-Caveat Lector-
Bush's War Plans are a Cover-Up, Byrd Says
By Paul J. Nyden
West Virginia Gazette
Saturday, 21 September, 2002
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said President Bush's plans to invade Iraq are
a conscious effort to distract public attention from growing problems at
home.
"This administration, all of a sudden, wants to go to war with Iraq," Byrd
said. "The [political] polls are dropping, the domestic situation has
problems.... So all of a sudden we have this war talk, war fervor, the bugles
of war, drums of war, clouds of war.
"Don't tell me that things suddenly went wrong. Back in August, the president
had no plans.... Then all of a sudden this country is going to war," Byrd
told the Senate on Friday.
"Are politicians talking about the domestic situation, the stock market,
weaknesses in the economy, jobs that are being lost, housing problems? No."
Byrd warned of another Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Passed on Aug. 7, 1964,
that resolution handed President Lyndon Johnson broad powers to escalate the
war in Vietnam, a conflict that cost 58,202 American lives and millions of
Asian lives.
"Congress will be putting itself on the sidelines," Byrd told the Senate.
"Nothing would please this president more than having such a blank check
handed to him."
Byrd said his belief in the Constitution will prevent him from voting for
Bush's war resolution. "But I am finding that the Constitution is irrelevant
to people of this administration."
Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., both praised Byrd
after he spoke.
"It is the height of patriotism to ask such hard questions," Clinton said.
"No one exemplifies that more than the senior senator from West Virginia."
Byrd said, "Before the nation is committed to war, before we send our sons
and daughters to battle in faraway lands, there are critical questions that
must be asked. To date, the answers from the administration have been less
than satisfying."
Byrd repeatedly said Bush has failed to give members of Congress any evidence
about any immediate danger from Iraq. Byrd also criticized his speech to the
United Nations.
"Instead of offering compelling evidence that the Iraqi regime had taken
steps to advance its weapons program, the president offered the U.N. more of
a warning than an appeal for support.
"Instead of using the forum of the U.N. General Assembly to offer evidence
and proof of his claims, the president basically told the nations of the
world that you are either with me, or against me," Byrd said.
"We must not be hell-bent on an invasion until we have exhausted every other
possible option to assess and eliminate Iraq's supposed weapons of mass
destruction program. We must not act alone. We must have the support of the
world."
Byrd said Congress needs solid evidence and answers to several specific
questions, including:
* Does Saddam Hussein pose an imminent threat to the U.S.?
* Should the United States act alone?
* What would be the repercussions in the Middle East and around the
globe?
* How many civilians would die in Iraq?
* How many American forces would be involved?
* How do we afford this war?
* Will the U.S. respond with nuclear weapons if Saddam Hussein uses
chemical or biological weapons against U.S. soldiers?
* Does the U.S. have enough military and intelligence resources to
fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while mobilizing resources to prevent
attacks on our
own shores?
Byrd said the proposed resolution Bush sent Congress on Thursday would be the
"broadest possible grant of war powers to any president in the history of our
Republic. The resolution is a direct insult and an affront to the powers
given to Congress."
Byrd also criticized Bush's request for power to carry out "pre-emptive
attacks" and send troops to Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, the West Bank
and anywhere else in the Middle East.
"I cannot believe the gall and the arrogance of the White House in requesting
such a broad grant of war powers," Byrd said. "This is the worst kind of
election-year politics."
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes.)
� : t r u t h o u t 2002
"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so
long as I'm the dictator."
-GW Bush during a photo-op with Congressional leaders on
12/18/2000.
As broadcast on CNN and available in transcript on their website
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0012/18/nd.01.html
Steve Wingate, Webmaster
ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES
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