Ignores FOIA Demand
Congressmen Request WMD Intelligence Info
* The White House and DOD have failed to turn over WMD evidence after 500,000 Americans signed a petition delivered to Bush six months ago. He also has failed to answer questions or turn over documents requested by 52 Congressmen after the Downing Street Memo also surfaced in May. Many observers feel Bush thinks he's above the law, acting like Hitler in Nazi Germany.
By Greg Szymanski
12-27-5
The White House is again demonstrating how it feels above the law, as it arrogantly has refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made six months ago by 52 Congressmen.
The Democratic lawmakers are seeking information on whether President Bush doctored WMD intelligence data to justify the Iraqi War, a hotbed issue for millions of Americans with over 500,000 officially writing Bush, asking for immediate answers.
However, Bush has ignored both the FOIA request and the public outcry, hiding behind what some* *call a cloak of arrogance, phony national security reasons and a Republican majority inCongress, openly furthering a neo-con war agenda destructive to American interests.
Although Rep. John Conyers (D-Mi) and the other band of 50 Democrats are fighting the good fight and working within the system, critics suggest they are just "beating their heads against a neo-con brick wall" since Bush and his protective Republican allies have no intention of leaking the truth to the American people, knowing it will lead to impeachment.
In the interim, many critics suggest Rep. Conyers and the others are fighting a losing battle, both on Capitol Hill and in the public relations arena, where much of middle class America has been sheltered from the facts behind Bush's real motives for going into Iraq by a cooperative and partisan press, also protecting secret White House interests.
It's common knowledge Bush's public approval ratings have fallen below the political Mendoza Line, but administration operatives and Bush himself appear to care less.
Although support is fading, the administration appears anxious to further its war agenda, displaying outright arrogance while knowing the President is insulated from serious impeachment action due to what many critics feel is "a one-party dictatorship created after a 30 year neo-con power grab has now fully cast its dark shadow over the Washington D.C. landscape."
It's no secret American is trouble going into 2006. But the question remains how can the people fight back? Or the bigger question looms: Do enough Americans really care?
"Americans have been played for suc***s and now all hell will break loose in the years to come," said one neo-con critic, adding any corrections to America's dilemma cannot be made from within a corrupt political system gone "mad with power" and beyond the point of return.
"We need to remove the cancer from within, save the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and then begin again. I just hope it's not too late."
While some in America are calling for outright revolution like fashioned by America's forefathers against the British, Rep. Conyers is embroiled in a political battle within the halls of Congress against the administration over the release of vital documents concerning the strong possibility Bush lied to the American people about his real motives behind the Iraqi War.
Although Bush's foot has been put in the fire over a number of other issues meriting impeachment inquiries, the fixing of WMD intelligence data to fit a pre-established war policy remains his Achilles Heel if Democrats can ever break through the barrier of suppression and protection provided by neo-con minions in all three branches of government.
To illustrate how uncooperative the administration has become with FOIA requests, it took the Department of Defense (DOD) almost five months to respond to Rep Conyers initial request when On Nov. 30 DOD officials told Conyers in part:
"The request would take considerable time to process," asking Conyers his willingness to pay fees for the WMD documentation, estimated by the DOD to be $110,000.
This callous response, boarding on outright refusal to turn over anything, came after Rep. Conyers wrote the DOD on June 30 and then follow-up with an Aug 11 letter to the Office of Counsel to the President, saying:
"On June 30, 2005, I and 51 other Members of Congress requested access to 'all agency records, including but not limited to handwritten notes, formal correspondence, electronic mail messages, intelligence reports and other memoranda,' as described in five enumerated paragraphs. A copy of the request letter is enclosed.
"The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires your office to respond to a FOIA request within twenty business days from the date of receipt of such a request. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i). The deadline has now elapsed without any response from your office. Because the leaked memoranda from Great Britain raise serious questions over when important war-related decisions were made, time is of the essence.
"I and the other Members of Congress do not wish to resort to litigation because, at this point, a cooperative approach is better suited to resolving the situation. I am available to assist your office in any way possible to facilitate the prompt release of the requested documents. If you need clarification of the request or have any questions, please contact Stacey Dansky of the House Judiciary staff at 202-225-6906."
Since Rep. Conyers has not received an adequate response from the administration, last week he has introduced bills to censure Bush and Cheney for their refusal to respond, the Resolutions to be voted on by the House when it again convenes in January 2006.
"I have introduced a Resolution creating a Select Committee with subpoena authority to investigate the misconduct of the Bush Administration with regard to the Iraq war and report on possible impeachable offenses, as well as Resolutions proposing both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney should be censured by Congress based on the uncontroverted evidence of their abuse of power," said Rep. Conyers.
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