Senate IRAQ PRE-WAR INTELLIGENCE Izing War
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 109 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 151 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005 No. 153—Book II Senate IRAQ PRE-WAR INTELLIGENCE izing war. The vote on the resolution Mr. President, I yield the floor. Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, yes- occurred 1 week later, on October 11. Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I terday Vice President CHENEY said Beyond the NIE, the suggestion that spend most of my time with the work elected officials had access to the intel- the Members of Congress have access of the Judiciary Committee and the ligence and were free to draw their own to the same classified material as the work of the Finance Committee. I do conclusions. They arrived at the same President is preposterous. The Presi- not get into intelligence and Armed judgment about Iraq’s capabilities and dent receives a Presidential daily brief Services issues very often. But I lis- intentions made by this administration and a briefing every morning with top tened to Senator KENNEDY’s criticism and by the previous administration. intelligence officials. The White House of President Bush and Vice President What world is the Vice President living has access to memos with intelligence CHENEY that they deceived the Amer- in? No one seriously believes what the information that the Congress never ican people. Vice President is saying. Once again, sees. Even when we ask for this infor- I saw some things on television last he is deliberately deceiving the Amer- mation, they do not provide it. night of which Senator KENNEDY ought ican people. It is a calculated, partisan, It is abundantly clear that the ad- to be reminded. If he watched tele- political ploy. ministration is engaged in nothing vision last night, he might have a little President Bush and the Vice Presi- more than a devious attempt to ob- different view. dent have begun a new campaign of dis- scure the facts and take the focus off I heard him say that President Bush tortion and manipulation because the the real reason we went to war in Iraq. maybe had more information than Con- polls show that Americans have lost No matter what the Vice President gress had, and so it was wrong for the trust in the President and believe he says, 150,000 American troops are President today to say that Congress is manipulated intelligence before the bogged down in a quagmire in Iraq be- rewriting history in any way because war. The President and Vice President cause the Bush administration mis- he maybe had more information than have abandoned any pretense of leading represented and distorted the intel- we had. I believe that is what Senator this country and have gone back on to ligence to justify a war America never KENNEDY said. the campaign trail. should have fought. They misled us on I do not know for sure if the Presi- But the country won’t have it this al-Qaida. They misled us on aluminum dent has more information than we time. Not only can the President and tubes, materials from Africa, and nu- have because when I go upstairs to S– Vice President not find weapons of clear weapons. 407, to our secure briefing room, I am mass destruction, they cannot find the What was said before by the adminis- assuming I am getting the same infor- truth either. The administration broke tration does matter. The President’s mation as the President is getting. the essential bond of trust that has to words matter, and so do the Vice Presi- Perhaps not as often, but getting the exist between the White House and the dent’s, and so do the Secretary of same information. So I think it is ludi- American people. They have to be able State’s, and so do the Secretary of De- crous to say that Members of the Sen- to trust that we will be told the truth, fense’s, and the other high officials in ate cannot be up to speed on what the especially on the important issues of the administration, and they did not threats are to our Nation. But, for war and peace. square with the facts. sure, if he had watched television last The Congress did not have access to The Intelligence Committee agreed night, he would have heard a speech by the intelligence the President and the to investigate the clear discrepancies, President Clinton in 1998. The speech Vice President had. It is plain wrong. and it is important they get to the bot- was on the threat of Saddam Hussein The administration’s drumbeat for war tom of this and find out how and why to our country at that time. Surely, began in the summer of 2002, but it did this President took America to war in Senator KENNEDY cannot deny that not provide an intelligence estimate— Iraq. Americans are dying. Already President Clinton had exactly the same the collective wisdom of the intel- more than 2,000 have been killed, and information President Bush would have ligence community—to back up its more than 15,000 have been wounded. had from our intelligence community. claims about al-Qaida and nuclear The American people deserve the I very clearly heard President Clinton, weapons and the immediate threats truth. It is time for the President to when he was President, speak of the until Democrats on the Intelligence stop passing the buck and for him to be terrible threat that Saddam Hussein Committee demanded it. held accountable. It is time for a was to the world and to America, and Even then, the administration did change in this country. Something has that he was going down a road to do not provide the intelligence estimate to give. A tarnished White House and something about it. until October 1, 2002—2 days before the damaged Presidency is pulling America Now, obviously, that did not happen. debate began on the resolution author- backwards. But we did pass a resolution called the ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S13147 . VerDate Aug 31 2005 01:49 Nov 19, 2005 Jkt 049060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G17NO6.089 S17NOPT2 S13148 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 17, 2005 Iraqi Liberation Act, where Congress, pointed to a commission to look into believed that a free press is a corner- in a unanimous vote took a position at this, have reported. When you take all stone of democracy, both here and that period of time that we considered of these things into consideration, plus abroad. Last year, at my urging, Con- Saddam Hussein a threat and that he the quotes of Senator CLINTON that I gress created a free press institute at ought to be removed from office, from referred to in the year 2002 that I saw the National Endowment for Democ- the leadership of his country. on television last night, or the state- racy to promote, as part of our democ- If President Clinton, while he was in ments by President Clinton in 1998 racy-building efforts, free, independent office, using that intelligence, saw Sad- when he was President that I saw on and sustainable news media organiza- dam Hussein as a threat, the same way television last night, it seems to me it tions overseas. This year, I introduced President Bush did, I do not see how is absolutely wrong and misleading to the Free Flow of Information Act to any Democrat can be on the floor of come up here and say the President of allow journalists in this country to the Senate and say the President of the the United States and the Vice Presi- protect the identity of their confiden- United States is deceiving the Amer- dent were deceiving the American peo- tial sources. After I introduced the leg- ican people. ple, particularly when Senators can islation, a reporter for one of Amer- Also, last night I happened to hear a have briefings if they want them. ica’s most respected media organiza- tions, Judith Miller of the New York 2- or 3-minute speech by Senator CLIN- f TON, made in 2002, how horrible Saddam Times, was jailed for 85 days for failing Hussein was and how he was somebody FREEDOM IN ASIA AND BURMA to disclose a confidential source, while to fear and a threat and the inclination Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I another, Matt Cooper of Time maga- of doing something about it. want to take a moment to commend zine, was also threatened with jail for It is intellectually dishonest for any President Bush for his superb remarks the same reason. I believe that in order Democrat to come to the floor and ac- regarding freedom and democracy in for the United States to foster the cuse our President of misleading the Asia. It is fitting that these comments spread of freedom and democracy glob- American people. They ought to be were made in Japan, a key strategic ally, we must support an open and free ashamed of themselves. Have they no ally of the United States. press at home. shame? I will not recount the entire speech— According to Reporters Without Bor- I have something I want to refer to which I encourage all my colleagues to ders, 112 journalists are currently because we have had people outside the read—but will highlight two para- jailed in 23 countries, including places Congress, outside the administration, graphs.