Senators Finally Hold Hearing on Pre-War Intelligence

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/12383

Senators Finally Hold Hearing on Pre-War Intelligence
Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2006-06-26 22:16. Congress | Evidence
By David Swanson

Well, the Senate Intelligence Committee, under Republican control, and with very polite (OK, almost nonexistent) Democratic protest, has yet to hold hearings on the Iraq War lies, but today the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a Hearing on the model of Rep. John Conyers' Downing Street Memo hearing: no subpoena power, but great witnesses. And a Republican even came: Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina.

Here are the witnesses' prepared statements.

Here are my notes from the hearing in Room 192 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building:

Senators Dorgan, Reid, and Bingaman were here at the start.

Dorgan chairs the Policy Committee. Senator Rockefeller, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, was nowhere to be seen.

1:30 p.m. ET Dorgan opened the hearing and said........(lots more -including below)



Michael Smith's Prepared Testimony for Today's Senate Hearing
Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2006-06-26 22:01. Congress | Evidence


http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/dpc-hearing.cfm?A=33



Senate Democratic Policy Committee Hearing

Monday, June 26, 2006
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
192 Dirksen Senate Office Building



An Oversight Hearing on Pre-War Intelligence Relating to Iraq

Here is an example of the testimony--others at site:


Michael Smith
Defense Correspondent, London Sunday Times

June 26, 2006

My name is Michael Smith. I am the Defence Correspondent of the London Sunday Times and between September 2004 and May 2005, I was passed a number of British government documents that later became known as the Downing Street Memos, after the address of the official residence of the British Prime Minister, by a source within Whitehall.

The first batch of six documents was passed to me in September 2004, when I was the Defence Correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph. The main thrust of this first batch was the deep concern among British officials over the justification for the war and the way in which the U.S. administration was prepared to invade Iraq without any clear idea of what would happen after the war.

The earliest of the documents was a “Secret UK Eyes Only Options Paper” compiled by the Overseas and Defence Directorate of the Cabinet Office, and dated March 8, 2002. It warned bluntly that “the only certain means to remove Saddam and his elite is to invade and impose a new government, but this would involve nation-building over many years.”

Without a continued significant allied military force on the ground, “there would be a strong risk of the Iraqi system reverting to type. Military coup could succeed coup until an autocratic, Sunni dictator emerged who protected Sunni interests. With time he could acquire WMD.” (lots more)