forest
"Bush's war plans are a cover-up, Byrd says"
Sat Sep 21 22:00:18 2002
208.152.73.211

"Bush's war plans are a cover-up, Byrd says"
Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2002 16:25:32 -0500
From: forest215@juno.com



(Don't expect to see Senator Byrd on any Sunday morning talk shows.)

Noticed at http://www.buzzflash.com/  --
http://www.wvgazette.com/display_story.php3?sid=200209213
Bush's war plans are a cover-up, Byrd says
By Paul J. Nyden, STAFF WRITER
September 21, 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.”

To contact staff writer Paul J. Nyden, use e-mail or call 348-5164.

© Copyright 2002 The Charleston Gazette

• Senator Robert (October Surprise) Byrd — David Howard, Sun Sep 22 01:49
• Write "We are being lied to" on EVERYTHING! — Lisa Thomas, Sat Sep 21 22:46

• Not singing to the choir...

  — Ed Williams, Sat Sep 21 23:41
• Bush reissues order keeping Nevada site secret — James Black, Sat Sep 21 22:29