Support Harry w/POLL

by mbair

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Monday, Nov. 07, 2005 Monday, Nov. 07, 2005 at 8:15:29am PST

This diary is a call to support our Senators in their bold move to finally end the foot dragging on the Phase II SSIC Investigation, Senate Select Intelligence Committee, into Iraq Pre-war Intelligence. This is precisely the reason Leader Reid closed the Senate on Tuesday. Our guys have the fight of their lives on their hands please show your support.

A six-member panel was appointed on Nov 1, after the closed session to determine the best course of action. The panel is due to report their recommendations for how to proceed on PhaseII by Nov 14. Or are they? Roberts, the committee chairman, has some interesting ideas on the Nov 14. date. Roberts has stated that Phase II can be conducted in the next couple of weeks. No possible way this can be done, but he has the votes to get this done. Or does he? Don't let Cheney railroad this thing through Roberts. This will be a total whitewash on the assessment of the pre-war intelligence and how it was twisted and distorted by statements of public officials in the run-up to the war. Please checkout this diary from Lode Runner this morning. Roberts is planning another whitewash. Don't let them get away with this.

Phase I was completed last summer, and boiled down to a 550+ page report that concluded that we got it all wrong. Phase II will examine, in part: "We will address the question of whether intelligence was exaggerated or misused by reviewing statements by senior policy makers to determine if those statements were substantiated by the intelligence" Press release by SIC February 12, 2004 outlining the goals for Phase II.

Cheney is at the heart of this rat's nest of illegalities. He will block, obstruct, threaten, smear and I don't even know what else with the goal of preventing Phase II from drawing the conclusions that we all know to be true now, that the statements of public officials were inconsistent with the facts at the time. Don't let these guys fool you with the Cheney spin machine, which is in overdrive this week.
That's why your messages of support are so important in the next couple of days. Cheney will not go softly into that night. We can't let PhaseII be another whitewash. Friday morning, the three Democratic members of the panel held a press conference. Check out the video here, Rockefeller, Levin and Feinstein on pre-war intelligence 35 minute C-SPAN, play spot the Gannon replacement in the Q&A.

Rockefeller's excerpts

You're looking at three Senators that have nothing more important than this issue on our minds...Thorough and prompt... can't let the delay compromise the quality of Phase II... we will finally dig into the serious issues of how this administration used or misused intelligence in making the case to go to war... We owe the American people accountability fully and promptly.

Levin's excerpts

Promptly, thoroughly and professionally we have a Phase II... To investigate whether or not public statements and reports and testimony regarding Iraq was substantiated ...key word folks substantiated, underline it everybody, by intelligence info at the time ...The other parts of Phase II are critical and essential...Feith...Chalabi...We're determined...No justification for anything else...Phase I showed how faulty the intelligence was...Phase II gets into the critical question...

Feinstein's excerpts

I suggested the Committee examine some troubling questions about how intelligence was produced and used...Questions include how heavily the intelligence community weighed info provided by Curveball on mobile biological ...Downing Street Memo... uranium from Niger...Aluminum tubes...Iraq working with Al Qaeda...whether the administration hyped the case for war...Complete and thorough work necessary...Phase II must be as substantial as Phase I

Got it? Phase II SSIC, it's all there. The whole kit-n-kaboodle, this why your support is so crucial!
Call the bah-stids up! Call or e-mail. I submit it's more important to call the Repub members of the panel and the committee; our guys are set to go. But as Rockefeller said in the press conference, Roberts has the votes to do what he wants. We need one or two Repubs to turn on him to get a real investigation. Further, I think Snowe and Hagel are the most susceptible to reason on this committee for the Repubs, if you plan on contacting the Repubs, start with them and with Roberts.

Senate Democratic Leadership:
Harry Reid's e-mail box, Chuck Schumer's e-mail box and Dick Durbin's e-mail box

Senate Republican Leadership:
Bill Frist's e-mail box, John Kyl's e-mail box and Rick Santorum's e-mail box

Democrat panel members:
Jay Rockefeller's e-mail box, Carl Levin's e-mail box and Dianne Feinstein's e-mail box

Republican panel members:
Pat Roberts' e-mail box, Saxby Chambliss' e-mail box and Kit Bond's e-mail box

Other Senate Intelligence Committee Member not included on the panel:
Orrin Hatch's e-mail, Mike Dewine's e-mail box, Trent Lott's e-mail box, Olympia Snowe's e-mail box and Chuck Hagel's e-mail box
Ron Wyden's e-mail box, Evan Bayh's e-mail box, Barbara Mikulski's e-mail box and John Corzine's e-mail box

General Senate contact list, if you don't want to send an e-mail then call - all Senators are listed here.

Recent Media Links:
Cheney in the Bunker: Newsweek Added up front because Cheney is the real target and he's not going to roll over and play dead.
WaPo Pincus: Democrats: Probe Can't Be Rushed 11/05/05 Coverage of the Friday morning press conference linked above.
Talking Points Memo: The Silberman-Robb report 11/05/05 Josh Marshall's take on this talking point.
The Left Coaster: Did Harry Reid Hit Bill Frist This Week With The "Smoking Gun"? 11/05/05 Nice blog piece.
Las Vegas Sun: In Reid's war room, the battle rages on 11/06/05 They've got a war room, give them some back up
Report Warned Bush Team About Intelligence Suspicions 11/06/05 NYTimes article includes Carl Levin source on the al-Libi distortions regarding Iraq training al Qaeda
Smoking Gun on Manipulation of Iraq Intelligence? 11/05/05 E&P's take on the NYTimes story
Libby Heart al-Libi: Marty Kaplan 11/05/05 quick post added for Marty Kaplan fans
FBI: Financial Gain Drove Uranium Forgery 11/05/05 And that's it folks, nothing to see here the Niger forgeries were just a little old scam.

Media Links from last week:
First up, Josh Marshall at TPM, love ya Josh. He has it going on with coverage of Niger forgeries and Murray Waas subscription only articles are usually linked here so get it book marked and send him some traffic. In fact, the coverage is so extensive I'm just giving the main page website link. There's no way I can break out all the original articles, too many of them.
AP Report: Senate Emerges From Closed Session on Iraq 11/02/05
Cheney, Libby Blocked Papers To Senate Intelligence Panel 10/27/05 the Murray Waas piece that started it all for me.
FBI Is Still Seeking Source of Forged Uranium Reports 10/28/05
Senate Intelligence chairman quietly 'fixed' intelligence, and diverted blame from White House over Iraq 11/01/05
Democrats detail times their efforts to examine Intel were blocked 11/01/05
Through leaks and smears, Senate chairman protects White House to blame CIA, Democrats 11/01/05
Carter chimes in on Reid's action 11/02/05
David Sirota: Give 'Em Hell, Harry and get these answers 11/01/05 great piece linked here with Christie Harvey on what they knew and when they knew it.
Arianna: Ahmad Chalabi's Comeback Tour slightly off-topic but added because of the arrogance it shows especially this week.

Thanks to ptomely, Kaleja, OWUJason for all supplying a piece of this diary.

Join the posse - call the bah-stids up. Support Phase II SSIC. Remember Snowe and Hagel are the most important here, if you live in Maine or Nebraska please do this.

I understand you can't possibly consume this much in one sitting, bookmark this diary. If you only follow one link try the C-SPAN video. If you have suggestions for links I should include, let me know with a comment and I'll update.

[Update 11/09/05] Pat Roberts on The Situation Room from 11/08/05:

SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-KS), CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE CMTE.: If you look at all this hoorah that's going on now, and all of these statements and all of these attacks on the president and the intelligence and everything else, what does that say to our men and women in uniform? And more importantly, what does it say to the terrorists? I think it emboldens the terrorists, I think it makes our job more difficult in Iraq. (END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: Basically suggesting your that your leadership now who shut down the Senate for a few hours, went into public -- into private session, effectively making the accusation that you're emboldening the terrorists. LEAHY: You know, this is sort of the emperor has no clothes kind of argument. If mistakes are made, I think we have a right -- not a right, I would say we have a duty to point out those mistakes.

Dick Durbin's speech on Chalabi given on the Senate floor via Huffington Post.
Raw Story on lack of progress investigating Chalabi