WP: Wolfowitz Draws Democrats' Ire

[kskiska]

Hearing on Iraq Spending Request Becomes Attack on Approach to War

Senate Democrats lit into the Bush administration's Iraq policies yesterday, using an uncharacteristically contentious hearing on additional war spending to attack the Pentagon's number two official in personal and bitter terms.

After listening to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz testify before the normally stately Armed Services Committee for several hours, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said, "What I've heard from you is dissembling and avoidance of answers, lack of knowledge, pleading process -- legal process."

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) then hit Wolfowitz, who is seen as a major architect of the Bush administration's approach to Iraq, with a virtual indictment. "You come before this committee . . . having seriously undermined your credibility over a number of years now," she said. "When it comes to making estimates or predictions about what will occur in Iraq, and what will be the costs in lives and money, . . . you have made numerous predictions, time and time again, that have turned out to be untrue and were based on faulty assumptions."

She quoted to him from his previous testimony from the run-up to the war, in which he asserted that the Iraqi people would see the United States as their liberator, that Iraq could finance its own reconstruction and that the estimate of Gen. Eric Shinseki, then the Army chief of staff, that it would take several hundred thousand troops to occupy Iraq was "outlandish."

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), usually the committee's fiercest critic of the Bush administration's stance on Iraq, seemed almost tame by comparison. He used his questioning time simply to criticize the administration's "arrogance" and remind colleagues to fulfill their constitutional duties.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25266-2004May13.html

[Trajan]

1. Wow ....

Hillary digging into the records to obtain Wolfowitz's prior lies before the Congress ...

Put the SMACK DOWN on his arse ! ....

Tis a joy to see this ....

YEAH ! ...

They have bungled one too many times now ....

THEIR chicken is coming home to roost ...

FUCK yeah ! ...

[BeFree]

2. The price was high

Many an innocent Iraqi has paid the ultimate price to motivate certain congresscritters to sit up and take notice, but now that they have, may the force be with them.

[Kolesar]

3. Kennedy, at it again!

...snip...
Warner seemed briefly to lose control of the committee yesterday, faced down by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) over whether Wolfowitz could be questioned on broad matters of Iraq policy or only the narrower issue of additional spending for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which together are costing about $4.5 billion a month.

When Warner admonished him to keep his questions to the budget issue, Kennedy erupted. "I've been on this committee for 24 years, I've been in the Senate 42 years, and I have never been denied the opportunity to question any person that's come before a committee, on what I wanted to ask," he said. "And I resent it and reject it on a matter of national importance."

Warner persisted, provoking a formal challenge from Kennedy. "Well, Mr. Chairman, then you're going to have to rule me out of order, and I'm going to ask for a roll call of whether the committee is going to rule me out of order," he snapped.

[jburton]

4. Damn!

Is this gonna be replayed on CSPAN?

[Kool Kitty]

11. It's being replayed on C-SPAN right now 11:20 PM EDT.

It's definitely worth a look-see.

[Mel]

12. I just watched it 5 minutes ago

(Kennedy part) it was good! It's still on but you missed the Kennedy smack down! Maybe, you can watch it at the C-Span site. It's worth a try!

[Hand]

5. Bwahaha! Go it, Teddy!

Puttin' a little WHUPASS on Warner! BEE-YOO-TI-FUL!! :loveya: :toast: :yourock:

[Tyler Durden]

6. When you piss off a Kennedy...

...you take your political life in your hands and juggle it.

[David Zephyr]

7. Kicking This Up In Tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy!

Please take the time to read the entire article posted by kskiska.

:kick:

[MO_Dem]

8. Wheeeeee!

I hope this is replayed on c-span--I'd love to see it!! I've only seen the little bit that CNN has been showing when Sen. Jack Reed was giving him hell. I loved it!

[MO_Dem]

10. I think it's on c-span now--10:30 p.m. CDT

I just switched channel to check and Wolferdrip is talking about money for the war--Lieberman talking now.

[gratuitous]

9. Holy smokes, using his own prior testimony against him!

Well done, Hillary. Shows the value of having an attorney with a little trial experience on a committee.

I hope Wolfowitz' twisted little heart hurts him just a smidgen tonight.

[Larkspur]

13. Byrd was probably hoarse for all those other times he condemned

the Bush Admin and his colleagues in the senate were mute or condoning Bush's illegal actions.

[DaveSZ]

15. Ted Kennedy is a REAL Democrat

Bless him!

:)

[mulethree]

19. Byrd was on their case recently

when Rumsfeld was up
what assurances that this won't become a slush fund
won't be used to plan and prepare for another war
why we should give up a large amount of oversight just because you are inept at planning and budgeting, the record calls for more oversight not less.

[0007]

14. Are the Dems smelling blood?

[maddezmom]

16. Officials Unaware of Interrogation Rules - Violation of Geneva Convention

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon (news - web sites)'s No. 2 general and the deputy defense secretary said they were unaware of interrogation rules approved for use in Iraq (news - web sites) allowing the use of dogs or days of sleep deprivation.

~snip~

But the approved techniques have also raised concerns on the committee. A summary of "Interrogation Rules of Engagement" provided to senators by Army officials says that, with a general's written approval, prisoners could be subjected to stressful positions for up to 45 minutes, isolation for more than 30 days, military dogs and up to 72 hours of "sleep management."


Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said he believed the policy would allow prisoners to be held "naked, with a bag over their head, squatting with their arms uplifted for 45 minutes."


Both Pace and Wolfowitz said such treatment would appear to violate the Geneva Conventions. But they said they weren't familiar with the interrogation techniques approved for use in Iraq.


The Pentagon late Thursday issued a statement saying the scenario Reed described would be "contrary to our regulations. Senator Reed is mistaken."

~snip~
more:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&ncid=718&e=1&u=/ap...

Looks like more officials are distancing themselves from the torture and methods approved by DOD. Later in the article MG Miller defending methods used.......

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. Ignorance is not an acceptable defense in this case

These are the guys who are in charge of Iraq.

It's amazing how much they know when the want something. But when they screw up, all of a sudden they don't know shit?

[CWebster]

17. Having been disappointed with Hillary in the past

It is times like these when she shines.

Take the ball and run.