archived: 20 - 26 Nov, 2005 Back Next
UPDATED: 11 25 05
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL?
It is the simplest concept of America as expressed in the Pledge of Allegiance; “with liberty and justice for all.” Yet, oil industry executives who testified before Congress have not been called to justice.
Federal law, 18 USC § 1001, is clear on a citizen’s obligation in testifying before Congress:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—
(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; [or]
(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; . . .
When oil industry executives appeared before Congress in early November, Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) asked five executives, "Did your company or any representatives in your companies participate in Vice President Cheney's energy force in 2001?"
All five executives answered, “No,” with one executive qualifying with “to the best of his knowledge.” The Washington Post subsequently exposed the truth:
A White House document shows that executives from big oil companies met with Vice President Cheney's energy task force in 2001 -- something long suspected by environmentalists but denied as recently as last week by industry officials testifying before Congress.
The document, obtained this week by The Washington Post, shows that officials from Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco (before its merger with Phillips), Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. met in the White House complex with the Cheney aides who were developing a national energy policy, parts of which became law and parts of which are still being debated.
Democrat Senate Minority Leader Reid called for the energy executives to return to Congress to testify as to the obvious contradiction of their testimony. Instead:
The chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, Republican Pete Domenici of New Mexico, and the panel's top Democrat, Jeff Bingaman, also from New Mexico, said on Wednesday they will send a letter to the oil executives and asked them to explain in writing the "apparent inconsistencies" in their testimony. -- Reuters
Americans are still awaiting an answer. Will Republicans in Congress ensure that there is “justice for all?” Democrats should keep the pressure on that the answer is, “yes.”
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UPDATED: November 22, 2005
Readers who have followed TPJ since its inception in 2003 know that TPJ has published literally hundreds of articles documenting the fabrication of war in Iraq. We have held true to our belief that ultimately the truth would emerge proving our position that Bush and Republican neoconservatives manipulated the “evidence” to justify war.
Tonight, the National Journal, has released what may be the earliest smoking gun demonstrating our belief. The story (emphasis added):
Ten days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush was told in a highly classified briefing that the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to the attacks and that there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda, according to government records and current and former officials with firsthand knowledge of the matter.
The information was provided to Bush on September 21, 2001 during the "President's Daily Brief," a 30- to 45-minute early-morning national security briefing. Information for PDBs has routinely been derived from electronic intercepts, human agents, and reports from foreign intelligence services, as well as more mundane sources such as news reports and public statements by foreign leaders.
One of the more intriguing things that Bush was told during the briefing was that the few credible reports of contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda involved attempts by Saddam Hussein to monitor the terrorist group. Saddam viewed Al Qaeda as well as other theocratic radical Islamist organizations as a potential threat to his secular regime. At one point, analysts believed, Saddam considered infiltrating the ranks of Al Qaeda with Iraqi nationals or even Iraqi intelligence operatives to learn more about its inner workings, according to records and sources.
Therefore, it is no small surprise that Bush refuses to release the intelligence briefing in question:
The administration has refused to provide the Sept. 21 President's Daily Brief, even on a classified basis, and won't say anything more about it other than to acknowledge that it exists.
The National Journal article is simply a must read for every citizen.
The National Journal article also destroys Bush’s argument that Democrats and Congress saw the same intelligence that he did. Even without the National Journal article, Bush’s assertion is simply not true. TPJ has obtained a copy of “talking points” from House Minority Leader Pelosi’s office.
Rhetoric
President Bush: "Leaders in my Administration and members of Congress from both parties looked at the same intelligence on Iraq - and reached the conclusion that Saddam Hussein was a threat." (Bush, 11/14/05)
Vice President Cheney: “These are elected officials who had access to the intelligence, and were free to draw their own conclusions. They arrived at the same judgment about Iraq’s capabilities and intentions that was made by this administration and by the previous administration,” Cheney said. (MSNBC News Services Nov. 17, 2005)
Reality
Congress did not have access to the same pre war intelligence the Bush Administration did. And for the President to suggest that Members of Congress had the same intelligence at our disposal is just plain wrong. According to the Washington Post, “Bush and his aides had access to much more voluminous intelligence information than did lawmakers, who were dependent on the administration to provide the material.” (11/13/05) Emphasis added
As Congressmen John Murtha, ranking Democrat on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and decorated combat Marine said today, the Bush Administration’s Iraq policy is “a flawed policy wrapped in an illusion.”
The American people are asking legitimate questions regarding the most critical decision a President makes – going to war and protecting our troops. It is neither partisan nor irresponsible to question the government during a war. As Senator Hagel – a decorated veteran and a senior Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said regarding the Administration’s tactics: “Suggesting that to challenge or criticize policy is undermining and hurting our troops is not democracy, nor what this country has stood for, for over 200 years….To question your government is not unpatriotic – to not question your government is unpatriotic… America owes its men and women in uniform a policy worthy of their sacrifices.” (Column, U.S. Fed News, 11/15/05)
The truth is inexorably emerging. Speaker Pelosi’s talking points should be the daily conversation of Democrats everywhere.
Junkie Editor Michael Carmichael’s article today focuses on precisely the next point that needs to be investigated. What did Condi Rice know and when did she know it. You do not want to miss Carmichael’s analysis.
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REPUBLICAN STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (RSOP)
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa) comes out against the war.
The Republican Party goes into RSOP, which is simply vilifying the opposition. Within hours of Rep. Murtha’s announcement, Republican started the vilification. Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt’s (R-Ohio) attack on the floor of the House is indicative of RSOP:
[She] told of a phone call she received from a Marine colonel.
``He asked me to send Congress a message - stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message - that cowards cut and run, Marines never do,'' Schmidt said. Murtha is a 37-year Marine veteran.
Democrats booed and shouted her down - causing the House to come to a standstill.
Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., charged across the chamber's center aisle screaming that Republicans were making an uncalled-for personal attack. ``You guys are pathetic. Pathetic,'' yelled Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass. – Guardian Unlimited
Democrats forced Rep. Schmidt’s comments to be stricken from the official record, but the damage has been done.
Of course, Rep. Murtha is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. Chiarman Dean makes the point:
He's also a combat veteran and retired Marine Corps colonel.
Murtha spent 37 years in Marine Corps, earned the Bronze Star, two purple hearts, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. And for the last thirty years he's been one of the most respected voices in Congress on military issues -- universally respected by Democrats, Republicans and military brass alike.
Until now.
Republicans have disgraced themselves by viciously attacking John Murtha with such disrespect that not only veterans, but every decent American should be angry.
Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, published an explanation of Republican smear tactics from a Republican (emphasis added):
Instant response is what you do in a modern election campaign (unless you are way, way ahead). Discrediting a critic's argument isn't enough, because it takes too much time in an environment when time is everything. Campaign politics are the primary frame of reference for politicians in Washington today. Republicans of late have practiced this trade more aggressively, though I doubt that most of them are any more insensitive to non-campaign considerations than their Democratic colleagues.
Another factor, I think you'd agree, is that a lot of politicians tend to take cues from Presidents of their party. Reagan led a generation of GOP politicians to speak with sunny optimism; Clinton influenced Democratic politicians to project empathy in a somewhat ostentatious way. Bush, being more than a little insecure, tends to want to lash out at critics even when this is not politically necessary or productive, and this tendency has radiated downwards through his administration and outward to some Republicans, particularly in the House. Karl Rove's influence on GOP political operatives may be even more profound, and GOP political operatives have vast influence in Republican politics.
Finally and very frankly, Democratic politicians tend to be wimps. Anyone can see how easily they get pushed around by interest groups in their own party; when criticized aggressively, they tend to seek sympathy rather than hitting back. This encourages Republican political operatives to use rough tactics.
I don't think this is a matter of ideology. In fact I don't know what it is. I just know if I were a Republican politician there wouldn't be many Democratic politicians I would be afraid of. Maybe it's a reflection on my own personality that I take for granted the importance in politics of generating concern that one might be a very bad enemy to have.
Democrats have to stand up to these types of attacks. As Republican control of the three branches of government becomes more threatened, the attacks will get sharper.
A VERY REPUBLICAN WEEK
Sometimes a change of perspective is needed. Instead of a detailed article on some aspect of the Bush administration, TPJ is going to step back and lay out a larger picture of the Republican Party.
Over the past days, these headlines have appeared. TPJ has categorized the headlines. They tell a powerful story of Republican leadership in America
On the war in Iraq:
49 Die in Iraq Blasts; Bombs Kill 5 GIs
Former CIA director accuses Cheney of overseeing torture
4-Car bombs kill 48 in Iraq; Bush says war on track
Military falls on hard times in filling key jobs, report says
Iraq: Suicide Bombings Kill At Least 71
Bush Rejects Iraq Withdrawl, Pentagon Plans One
On Republican national policy:
Senators reject proposal to tax oil industry's windfall profits
Climate Shift Tied To 150,000 Fatalities: Most Victims Are Poor, Study Says
US Senators Demand Oil Execs Re-testify, Under Oath
On elections:
On corruption and cronyism:
Bureau of Workers’ Comp fires all its money managers; $15.7B portfolio shifts to fixed-income funds (Republican “Coin Gate” scandal in Ohio)
DeLay Ex-Aide to Plead Guilty in Lobby Case
Fitzgerald to Convene New Grand Jury
On teaching Christian beliefs in schools (aka “Intelligent Design):
Intelligent Design Not Science, Vatican Says
Last Update: 03/27/2006