about the threat from Iraq underlines "a disturbing pattern’’ of twisting the facts about important domestic and national defense issues, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse charged today.

In a Senate floor speech and at a news conference later in the Capitol, the Rhode Island Democrat said President Bush and his national security leaders "misled this country into a war that never should have been fought.’’

Whitehouse joined other members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in speaking out on the panel’s new report, which scrutinizes several of the administration’s claims about the Iraqi dictatorship’s purported weapons-making ability and links to terrorists and the possibility of establishing a friendly Iraqi democracy in its place.

The report generally finds that the administration’s claims went beyond the findings of its own intelligence establishment and in some cases ignored intelligence that did not support its case for invading Iraq.

Whitehouse said the administration chose to set aside evidence that "did not conform to its preordained view of the world.’’

-- John Mulligan of the Journal Washington Bureau

During the news conference, Whitehouse said the pre-war intelligence claims were part of a pattern echoed later in the firings of several U.S. attorneys for political reasons and in what he portrayed as the official manipulation of scientific evidence about key environmental
issues.

Such twisting of facts "rots the sinews of our democracy,’’ Whitehouse said.

The panel released two documents: One related to the "public statements," or claims, made by the government, and the other addresses more alleged wrongs in marshaling of evidence.

The report had a bipartisan cast because two committee Republicans, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, joined the Democrats in voting to accept its conclusions

But most of the Intelligence Committee Republicans joined in a dissenting view of pre-war intelligence – and of the majority’s conclusions. Missouri Sen. Christopher Bond, the panel’s ranking Republican, wrote that the new report "confirmed our early suspicions’’ that the committee’s investigation was "a partisan exercise.’’

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said there was little news in the report on Saddam Hussein and his weapons programs. "We had the intelligence that we had, it was fully vetted and it was wrong,’’ she said, reiterating the administration's regret over the mistakes.

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 2:09 PM | Permalink

Comments

So why is this twit still our president?

m | June 5, 2008 2:24 PM link

Because Democrats are worse, and when it comes time to step into the voting booth, Americans remember that.

EMT | June 5, 2008 2:43 PM link

Sheldon, nobody cares about your partisan politics and water boarding crusade, please concentrate on the real problems affecting this Country, gas and oil prices, the mortgage crisis. The Senate has a lower approval rating than the President, this is a perfect example of why that is the case.

paul | June 5, 2008 2:43 PM link

Senmator Whitehouse keep on speaking the truth, maybe it will filter down to Nancy Pelosi. She has the power to do something and this upcoming election is not going to cure the problems that this corrupt Administration has bestowed on so many Americans and this country. Impeachment is the cure for the disease.

A. Douglas | June 5, 2008 3:01 PM link

I deplore people misleading others for personal gain. This truly upsets me. We have lost so many in this "war on terror". May their families be comforted in this discovery.

Cheryl Hetherington | June 5, 2008 3:31 PM link

Go for it Senator. The invasion of Iraq was a big joke. Look at how many notches Bush has in his belt for the American lives lost needlessly.

Grant Davis | June 5, 2008 5:12 PM link

Sheldon, you sound like a shill for the Democrat Party. It is so obvious that this is completely a partisan exercise. All the Democratic Leaders had privy to the all the intelligence and voted to go in Iraq. They were all behind the war until it went longer than anyone expected. There is a saying. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" It seems with Sheldon, the saying is "When the going gets tough, I, and the rest of my friends choose to quit."
Read about the Civil War and you will see that the "Peace Democrats", the Chamberlains of their time, sounded like the present time Democratic cheerleaders.
In the rest of the world, President Bush is looked at as a very strong, tough, consistent leader. The opportunity to get a democratic presence in the Middle East is so possible right now, and so huge, that we need more than cheerleaders representing R.I.

Jim | June 5, 2008 5:29 PM link

Gee,when a nonpartisan person, such as SW, brings something to our attention we had better take it seriously. He would never let party affiliation affect his quest for truth, justice and the American way.

He is like a wind-up doll with a voice module approved by the Democratic National Committee. One good thing about his senatorial victory--it keeps him out of our lives here in RI.

arthur | June 5, 2008 6:57 PM link

So just because a democrat and 2 repubs up for re-election state their opinion, then we are supposed to fall down and impeach a president who did a much better job than Gore or Kerry or any other Lib would have done given the challenges he faced? Gimme a break. The next article in Projo talks about the horrid graduation rate in the state. Any link to this nonsense you think? Yeah, I thought so. Barack Hussein will make us all see what real failure means if god forbid he is elected.

Brian | June 5, 2008 9:09 PM link

The Bush-Cheney regieme have all but destroyed democracy in our country. I only fear that in the seven months that we still have to endure them they will start yet another war. God save the USA

Henry Schwarz | June 5, 2008 10:05 PM link

It amazes me how people still back the current administration. One comment was that the democrats are worse. Hmmm, at the end of Clinton's presidency this country had a surplus and most of us were better off than when he started. In comes this idiot and not only does he give away the entire surplus, this administration has got us so far into debt my grandson will be an adult before we can ever straighten it out. We’ve lost thousands of our kids in a war our president lied about to get us there and fuel prices are through the roof (what a surprise with two oil men running the country). McCain has no problem keeping our troops in harm’s way for the next 100 years, so what the heck, let’s continue on the current path.

ml | June 6, 2008 7:35 AM link

ML,
If Bush lied, he'd be impeached by now, by your crazy, nutty Democrat Party. Look at the historical record, before uttering your lefty nonsense. France, Germany, and England believed he had WMD, not just us. You and Mr. Schwarz should be thankful neither Gore or Kerry got elected, as we'd be speaking Arabic now, for all that Clinton and the appeasers have done to thwart the Islamo-fascist menace. Let us know in your next posts, what's it's like to live in your dreamworld, where reality is only a distant thought.

Hickok | June 6, 2008 9:09 AM link

The Democrats keep whining about the president, but THEY control the House and Senate, so they are equally responsible for the mess we're in. God help America if a dem gets elected to the presidency! But then, who would they blame then?

Tom | June 6, 2008 9:58 AM link

Hickok,
Talk about living in a dream world! You really think we would be speaking Arabic now if it weren’t for Bush?? You can't possibly be serious. Were you really dumb enough to believe Iraq was a threat to our mainland?! I admit, in this day and age we need to be more cautious in our daily lives thanks to a bunch of fanatics (and I sure as heck don't mean Iraq), but with paranoia like yours, our kids are in for a bad time of it when they grow up. And by the way, are you better off since Bush took over? Other than people with a lot invested in oil, most average Americans are worse off than they were 8 years ago, but hey, that has nothing to do with two idiots in the white house now, right? You really are scary.

ml | June 6, 2008 10:41 AM link

M.L.,
"Scary" most pertains to people who believe negotiations will calm these Islamo-Fascists down. People like yourself, Gore, Kerry and your new hero Obama. Your old hero, Clinton, did nothing after the Cole attack, Khobar Towers, the African Embassy Bombings and the First World Trade Center Attacks. That's right, NOTHING !!! So these filthy people were emboldened, and attacked again. How many attacks have we had here since 9/11? That's correct, genius, zero. There is no doubt that we would have seen many cities in flames if your appeasing Neville Chamberlain types had been elected. So vote for Obama, and we can have a cultural exchange program with Iran, and sing Kumbaya around the campfire.

Hickok | June 6, 2008 11:10 AM link

Hickok,
It's funny how you avoid certain subjects, while calling people who disagree with you names. If the country is doing well, it's always the republican president who gets the credit. But if the country is doing bad, it's never the republican president, but the democratic congress who’s at fault. You can't keep changing your reasoning to suit your current dilemma. (You do represent your party well though.) So you agree that our kids should be dying in Iraq? I'm sure that's keeping us safe from that menacing country. You also didn't mention if you and your family are better off now than before Bush. I don't admit to being a 'genius', but at least I know when we’re getting screwed.

ml | June 6, 2008 12:11 PM link

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