Pat Roberts (liar) is pretending he didn't stall the Iraq inquiry

[ProSense]

August 4, 2006
Intelligence

Senator Faults Bid to Classify Report on Iraq

By MARK MAZZETTI

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 — The Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee lashed out at the White House on Thursday, criticizing attempts by the Bush administration to keep secret parts of a report on the role Iraqi exiles played in building the case for war against Iraq.

The chairman, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, announced Thursday that his committee had completed the first two parts of its long-delayed investigation of prewar intelligence. But he chastised the White House for efforts to classify most of the part that examines intelligence provided to the Bush administration by the Iraqi National Congress, a controversial exile group.

“I have been disappointed by this administration’s unwillingness to declassify material contained in these reports, material which I believe better informs the public, but that does not — I repeat, does not — jeopardize intelligence operations, sources and methods,” Mr. Roberts said in a statement issued Thursday.

One completed section of the Senate report is said to be a harsh critique of how information from the Iraqi exile group made its way into intelligence community reports, said people who have read the report but spoke on condition of anonymity because it is still classified.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/04/world/middleeast/04intel.html?ref=middleeast

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS): Chairman of the Senate Cover-up Committee

As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Sen. Pat Roberts’s (R-KS) duty is “to provide vigilant legislative oversight over the intelligence activities of the United States” and “to assure that such activities are in conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States.” But on the most important intelligence issues facing Americans – such as the manipulation of Iraq intelligence, warrantless domestic spying, and torture - Roberts has transformed his committee into a “Senate Coverup Committee” for the Bush administration.

Snip...

Iraq Intelligence
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released Phase I of its Iraq prewar intelligence report on July 9, 2004. The report found numerous failures in the intelligence-gathering and analysis process in the lead-up to the Iraq war. Roberts politicized the report by attacking Ambassador Joseph Wilson and by falsely asserting the report absolved the White House from charges of misusing prewar intelligence. After months of stonewalling, Nov. 14, 2005, was the negotiated deadline for the Senate Intelligence Committee to report on Phase II of its investigation into the administration’s use of prewar intelligence. More than three months later, the public still has not received a report. Roberts has impeded progress on the report and reneged on his pledge to complete Phase II. Below is a chronological breakdown of Roberts’s efforts to squash the report:

http://thinkprogress.org/roberts-coverup

Senate intelligence chief urges end to Iraq probe

By David Morgan | March 14, 2006


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday urged lawmakers to begin wrapping up the second phase of its investigation into U.S. intelligence on prewar Iraq, despite fresh demands from Democrats for further scrutiny.

Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record), the Kansas Republican, laid out a schedule for completing four of the investigation's five segments by the end of April and pledged to release much of the findings to the public.

The largest segment of the Phase 2 investigation, which has increasingly become a lightning rod for partisan squabbling, promises to examine whether Bush administration officials exaggerated intelligence on Iraq as they made their public case for war in 2002 and 2003.

Snip...

"The Democrats are saying (the probe) is not developing the answers they want -- the answers they want amount to 'Bush lied' -- so they just want to keep looking," said one aide, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about committee affairs.

more...

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/03/15/senate_intelligence_chief_urges_end_to_iraq_probe

[karynnj]

1. Wasn't this suppose to originally be done soon after

the 2004 election? Maybe Kerry needs to remind Roberts of his spring 2005 letter signed by 9 other Senators demanding it.

[saltpoint]

2. Excellent point, karynnj, and Kerry likely has, but talking with Pat

Roberts would be like speaking to an anvil.

I think Roberts' brain receptors packed up and headed for the far side of Jupiter years ago.

Roberts was elected to the U.S. Senate after narrowly defeating two garden vegetables. From that point forward, Kerry and others just ignore Pat out of kindness rather than torment the poor unfortunate man with facts and reason.

_____
:hi:

[karynnj]

5. sounds a reasonable approach till Kansas gets smart

and dumps him.

[blm]

3. Didn't Roberts send Kerry a letter saying there was no need to continue

an investigation?

[ProSense]

6. Yes, here:

Kerry's June 2005 letter to the Intelligence Committee on Phase II of the investigation into pre-war intelligence. (1 meg.)


Roberts' response.

11/01/2005
Statement by John Kerry on Closed-Door Senate Session and Senate Failures to Investigate Pre-War Intelligence

“For a year and a half, the Republican leadership in Congress has refused again and again to complete Phase II of their investigation into pre-war intelligence failures. All the requests I and other Senators have made of the Intelligence Committee for more information have been pushed aside. The Republican leadership has been complicit in a political cover-up of the decisions that led to war. Nothing could be more serious or more deserving of full public disclosure. The families of our troops deserve the truth, as does every American. Now that one of the chief architects of the war in Iraq has been indicted for related crimes, it is more important than ever to know how intelligence was presented to the Congress.

“The country and the Congress were misled into war. It is deeply troubling that the Republicans in Washington are so afraid to share the truth with the American people. Clearly it will require an independent, outside investigation to get to the bottom of this.”

http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=248185

[blm]

10. Thanks for that, ProSense

.

[chill_wind]

4. That timeline is *incredibly* extensive and damning!

Roberts Politicized Phase I Report By Criticizing Joseph Wilson.

(...)

Roberts Attempted To Absolve White House From Prewar Intelligence Blame In Phase I Report.

(...)

July 2004: Roberts Called Phase II A ‘Priority.’ “It is a priority. I made my commitment and it will get done.”

Roberts Claimed Phase II Was ‘Ongoing,’ (...)

March 2005: Roberts Said Phase II Too Difficult, Placed On ‘Back-Burner.’

(...)

Roberts Called Phase II ‘A Monumental Waste Of Time.’ (...) 3/31/05]

Roberts Refused To Conduct Phase II After Election. (...) 3/31/05]


April 2005: Roberts Continued to Stall Phase II, Said Other Matters Were More Important.

(...)

Roberts Promised To Make Phase II Public. (...)

July 2005: Roberts Backed Out Of Pledge To Make Phase II Public.

(...)

November 2005: Reid Forced Senate Into Closed-Door Session.

(...)

Roberts Backtracked Again, Claimed Phase II ‘Ongoing.’ (...)

Roberts Dismissed Need To Examine Administration’s Use Of Prewar Intelligence. (...)

Roberts Promised To Finish Phase II. (...)

Roberts Offered Excuses For The Administration. (...)

Roberts Failed To Conduct A Thorough Phase II Investigation. (...) <11/14/05>

Roberts Missed Deadline for ‘Statements’ Portion of Phase II Report. (...)

April 2006: Roberts Sought to Further Divide and Delay Inquiry. (...)

Phase II Report Delayed Until After 2006 Midterm Elections. (...)

(...)

************************************************************

For full context see ProSense's link:

http://thinkprogress.org/roberts-coverup

Bravo to Think Progress (and ProSense) for pulling together the big picture in such valuable and vivid detail.


Was it the rawstory guys that once dubbed him the inter-galactic "Black Hole of Senate Intelligence"?

[underpants]

11. Roberts seems to have forgotten to take his "memory pill"

SEN. ROBERTS: I think that they do—I don’t know, this—I have some memory pills, I think everybody here ought to take a memory pill every morning on the recollection of, you know, what really went on, because that’s not my recollection.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11272634/page/4/

[TayTay]

7. You think they're running for cover now, just wait

until they all get back from summer vacation and file into the Senate and House. The line to get to the microphone to say something 'sobering and realistic' about the situation in Iraq and the greater Middle East will stretch out the door and down the block. These folks are going to get an earful from their constituents whilst at home and are going to find out just how unpopular Rummy, Condi, the Dark Prince Cheney and His Imperial Stupidness Bush really are.

The Dems will be real interesting to watch next week. That primary in Connecticut should wake up a lot of Dems to just how deeply disgruntled the masses are and how much they ache for people to come forward and demand that Bush change course. (No non-binding resolutions, no 'if my dear colleague will permit' and that kind of happy-crappy stuff. No, We the People are making demands that our Reps in Congress take off the gloves and go after these bastids.)

[wisteria]

8. What a Wiesel this guy is. Now he is concerned and upset with the

administration? I suppose he couldn't speak the truth before because he was afraid of the administration and of losing his position on this committee. So basically, he liked the recognition of being the ranking member,he liked the prestige, but he never respected the position or the American people enough to handle and oversee this committee correctly.

[harlinchi]

9. Sen. Roberts is a symbol for that which was hidden from America.

His actions now are meaningless. When the country needed to know, he dithered, dissulmulated and deceived. He should be made into the poster boy for GOP deceptions.

Mentioned in a previous post, when the Kansas senator almost seemed an obsession:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2557023

[ProSense]

12. The Constitution in Crisis (HTML Version)

The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War, and Illegal Domestic Surveillance (HTML Version)

Table of Contents

Introduction by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. 1

Summary. 4

I. The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution and Coverups in the Iraq War 8

A. Chronology: Last Throes of Credibility. 8

B. Detailed Findings 13

1. Determination to go to War before Congressional Authorization. 13

a. Avenging the Father and Working with the Neo-Cons 14

b. September 11 and its Aftermath: Beating the Drums for War 16

c. The Downing Street Minutes and Documentary Evidence of an Agreement to go to War 22

i. Description and Analysis of Various Downing Street Minutes Materials 23

ii. Confirmation and Corroboration of Downing Street Minutes Materials 28

d. Manipulating Public Opinion. 32

e. Using the United Nations as a Pretext for War 39

2. Misstating and Manipulating the Intelligence to Justify Pre-emptive War 45

a. Links to September 11 and al Qaeda. 51

i. General Linkages Between Iraq and al Qaeda. 53

ii. Meeting Between Mohammed Atta and Iraqi Officials 57

iii. Iraq Training al Qaeda Members to Use Chemical and Biological Weapons 57

b. Resumed Efforts to Acquire Nuclear Weapons 58

i. General Assertions 59

ii. Claims Regarding Hussein=s Son-in-Law. 61

iii. Statement that Iraq Was Six Months from Obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. 62

c. Aluminum Tubes 62

d. Acquisition of Uranium from Niger 70

e. Chemical and Biological Weapons 75

i. General Assertions Regarding Chemical and Biological Weapons 78

ii. Assertions Regarding Buried Chemical and Other Weapons 79

iii. Assertions Regarding Mobile Biological Weapons 80

iv. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 82

3. Encouraging and Countenancing Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and

Degrading Treatment 82

a. Documented Instances of Torture and Other Legal Violations 83

i. Torture and Murder 83

ii. Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment 86

iii. Other Possible Violations of International Treaties 86

b. Bush Administration Responsibility for Torture and Other Legal Violations 88

i. Department of Justice. 88

ii. Department of Defense. 92

4. Cover-ups and Retribution. 96

a. The Niger Forgeries and the ASlimming@ of Ambassador Wilson and his Family 96

i. Disclosure and Panic. 97

ii. Retribution and Damage. 99

iii. Delays, Conflicts, and More Lies 101

b. Other Instances of Bush Administration Retribution Against its Critics 103

i. Former General Eric Shinseki and Others in the Military. 104

ii. Former Secretary of Treasury Paul O=Neill and Economic Adviser Lawrence Lindsey. 105

iii. Richard Clarke. 106

iv. Cindy Sheehan. 108

v. Jeffrey Kofman. 109

vi. International OrganizationsBthe Organization for the Prohibition of Chemic Weapons and the IAEA. 109

vii. Bunnatine Greenhouse. 111

viii. The Central Intelligence Agency and its Employees 112

c. Ongoing Lies, Deceptions and Manipulations 114

i. Efficacy of the Occupation. 114

ii. Cost of the War and Occupation. 118

iii. Ongoing Deceptions Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Decision to Go to War 119

iv. Impact of the Iraq War on Terrorism. 123

5. Thwarting Congress and the American Public: The Death of Accountability under the Bush Administration and the Republican-Controlled Congress 123

a. Determination to Go to War Without Congressional Authorization. 123

b. Manipulation of the Intelligence to Justify the War 125

c. Encouraging and Countenancing Torture. 127

d. Post-War Cover-Ups and Retribution and More Deceptions 129

II. Unlawful Domestic Surveillance and the Decline of Civil Liberties Under the Administration of George W. Bush. 132

A. Chronology: Democracy Without Checks and Balances 132

B. Detailed Findings 138

1. Domestic Surveillance: Spying On Innocent Americans without Court Approval and Outside of the Law. 138

a. The warrantless surveillance program violates FISA and the Fourth Amendment, the NSA database program appears to violate the Stored Communications Act and the Communications Act of 1934, and the programs have been briefed in violation of the National Security Act 138

i. September 11 Use of Force Resolution. 139

ii. Inherent Authority as Commander-In-Chief 141

iii. Fourth Amendment 144

iv. NSA Domestic Database Program. 145

v. Additional Non-Legal Justifications 147

vi. Intelligence Briefings In Violation of the National Security Act 150

b. The legal justifications used to justify the NSA programs threaten to establish a constitutionally destabilizing precedent 151

c. President Bush and other high ranking members of the Bush Administration appear to have made a number of misleading statements concerning the NSA programs 153

i. Statements that the government was only intercepting communications involving American citizens pursuant to court approved warrants. 154

ii. Statements that no purely domestic communications were intercepted under the warrantless wiretapping program. 156

iii. Statements that the government is not monitoring telephone calls and other communications within the U.S. 158

iv. Statements that Members of Congress briefed by the Bush Administration had not questioned the legality or appropriateness of the NSA Programs. 160

d. There is little indication the domestic spying programs have been beneficial in the war against terror, while there is a significant risk the programs may be affirmatively harming terrorism prosecutions and tying up law enforcement resources 161

e. The NSA programs appear to have been implemented in a manner designed to stifle objections and dissent within the Administration. 163

2. Continued Stonewalling of Congress and the American People. 165

Addendum 170

Analysis 177

Recommendations 194

Conclusion. 197

Endnotes