[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Message from Senator Barack Obama

[Morton K. Brussel]

More of Obama, but this time he seems to be leaning a little more  
strongly to "question" the lead up to the war. We need to keep the  
pressure on him!
--mkb

Begin forwarded message:

> From: senator_obama at obama.senate.gov
> Date: April 25, 2006 12:35:57 PM CDT
> To: mkb3 at mac.com
> Subject: Message from Senator Barack Obama
>
> Dear M.:
>
> Thank you for contacting me regarding H.Res. 635. I appreciate your  
> view that the American people deserve to get to the bottom of the  
> controversy regarding the initiation of the U.S. commitment in Iraq.
>
> H.Res.	635 only applies to the House of Representatives. It would  
> create a Select Committee of House members charged with reviewing  
> and investigating any “predetermination” or manipulation of  
> intelligence in the run up to the war in Iraq. The resolution also  
> requires the Select Committee to report specifically on the  
> Administration’s policy on torture and, in the wake of the “CIA  
> leak” scandal, any retaliation measures taken against critics of  
> the invasion. And, as you note, the resolution directs the  
> committee to include in its report any information it gathers that  
> could constitute grounds for impeachment of the President.
>
> The American people deserve to know the truth about the  
> Administration’s decision to go to war, and they deserve to know  
> what our intelligence showed in the run up to the war. I agree  
> completely with your view that our Constitution grants Congress  
> that right, and that the highest officials in our government “must  
> be held accountable” for any misdeeds.
>
> Over 2,000 young men and women having made the ultimate sacrifice  
> in Iraq, and Congress has a moral obligation to provide the  
> American people with accountability and transparency regarding the  
> nation’s decision to invade Iraq. Unfortunately, Republican leaders  
> in both chambers have refused to meet those basic obligations. Rep.  
> Conyers’ resolution is one proposed solution to this stand-off in  
> the House, but it has yet to be reviewed.
>
> In the Senate, Republican leaders have failed to live up to their  
> own promise of an investigation of the flawed intelligence used in  
> the run-up to the war. On November 1, 2005, the Senate Democratic  
> Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV), determined that the only recourse to  
> force the chairman's hand was to take the Senate into closed  
> session. As a result of Senator Reid’s initiative, the Republican  
> leadership agreed to the formation of a bipartisan group of  
> senators to jump start and oversee the Committee's investigation  
> and report on its progress. Regrettably, we still face foot- 
> dragging by the Senate Republican leadership on the follow through  
> to this commitment.
>
> Thank you again for writing.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Barack Obama
> United States Senator
>
>
> P.S. Our system does not allow direct response to this email.  
> However, if you would like to contact me again, please use the form  
> on the website: http://obama.senate.gov/contact/
>
> Stay up to date with Barack's work in the Senate and on issues of  
> importance to Illinois. Subscribe to the weekly podcast here:  
> http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/private/peace-discuss/attachments/20060425/8cd276c8/attachment.htm