Home > Sen. Kennedy speaks out on Downing Street Memo, but where is John Kerry?

Sen. Kennedy speaks out on Downing Street Memo, but where is John Kerry?

by Open-Publishing - Tuesday 7 June 2005
9 comments

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The following was released by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) on the Downing Street Minutes this morning. Kennedy becomes the first senator to raise the issue in the Senate, after earlier reports that Massachusetts’ junior senator, John Kerry, would speak about the minutes in Washington.
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“The contents of the Downing Street Minutes confirm that the Bush Administration was determined to go to war in Iraq, regardless of whether there was any credible justification for doing so. The Administration distorted and misrepresented the intelligence in its attempt to link Saddam Hussein with the terrorists of 9/11 and Osama bin Laden, and with weapons of mass destruction that Iraq did not have.

"In addition, the Downing Street Minutes also confirm what has long been obvious - that the timing of the war was linked to the 2002 Congressional elections, and that the Administration’s planning for post-war Iraq was incompetent in all its aspects. The current continuing crisis is a direct result of that incompetence.

"Many of you have worked hard for the American people, the media and those in government to speak out about the Downing Street Minutes and the Iraq war. You can join me in speaking out as well.

"The policy of “shoot first, ask questions later” took us into an unjustified war, and without a clear concept of what “winning the war” actually means.

"President Bush constantly talks about the “progress” that is being made in Iraq against the insurgency, but he’s looking for good news with a microscope. All anyone can see is “Mission Mis-accomplished” and the continuing losses of American lives, the deaths of thousands of innocent Iraqis, the torture scandal, and the ominous decline in our nation’s moral authority in the world community.

We know the Administration had been planning to invade Iraq for many months before the invasion actually began. We know the Administration twisted the intelligence to make the facts fit their plan. We know that the Administration never really intended to give the U.N. weapons inspectors a reasonable chance to succeed. The Downing Street Minutes demonstrate that the Administration knew their case for war was paper thin, and that in order to go into war with the support of our allies, we had to demonstrate some willingness to go along with the UN inspection process. But the Administration continued to misuse its intelligence, distort the facts and pay only lip-service to the UN’s role in disarming Iraq.

"We never should have gone to war for ideological reasons driven by politics and based on manipulated intelligence. The Downing Street Minutes provide even more proof that this is exactly what happened on Iraq. The Administration’s dishonesty, lack of candor, and lack of planning have brought us to where we are today, with American soldiers dying, Iraqi civilians living in constant fear, and with no clearer picture of our strategy for victory in Iraq than when we started.”

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Kenne...

Forum posts

  • The editorial slant of the headline suggests that the Downing Street Minutes story won’t have a legitimate news value unless 2004 Democratic candidate John Kerry makes a speech, floor statement, or written comment about it. Nobody is stopping Kerry from taking such public action, and it’s fair to wonder about that. But Kerry is definitely not yet part of the story, and I personally don’t see why he gets even a mention, much less a headline mention, in any articles about the story.

    Other than House judiciary committee member Rep John Conyers (www.johnconyers.com), who has been asking and continues to be call for a simple committee inquiry into the mounting evidence of potentially impeachable crimes by the Bush administration, no US politicians are doing all they could to get notice for the Downing Street Minutes. Thanks heaven for John Conyers.

    • I think Kerry was specifically mentioned because he stated he was going to speak out about this in the senate yesterday.

      Conyers has been asking for signatures to force Bush to respond to the memo, and he has now responded with complete denial of reality.

      Bush and Blair questioned about Downing Street Memo at Press Conference

      I think that it is time for Conyers to move on to impeachment. I was never sure why we were trying to ask Bush to lie again, but now that he has, why collect signatures? It takes one member of the House of Representatives to call for impeachment in which case John Conyers, not John Kerry is needed. It is time to call for impeachment. When will Conyers step up to the plate? What is he waiting for?

    • Close, but not exact....

      Kerry said on Wednesday (reported on Thursday in the Standard-Times) that he "would raise the issue" of the DSM when he returned to Washington this week ("on Monday" referred to him returning to Washington). "Raising the issue" could be done in a number of ways, not necessarily a floor speech.

      With the attention garnered by his statement last Wednesday of intent to raise the issue, I’d say that DID raise the issue somewhat. Of course it was helped by the insane rabidity of the conservative sites claiming he was going to "push for impeachment" when in fact he said no such thing. (Of course it is interesting how they immediately assumed that raising the DSM = raising impeachment).

      I wonder if Kennedy (and now also Feingold, btw) jumped the gun on Kerry or if they are working in concert. My understanding is that the two Senators from Mass. get along fine, so I don’t think Kennedy would have been trying to undermine Kerry.

      Also note the press brought the issue up today, with CBS News, NBC, and Keith Olbermann all covering the press conference, where Mr. Bush got just a wee bit testy about the whole thing. Bush’s and Blair’s comments should be fodder for whatever Kerry is preparing.

      I’m sure we’ll hear something from Kerry soon. Whether it will be in a floor speech, or a committee hearing, or the breakfast Wednesday morning with Blair, or some other kind of statement, remains to be seen.

    • It’s about time that a U.S. Senator spoke out about the contents of the Downing Street Minutes, but I wonder if Ted Kennedy’s heated comments might do more harm than good for the Democrats in the 2006 midterm elections.

      With the current House, Senate, and the Supreme Court all controlled by Republicans, there is no chance of Bush, Cheney, or anyone in their administration getting impeached and removed from office , The only opportunity for impeachment and conviction (if proved guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors beyond a reasonable doubt) of Bush will be if Democrats can win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. For now, I am certain the 2006 Republican campaign would LOVE to hear more Democratic rumbling for impeaching the President, and that all the 2006 Republican House candidates would exploit it for smearing Democratic candidates as supporters of terrorism and Bible-banning, and haters of America and its clueless leader, George W. Bush.

      I think that John Conyers is following a logical strategy. He first submitted to President Bush a group letter from House members asking fair questions about the validity of the Downing Street Minutes, and asking Bush to challenge some assertions that he purposely manipulated the intelligence reports and lied to Congress as grounds for invading Iraq. Bush intentionally ignored the letter for several weeks, and just this week (with Tony Blair to prop him up) issued a waffling denial of the statements in the Downing Street Minutes. Bush has still failed to directly answer the questions put to him last month by members of the U.S. House Representatives. I think that Conyers is now calmly gathering the reams of objective evidence that even neocon Republicans would have to admit (but probably won’t) are grounds for a bipartisan subcommittee or a special proscecutor to investigate the alleged high crimes by the Bush administration.

      As for the Conyers petition of email signatures asking for an inquiry into possible crimes by the Bush administration, I think it’s meant to provoke some media attention to the questions raised by the Downing Street document about Bush’s premature determination to invade Iraq. Even though email petitions are basically worthless, since they aren’t physically signed, and can’t be verified as only one signature per person, I hope the delivery to the White House by Rep Conyers of a quarter million email signatures actually gets reported in the national media.

      I "signed" the Conyers petition once, using my real name, voting address, and valid email address. I anticipate that my email address (and everybody else’s) will be getting punished by a flurry of spam attacks and right-wing viruses once the White House get its hands on the email addresses of citizens who consider George W. Bush an enemy of the state.

    • We must demand impeachment and force our ’representatives’ to show their cards. At a time when everything has been exposed, some of our elected representatives will jump ship because they do not want to toss their previously respected careers.

      Just because someone has a D or and R next to their name doesn’t actually mean that they have to vote party line. If fact their job is to represent US and defend the constitution. Every vote should be considered for it’s merits. We need to return our government to this ideal. If impeachment isn’t possible, we need to see these congresspeople stand up and vote against the impeachment of this corrupt administration who has repeatedly lied to them, having just impeached a president over a personal situation.

      We need to expose what is happening in our government if we are to fix it. The constitution is a beautiful thing...let’s use it!

    • Republicans will not always be in the position they are in now. You forget one thing and that is there will be elections in 2006 and 2008 and there is a public watching what the Republicans are doing. In fact, the Republicans are steady losing ground in the public forum as we speak — seen any polls lately. There would nothing more rewarding to see as watching the once mighty majority become the hated minority. So you see your logic may be valid for now but it will not last forever.

      Joseph

  • Senator Kennedy released a statement on his website and on dailykos. I listened to Kennedy’s Tuesday floor speech via the archive on dembloggers.com, and I did not hear him refer to the Downing Street Minutes (or Memo). Perhaps the archive was incomplete? However, Senators often release statements via media without necessarily giving a floor speech on it.

    If that is the case in this instance, then it is not true to say that "Kennedy becomes the first senator to raise the issue in the Senate", because it would mean that Kennedy has not yet raised the issue "in the Senate" himself.

    Keep in mind that it was Kerry’s statement last Wednesday that stirred the pot in the first place - not to take anything away from Conyers and the efforts of activists, but it was Kerry’s name and the resulting rabid right-wing response that turned up the heat heading into this week.

    • Yes by all means let’s send in Kerry to sabotage the impeachment of Bush, after all he did a splendid job of throwing the election....now let’s all just hold our breaths until Kerry finally does something right....nah.

  • Boston Phoenix: THE SMOKING GUN?
    Kerry, Bush, and the Downing Street memo
    BY DAN KENNEDY
    ...In a statement e-mailed to the Phoenix on Tuesday, Kerry spokesman Setti Warren said, "Senator Kerry believes every American deserves a thorough explanation of the Downing Street memo. The Administration and the Washington Republicans who control Congress insult Americans by refusing to answer even the most basic questions raised in this memo about pre-war intelligence and planning for the aftermath of war. That’s unacceptable, especially with the lives of America’s sons and daughters on the line. John Kerry will demand answers in the Senate. Stay tuned."
    Kerry is right to demand answers. And though the Downing Street memo tells us little we didn’t already know, maybe it will prove to be the catalyst to finally holding the Bush administration to account. On Tuesday, both Bush and Blair attempted to play down its importance during a joint news conference, a sign that the issue may finally be gaining traction. Kerry — like a majority of senators — made a mistake when he voted to give Bush the authority he needed to go to war. But it was Bush who failed to follow through on the diplomatic front by building a genuine international coalition around the issues of Iraq’s alleged weapons capabilities and terrorist ties, as he had promised to do. The memo is further evidence, if any were needed, that Bush never even intended to try.
    http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/this_just_in/documents/04747410.asp