On Saturday, next to its front-page article disputing Veterans Day misstatements by President George W. Bush and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, the News Tribune of Tacoma, WA, ran a piece about the developing views of Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA 9th) about the Iraq war. -- While Smith voted for Public Law 107-243, authorizing the president to empower himself to go to war, on Oct. 16, 2002, he now says that Bush showed a "reckless disregard for the truth" in leading the nation to war and was guilty of acting "shamelessly" in criticizing his critics.[1] -- What's more, Les Blumenthal of the News Tribune reports that Smith and Dennis Kucinich introduced a resolution to require Bush and his secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, to "turn over to the House all documents, e-mails, and communications relating to the White House Information Group. The group, known as WHIG, was compromised of Rice, then the national security adviser; former vice presidential chief of staff Lewis 'Scooter' Libby; and top presidential aide Karl Rove, and it played a key role in building public support for the war. . . . Smith would like to see either the House Armed Services Committee or the House International Relations Committee investigate the prewar actions of the White House. Smith serves on both committees." -- Unfortunately, the International Relations Committee defeated the Smith-Kucinich resolution on Wednesday. -- Smith issued a news release about the event.[2] -- He also published an op-ed about his quest for a resolution of inquiry on Nov. 2 in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.[3] -- In it, Smith says Congress has "abdicated its responsibility" to investigate. -- "The same Congress that launched investigations into the suicide of Clinton aide Vince Foster and the hiring actions of the Clinton White House with regard to their travel office, among countless other investigations, has sat silent on the critical issue of whether the White House deliberately put out false information in an effort to push our nation into war," Smith wrote....
1.
Iraq
TACOMA DEMOCRAT SAYS U.S. WAS 'MISLED' INTO WAR
By Les Blumenthal
News Tribune (Tacoma, WA)
November 12, 2005
Pages A1, A12
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/iraq/story/5326810p-4825278c.html
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Adam Smith says the White House didnt manipulate intelligence before going to war in Iraq, it just showed a reckless disregard for the truth in ignoring contradictory intelligence about what Saddam Hussein really was up to.
The Tacoma Democrats comments came as President Bush lashed out at critics of the administrations Iraq policies and as a House committee rejected efforts by Smith and other Democrats to launch a congressional investigation into how the White House handled prewar intelligence.
Before a military crowd in Pennsylvania, Bush said Friday that criticism of his Iraq policy was undercutting U.S. forces on the ground and that allegations he had manipulated intelligence were false. The president singled out congressional Democrats who initially supported the war but are now questioning it.
Smith, who had backed the administrations request to use force in Iraq, responded that the president was again shamelessly branding any critics of the war as unpatriotic.
It is brazen politics on their part so they can ignore they own culpability, Smith said Friday after attending a ceremony marking Veterans Day in Washington state. Im sorry the president believes he is above criticism. I dont think he is.
On Thursday, Smith said he wouldnt second-guess his initial support for the war, but he conceded he would have had doubts if he knew then what he knows now. The congressman said Bushs case for going to war has been riddled with gaping holes that have undermined the U.S. standing in the world and the confidence of the American people in their government.
There is no question we were misled, Smith said. I dont think they manipulated the intelligence. I think they listened and chose to ignore it.
Specifically, Smith said he was concerned about administration claims in the weeks leading up to the war that Saddam was trying to secure aluminum tubes and uranium to build nuclear weapons and that Iraq had ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network.
I think a legitimate case could have been made that we needed to threaten Saddam in order to get inspectors back into Iraq, Smith said. But the Bush White House rushed it. They were only interested in using force.
They showed a reckless disregard for the truth.
Smith and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) introduced a resolution to require the president and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to turn over to the House all documents, e-mails and communications relating to the White House Information Group. The group, known as WHIG, was compromised of Rice, then the national security adviser; former vice presidential chief of staff Lewis Scooter Libby; and top presidential aide Karl Rove, and it played a key role in building public support for the war.
Though Smith is a moderate Democrat, Kucinich is one of the most liberal members of the House and ran for president in 2004.
Smith would like to see either the House Armed Services Committee or the House International Relations Committee investigate the prewar actions of the White House. Smith serves on both committees.
The International Relations Committee defeated the Smith-Kucinich resolution Wednesday on a mostly party-line vote.
Smith said that before he even had a chance to speak in support of his resolution, the committees chairman cut off debate.
It was disappointing, Smith said. But it shows you where Republicans are coming from.
Smith said he had hoped the original war resolution approved by Congress would have given the White House the leverage it needed to force Saddam to accept U.N. inspectors.
If Saddam had refused, Smith said he expected Bush to come back to Congress to ask for more explicit authority to invade Iraq.
I was deeply conflicted at the time, Smith said. I felt we need to hold Saddam accountable, but not rush into a pre-emptive war.
As for now, Smith said he doesnt think the United States should set a timetable to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. But he said some reduction would emphasize to Iraqis that they need to step up and provide for their own security.
If not, we could be in the middle of a long, protracted war, he said.
Les Blumenthal: 202-383-0008
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
2.
News Room
U.S. REP. ADAM SMITH DEMANDS ACCOUNTABILITY FROM BUSH ADMINISTRATION FOR PRE-WAR IRAQ WAR INTELLIGENCE
November 9, 2005
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/wa09_smith/morenews/20051109pr.html
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement today concerning, H. Res. 505, Requesting the President of the United States and directing the Secretary of State to provide to the House of Representatives certain documents in their possession relating to the White House Iraq Group (WHIG):
Once again, the Republicans in control of the U.S. House of Representatives bowed to partisan politics and rejected a resolution that would have provided Congress with key information about whether the White House was truthful with the American people in making their case to go to war in Iraq. This resolution would compel the White House to turn over to Congress all documents related to the WHIG, providing Members with an opportunity to examine important aspects of prewar intelligence. It is essential that we examine this critically important matter. Congress has a Constitutional responsibility to conduct rigorous oversight of the Administration. We must ask tough questions of our Administration. Yet, instead of an open and honest debate, the Republicans cutoff proceedings, silencing the opportunity for Members from both sides of the aisle to have their voices heard on this issue.
The Bush Administrations case for war has been riddled with gaping holes, which has done lasting damage to our standing in the world and has undermined the confidence the American people have in their government. As Members of Congress, we have an obligation to examine all the facts leading up to the decision to go to war. Only then can we begin to rebuild the trust with the American people.
3.
News Room
U.S. REP. ADAM SMITH CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO PRE-IRAQ WAR INTELLIGENCE
November 2, 2005
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/wa09_smith/morenews/20051102pr.html
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) in an op-ed in todays Seattle Post-Intelligencer called for an investigation into the pre-Iraq War intelligence and the information involving the White House Iraq Group (WHIG), which was comprised of key White House leaders including Lewis Scooter Libby, Karl Rove and Condoleezza Rice.
Smith believes that, Congress has a clear role to play [in the investigation], because [special prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgeralds investigation seeks only to punish criminal action and does not deal with the much broader issue of whether the White House deliberately misled the American people. Congress, both in its responsibility to exercise oversight of federal government action and because we received much of the potentially incorrect information being put out by the Administration on Iraq, has the duty of ensuring open and honest communication between the White House and Congress.
Smith has co-sponsored a Congressional resolution of inquiry with U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), calling for the White House to turn over to Congress all information involving the WHIG . . . They were tasked to make the case for going to war in Iraq in an effort to convince Congress and the American people to support that policy.
Smith goes onto note, White House assertions that aluminum tubes purchased by Iraq had to be part of a nuclear weapons program, that Iraq had tried to purchase uranium from Niger and that we could not afford to let the smoking gun be a mushroom cloud all appear to have come from the WHIG. We need to know how they got that information --- which we now know to be false -- and whether they deliberately misrepresented the facts.
Smith concludes that, the holes that have appeared in the case [the Bush Administration made for going to war in Iraq] have done deep and lasting damage to our standing in the world and have undermined the confidence the American people have in their government. Congress can begin to repair this damage by getting to the bottom of the Administrations actions during the build up to the Iraq war. Anything less does not fulfill our responsibility to the American people.
The complete text of the op-ed published in todays Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is below:
# # #
Guest Columnist
CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE LIES, LEAKS
By Adam Smith
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
November 2, 2005
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/246704_adam02.html
Did the Bush White House, in a deliberate and organized manner, misrepresent the truth to Congress, the American people and the world in making its case for the military invasion of Iraq? This is a critical question that demands a clear answer. To this point, Congress has abdicated its responsibility to investigate all the facts. That must change.
Last week, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted in the ongoing investigation by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald into the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. The alleged actions of Libby, and perhaps Bush senior adviser Karl Rove and others in the White House, to leak classified information in this case appear to have been aimed at discrediting, or threatening, Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson. By CIA request, Wilson had gone to Niger to examine the Bush administration's charge that Saddam Hussein had tried to acquire uranium for a nuclear weapon. Convinced this was not true, Wilson had written an Op-Ed in the New York Times debunking the claim.
Congress has a clear role to play in this issue, because Fitzgerald's investigation seeks only to punish criminal action and does not deal with the much broader issue of whether the White House deliberately misled the American people. Congress, both in its responsibility to exercise oversight of federal government action and because we received much of the potentially incorrect information being put out by the administration on Iraq, has the duty of ensuring open and honest communication between the White House and Congress.
And yet this Congress has not looked into the matter at all. The same Congress that launched investigations into the suicide of Clinton aide Vince Foster and the hiring actions of the Clinton White House with regard to their travel office, among countless other investigations, has sat silent on the critical issue of whether the White House deliberately put out false information in an effort to push our nation into war.
In an effort to get Congress to investigate this important issue, I have co-sponsored a resolution of inquiry calling for the White House to turn over to Congress all information involving the White House Iraq Group. The WHIG was comprised of key White House leaders including Libby, Rove and Condoleezza Rice. They were tasked to make the case for going to war in Iraq in an effort to convince Congress and the American public to support that policy.
White House assertions that aluminum tubes purchased by Iraq had to be part of a nuclear weapons program, that Iraq had tried to purchase uranium from Niger and that we could not afford to let "the smoking gun be a mushroom cloud" all appear to have come from the WHIG. We need to know how they got that information -- which we now know to be false -- and whether they deliberately misrepresented the facts. The administration and its supporters often have dismissed the need for an investigation by arguing that everybody thought Saddam had WMD. They seem to mistakenly believe that this assertion makes it irrelevant whether the administration lied.
A legitimate case existed for threatening force against Saddam if he did not allow international inspectors back into Iraq, perhaps even for the ultimate use of that force. Saddam had sought nuclear as well as chemical and biological weapons in the past. In fact, the world discovered after the first Gulf War that Iraq was much further along in the development of a nuclear weapon than we previously thought. Saddam had kicked international inspectors out in 1998, and had shown clear hostile intentions toward other nations in his region and to the United States. By late 2002, we did not know what WMD Iraq had or was trying to develop. Arguably, we could not afford not to know. The inspectors had to go back in and the only way to do that was to threaten military force.
But this is not the case the administration made. The holes that have appeared in the case they made have done deep and lasting damage to our standing in the world and have undermined the confidence the American people have in their government. Congress can begin to repair this damage by getting to the bottom of the administration's actions during the build up to the Iraq war. Anything less does not fulfill our responsibility to the American people.
--Democrat Adam Smith represents Washington's 9th Congressional District.
[For comment on Smith's piece from readers, see here.]