Reid: What and when did Bush know about Iran?

[babylonsister]

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/12/reid_what_did_bush_know_about.html

Reid: What and when did Bush know about Iran?
Posted at 11:13 AM

by Frank James

It's one of the most clichéd questions asked in Washington ever since Sen. Howard Baker, the Tennessee Republican, said during the Watergate hearings about President Richard Nixon: "What did the president know and when did he know it."

Today, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.,) the Senate Majority Leader, puts the question to the White House. He wants to know what President Bush and Vice President Cheney were told in August about the U.S. intelligence agency's revised view that Iran in 2003 essentially stopped its head-long pursuit of nuclear-weapons.

In a press release, Reid said:

“I am growing increasingly concerned about the White House’s inconsistent explanations of when the President was told about important new intelligence information regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions. It appears the President and Vice President were briefed in August on this information, before both the President and Vice President began to ratchet up their increasingly-heated rhetoric on the threat of Iran.

"I urge the White House to fully and accurately explain what the President and Vice President knew and when they knew it, and why the Administration’s rhetoric was not adjusted when presented with new data this summer. I find it surprising the Administration did not learn the lessons of Iraq; it was exactly this type of misleading rhetoric that led us into a misguided, unilateral war.

“I also again urge the Administration to announce a top-to-bottom review of its Iran policy, including new steps to launch a major diplomatic surge to address the challenge of Iran.”

The White House likely won't be giving Reid what he asks for. But the National Intelligence Estimate released earlier this week provides Reid with another club to bash Bush on the question of credibility, to keep him on the defensive as he enters the last year of his presidency, and to try to win the public-relations war between the Democratic Congress and the White House.

[madokie]

1. Harry is loosing me fast, Nancy too

I'd have more respect for them if they did something to stop this hemorrhage no matter the outcome, Harry do something, Nancy do something, maybe stepdown and let someone else do it, who knows but do something.

[Wizard777]

2. Why would Reid need to know this? So they can NOT impeach him.

Oh silly me. They need to know this so they can have a rubber stamp made. Harry needs to shut up and put his sign on. I'm stupid. Please lie to me.