Keep Giving 'Em Hell

Raw Story has the fact sheet that the Senate Democrats issued to reporters following Harry Reid's decision to call for a secret session (hand salute to Knit's End).

The fact sheet documents two and a half years of efforts by Senate Democrats to get to the bottom of the Iraq intelligence issue.

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Give 'Em Hell, Harry has Senator Reid's statement released yesterday (thanks to Ariadne).

…The record will show that within hours of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, senior officials in this Administration recognized these attacks could be used as a pretext to invade Iraq.

The record will also show that in the months and years after 9/11, the Administration engaged in a pattern of manipulation of the facts and retribution against anyone who got in its way as it made the case for attacking Iraq…

…Unfortunately the unwillingness of the Republican-controlled Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities is not limited to just Iraq. We see it with respect to the prisoner abuse scandal. We see it with respect to Katrina. And we see it with respect to the cronyism and corruption that permeates this Administration…

… Time and time again, this Republican-controlled Congress has consistently chosen to put its political interests ahead of our national security. They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican Administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why…

If you get a chance, click over there and read the whole thing.

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Religious right neo-icon Rick Santorum appeared on Imus this morning. He ticked off the standard list of anti-Reid talking points, then proceeded to praise Ahmed Chalabi as "one of the best sources of information we had" in the run up to invading Iraq.

Chalabi, who's coming to Washington this month to chum around with Condi Rice and security adviser Stephen Hadley, seems to be back in the administration's neo-graces.

As Arianna points out over at HuffPo, this is the same Ahmad Chalabi who:

- was a prime source of trumped up claims about Saddam's WMD
- bamboozled the Bushies while pocketing $340,000 a month from the US government
- tried to sabotage the UN's efforts to put in place an interim government in Iraq
- helped the White House Iraq Group sell the war by regularly passing faulty intel to Judy Miller
- introduced Curveball, another bogus source on WMD, to the intelligence community
- was accused of spying for the Iranians
- controlled a group of thugs accused of fraud, torture, kidnapping, and misuse of U.S. funds
- was convicted in abstentia of embezzling millions of dollars in Jordan in the 1980s

Which means, of course, that he fits right in with the crowd in the White House.

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Look for the Senate GOPers and their echo chamberlains to scream like the Wicked Witch did after Dorothy threw a bucket of water on her.

Unpatriotic, un-American, obstructionist, valueless, shameful, stunt players, defeatists, soft on terror… (you already know the entire list).

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Pat Roberts, Republican chairman of the intelligence committee, claimed yesterday that phase II of the Iraq intel investigation will be completed next week. I wonder if they'll try to get away with exonerating the administration of any wrongdoing.

Won't that be a lollapalooza!