CHICAGO,
IL – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky issued the following statement
in reaction to President Bush’s announcement today about naming a commission
to investigate pre-war intelligence in Iraq.
“Unable
to continue to resist mounting pressure to answer truthfully why the United
States went to war, President Bush was forced to act. Unfortunately,
President Bush’s response is completely inadequate. What is required
is an independent commission created by Congress, not by the White House
political machine.
“The
White House is currently stonewalling the bipartisan 9/11 Commission by
refusing to provide documents, so how can the American people trust President
Bush’s proposed commission, all of whose members would be appointed
by him?
“As
important as investigating intelligence failure is a complete independent
review of the way the White House used that information and the likelihood
that they cherry-picked and manipulated that intelligence to justify a
war with Iraq.”
Schakowsky
is a cosponsor of H.R. 2625, legislation authored by U.S. Representative
Henry Waxman, to create an independent commission - modeled after the September
11 Commission. The Commission would examine the intelligence about
Iraq, representations made by executive branch officials about this intelligence,
and whether the Bush Administration distorted evidence about Iraq’s weapons
of mass destruction. |