[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 152 (Wednesday, November 16, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H10232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S INTELLIGENCE WAS NOT A ``SLAM DUNK''
(Mr. STUPAK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, President Bush's latest attacks on those who
have questioned whether his administration manipulated the intelligence
to justify a war against Iraq is based on flawed arguments and
falsehoods.
First, the President said Congress had access to the same
intelligence as the White House prior to the war. This is false. The
Washington Post writes, and I quote, 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.
Second, President Bush claimed the bipartisan Senate investigation
found that he did not misrepresent prewar intelligence. Again, the
President's statements are wrong. The Senate Intelligence Committee is
not expected to complete this phase of their investigation until next
year.
Third, the President said intelligence agencies around the world
agreed with the Bush administration's assessment of the Iraqi threat.
Once again, this statement is false. Many of our international friends
concluded that Iraq's threat did not rise to the level of justifying
immediate military force.
Mr. Speaker, the Bush administration refuses to live in reality. It
has no plans in Iraq other than, stay the course. This administration
makes decisions with no understanding of the consequences of those
decisions. The reality is, we lost six more servicemen in Iraq in the
last 24 hours.
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