Conyers: Rice Lets the Truth Slip. * Does Not Intend to Bring Troops Home

[paineinthearse]

http://www.conyersblog.us/default.htm

Sunday, June 19th, 2005

"A Generational Commitment"??!!
Secretary Rice Lets the Truth Slip
The President Does Not Intend to Bring Our Troops Home

I find http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=1120">this truly astounding. As there is a growing bipartisan consensus in Congress that we need to get out of Iraq, and do so very very soon, this Administration appears to be heading in exactly the opposite direction. As Republican Senators publicly proclaim that the situation if Iraq is eroding, we learn that there is no "exit strategy" because no exit is planned. How out of touch with the reality on the ground and the reality here at home is this?

Blogged by JC on 06.19.05 @ 01:42 PM ET

http://thinkprogress.org/index.php?p=1120

This morning on Fox News Sunday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked if “the Bush administration fairly be criticized for failing to level with the American people about how long and difficult this commitment will be?” Rice responded:

he administration, I think, has said to the American people that it is a generational commitment to Iraq.

That’s not true. To build support for the war the administration told the American people that the conflict in Iraq will be short and affordable.

Vice President Dick Cheney, 3/16/03:

y belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. . . . I think it will go relatively quickly. . . (in) weeks rather than months

Donald Rumsfeld, 2/7/03:

It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.

Former Budget Director Mitch Daniels, 3/28/03:

The United States is committed to helping Iraq recover from the conflict, but Iraq will not require sustained aid…

[killbotfactory]

1. People are lining up in the streets to join the army for this

READ MY LIPS: NO NEW DRAFT

[warrior1]

2. I'm sorry did she say

Draft?

[tecelote]

3. Too much money left on the table.

You can't stop the war now. By gosh, many oil wells are still not even up yet and the money made so far is minute compared to what we'll have a generation from now.

[EVDebs]

33. And the '08 candidate Sen McCain: "10, 20 yrs, that's not so bad"

"When asked this week (September 3, 2004) on CNN how long the U.S. military is likely to remain in Iraq, Senator John McCain replied "probably" 10 or 20 years. "That's not so bad," he said"

http://spectrumz.com/z/fair_use/2004/09_04.html

NOT SO BAD ? How stupid are these assholes, and that's respectfully speaking at this point in time. Let that quote haunt the R's into '06 and then '08.

Their street cred is shot to hell. The lying liars also disregard that we the public CAN READ:

Chicago Tribune March 23, 2004

14 `enduring bases' set in Iraq
Long-term military presence planned
http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2004/040323-enduring-bases.htm

"" the engineering vision is well ahead of the policy vision. What the engineers are saying now is: Let's not be behind the policy decision. Let's make this place ready so we can address policy options.""

Let's not forget that the DoD vision is an UNCONSTITUTIONAL vision either, based entirely upon lies told to Congress to 'enable' funding for projects that are ahead of policy !

[katinmn]

4. We have to nail these liars!!

:mad:

[stepnw1f]

5. This Administration Is a Liability To Our Security

They are dangerous and without any moral authority at all.

[Justice]

6. This commitment is so damning - OMG

Generational:

all applicable definitions --


http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=generational&x=7&y=19

" a body of living beings constituting a single step in the line of descent from an ancestor" or

" a group of individuals born and living contemporaneously" or

"a group of individuals having contemporaneously a status (as that of students in a school) which each one holds only for a limited period"

and she says it so casually.

[roscoeroscoe]

7. "secretary rice, what is a generational commitment?"

"sss.... a full reproductive cycle of the worker race... the underlingsss... their breedersss... must breed more young... sss... more workersss, more blood... the sssacrificcsse mussst continue..."

[Viva_La_Revolution]

55. ...

:rofl:

[johnnypneumatic]

9. impeach:

impeach: America will be safer with * out of power

[The Doctor.]

8. They never had any intention of leaving.

They will eventually 'tone down' our presence, but they need to secure control of the oil and oil policy first.

[shraby]

10. It's obvious they have no intention to leave.

If they intended to leave, why build 14 permanent army bases and the largest embassy in the world?

[FreedomAngel82]

38. Of course

But a lot of rightwingers will say they always build bases during a time of war and that we need to stay because of all the violence etc. :mad:

[Chicago1]

11. This bunch is gettinig IMPEACHED

I hear everyone's concern about getting out of Iraq and I want us to be out of there too...but this bunch just isn't going to make it. The evidence has just piled up and the ship is sinking...so I think Kerry/Edwards will help us get out of this when they take office.


Waiting for the IMPEACHMENT WHILE THE SCANDALS KEEP UNFOLDING
America's Work Stories
http://usaworkstories.blogspot.com
[e-mail]

[susu369]

12. She also said "so-called insurgents" at least twice this morning

(speaking of situation in Iraq)what did she mean by that?

:shrug:

[warrior1]

14. The only way

they could win this 'war' is if they expell all of the people living in Iraq. Then they could claim it to be the New Middle East of America. Praise Jesus Bush! Amen.

[Gay Green]

42. They will NEVER be able to expel all the people of Iraq...

...unless they resort to Ethnic Cleansing or some other kind of Final Solution.

[IndyOp]

52. Maybe the new phrase "so-called insurgents" cues us that they

are about to claim the Iraqi's are no longer an informal band -- it is now a well-organized, well-funded army and deserves tougher treatment.

Worse: they will move toward an argument than Iranian/Syrian/Saudi Arabian governments are supporting the 'insurgents' and, thus, they have reason to attack other countries.

Did you catch Porter Goss' interview today in which he said he knew where Osama Bin Laden was, but that the US was constrained in their ability to go get him because the US respects the sovereignty of other nations (:rofl:). Goss' comment sounds like a similar set up -- we asked those sovereign nations nicely if we could go after Osama and they said 'no,' so now we have reason to attack them.

:scared:

[IndyOp]

53. By Tuesday, Wednesday? The so-called insurgents will

be 'revealed' to be Iranian --
<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1563771>

:scared:

[susu369]

56. Interesting and scary theory, IndyOp

When I hear talk of going into Iran it brings back that sick and ominous feeling that I had when we first attacked Fallujah. Extremely bad vibes.

[Maestro]

13. When did the administration say this was a

generational commitment? Wow, she is just making crap up!

[FredStembottom]

29. Is this a PNAC slip?

Aren't there "generational committments" in the PNAC master plan?
:think:

[Maestro]

32. I think you are right.

This is from The Nation, Feb. 2005.

PNAC's Happy Warriors

by JASON VEST



If love means never having to say you're sorry, its epitome was recently expressed by the Project for the New American Century. A glorified letterhead under which neoconservatives and liberal hawks have been affixing their signatures for years (primarily in the service of bringing regime change to Iraq), PNAC's latest communiqué was dispatched to Capitol Hill on January 28. It implores Congressional leaders to add at least 25,000 troops to the Army and Marine Corps each year for the next several years, as "it should be evident that our engagement in the greater Middle East is truly...a 'generational commitment.' "

"Generational commitment"? Quite a shift from PNAC's March 19, 2003, letter, in which it envisioned that US troops would constitute the bulk of military forces in Iraq for not much more than a year. "Should be evident"? It was, in fact, quite evident to scores of civilian and military professionals well before March 2003 that an Iraq war was likely to be a long, costly endeavor, especially in terms of manpower. And it was those people whom many of PNAC's signatories ignored or disparaged at every turn.

More here: Jason Vest article

[FredStembottom]

49. Then if I am right.......

Is that not a significant little bit of verbiage. A direct quotation of PNAC language coming from our Sec. of State? I mean, talk about yer ice-berg tips!

Shouldn't DU do what DU does and point this phrase out to like, about a million people?:think:

[Amonester]

50. YES!

DU should.

DU: do!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:
:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:
:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[Maestro]

54. Yes

I think we should and I shall. ;)

[Nothing Without Hope]

15. Of course they want to keep troops in Iraq- that's why they have been

planning and building permanent bases. It's to guard the oil and serve as a base for attacking other MidEast countries--er--I mean --- protect us from all those terra-ists. Of course, they weren't threatening the US before their country was invaded, but hey, regime change is a good thing, right? At least the most of the torturers these days are good white Christians, who do it for their own good.

Good that Conyers is publicizing this little slip of Condi's. He is increasingly seen as a visible spokesperson for the progressive opposition to the neocon cartel, which is a very, very good thing.

WE NEED A VIDEO CLIP OF CONDI MAKING THAT STATEMENT AND WE NEED TO PUBLICIZE IT. You know that li'l Scotty will lie lie lie and deny she ever said it. We need to show him lying and her for once telling the truth.

Recommended. This is signficant.

[paineinthearse]

16. Somewhat related - Frontline's new program this Tuesday

Received by email.

FRONTLINE - Private Warriors - Tuesday, Jun. 21, 2005 at 9.00 pm (WGBH 2) on PBS

FRONTLINE
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/

- This Week: "Private Warriors" (60min.),
Tuesday, Jun. 21, 2005 at 9.00 pm (WGBH 2) on PBS
- Inside FRONTLINE: A first encounter with the private side of the
Iraq war
- Live Discussion: Chat with producer/correspondent Martin Smith this
Wed. at 11 am ET

-------------------------------

+ This week

There is a story in Iraq that I'd call 'the elephant in the room' - the huge role of private contractors in the war effort. There are as many as 100,000 civilian contractors and approximately 20,000 private security forces in the country. In "Private Warriors," our report this Tuesday, you will get an eye-opening look behind the scenes at the Halliburton subsidiary, KBR, the largest company running U.S. military supply lines and operating U.S. military bases. You'll also enter the world of the private security firms that are performing many military functions. The tension between these security teams and the military is just one simmering and largely unreported problem in the private side of this war. The problem is reflected in an incident that didn't make it into the film, but which producer/correspondent Martin Smith shared with me:

"It didn't take long for our story to slap us in the face. We had just
arrived in Kuwait and were driving to Camp Arijan, southwest of Kuwait City. It's a major staging area for the Iraq war. Captain David Tippett would be greeting us somewhere outside the first checkpoint to clear us in. Tippett's a guy a lot of journalists know well as he has helped hundreds move through Kuwait and over the border into Iraq ever since the early days of the war. He's a savvy public affairs officer, and I knew we were in good hands.

But, just outside the main base gates we hit a long line of trucks.
Tippett is on the phone telling us to skip the line and meet him at the gate. We pull out of the line-up and move down the left lane. But, out of nowhere, two black Suburbans with tinted windows bear down on us forcing us onto the left shoulder. Armed guards jump out.

The guards work for a Fort Worth, Texas private security company CSA
(Combat Support Associates), which, I learn, has the contract to
protect the base. We get Tippett on the phone to get these guys off our backs. But the fun and games were just beginning. By the time we get to the gate and shake hands with the captain, we're already late and our first appointment on the base is threatening to cancel. We get out of our car and march over deep gravel up to a small trailer park of offices to get our ID's.

Next, I hear Tippett begin to raise his voice at one of the CSA guards, "They are my guests, they are approved." Our names are not on the list of visitors. Tippett wants the guard to call an army officer on base but the guard refuses. It's an army base; Tippett is a captain.

By now, Tippett is yelling, "This is an army base! These are my guests! Call the base commander!"

"We don't do that," says the CSA guard.

"Well, goddamn it, what if a bomb went off out here? You wouldn't call
the base commander?" asks Tippett.

"We don't talk with the army. We call our office," replies the guard.

There's always a silver lining. Because I'm thinking it could be part
of our story. We can't even get onto an army base with an army escort.
Then, in the middle of Tippett's argument, sirens go off. We're told,
"You gotta go, the dog sat down." We're herded, along with hundreds of
imported laborers also waiting to get onto the base, out into the
desert .. a few hundred yards away from the gate. We stand for an hour or two under a rising desert sun. One of the K-9's sniffed explosives and, as trained, sat down. We never did get on the base that day."

-----

We hope you'll join us Tuesday night for "Private Warriors" and after,
explore our web site for more on the consequences of outsourcing the
war, a closer look at the contractors who've been hired, and "Baghdad
From A Bullet Proof Window" -- a vivid report from producers Martin
Smith and Marcela Gaviria describing the dramatic changes they saw on
this most recent reporting trip to Iraq. Plus, watch their report again online and, take the opportunity to express your opinion about it at http://www.pbs.org/frontline/shows/warriors/

Finally, a note: "Private Warriors" concludes FRONTLINE's 23rd
broadcast season. We'll be back in September with a new line-up of
reports. Meanwhile, check your local tv listings over the summer for
rebroadcasts and go to our Web site where 50 video streamed programs
can be viewed online.

Louis Wiley Jr.
Executive Editor

This program will be rebroadcast at the following time(s):
Wednesday, Jun. 22, 2005 at 2.00 am (WGBH 44)
Wednesday, Jun. 22, 2005 at 10.00 pm (WGBH 44)


--------------------------
+ Live Online Discussion on Washingtonpost.com ...

Producer Martin Smith will be online this Wednesday, May 22, at 11am
ET, to discuss "Private Warriors"

For details, see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/06/16/DI2005061601172.html

----------------------------

To purchase a VHS or DVD copy of current or past FRONTLINE programs,
click on http://www.ShopPBS.com/

----------------------------

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----------------------------

FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of the WGBH Educational Foundation.

----------------------------

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----------------------------
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[FreedomAngel82]

40. That will be very good!

Oh and notice a key player was from TEXAS.

[FreedomAngel82]

39. I agree

Maybe MoveOn could make an ad out of it and compare it to other statements made by other members of the administration?

[Straight Shooter]

17. Finally I can tell my Repub acquaintances, hold your children close.

They believed bush would not drag their children into this war.

This is creepy. It means every child 12 and over is subject to being dragged into bush's never-ending bloody war, unless Heaven itself intervenes or people come to their senses and impeach this fraud.

Thank you, Ms. Rice. Just like bush, you let the truth slip out once in a while.

[FreedomAngel82]

41. 12 year olds and over?!

CHILDREN will be fighting in this war? Well actually it's not even a war. It's a brutal slaughtering of people for oil which concludes to an occupation. They know what's going on and that's why they're trying to fight us back and destroy oil fields.

[paineinthearse]

18. See video

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3895596&mesg_id=3895596

Thanks, dzitka!

[bettyellen]

19. kicked and nominated....

[autorank]

20. Conyers is the man of the new millennium. He's touched all the key

issues and has done so with courage and commitment. He is our leader in the Democratic party, as far as I'm concerned.

Where are the rest. Why didn't Pelosi show up at the "basement hearing" which I'm watching now? Why wasn't Reid there? WTF good our our current leaders if they can't support brave policy leaders like Conyers.

Enough already. I say it's time for...

NEW LEADERS FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Contact the DNC and Tell Them to PREVENT Election Fraud

[ray of light]

23. Read John Conyer's letter to the Post...

All the other people weren't there because they had 11 budget bills and votes going on within the hour and a half. I think it's time to stop beating up our side and complaining; don't you? Seriously, beat up on the majority party who scheduled these. And beat up on Bush. Beat up on the local representative who is not working for you. But quit beating up our own side.

[autorank]

30. rayof light, My local Representative is Moran, he's at the DSM hearing!

In fact, I'm watching the replay right now. I think that this is vital. I don't see our leadership hopping on this quickly enough. That's not "beating up" on them. If I ever do that, it will be unmistakable. That's saying where are they? How much more important an issue to lead on do they need? I had a DU "front page" article on Harry Reid, D, NV when he became majority leader. It was totally supportive. I consistently post in favor of Reid's good work. Nevertheless, I'm not going to let up on pressure to get them working for the country.

NEW LEADERS FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Contact the DNC and Tell Them to PREVENT Election Fraud

re: Above, that's not "beating up" either. That's us letting them know our will.

[ray of light]

46. I'm glad yours was there directly...

However, I know they had an unpresidented 11 bills up. The majority set this up to divide the room, just like they set up the tiny closet they shoved them into. Have no fear...I just watched it on cspan and they are going to go full-speed ahead and the Republican majority is looking more and more like they want to cover things up. This is a serious mistake for them. Americans don't know s*** but they know they don't like a hint of cover-up!

[autorank]

48. You're absolutely right..people hate cover ups & draw the right conclusion

It's like the voting rights violations in Ohio. If there was nothing wrong, open up everything!

I just want some red meat, now! Reid can do it. He called the iconic Greenspan "a political hack" and Bush "a liar." When he apologized for calling Bush "a loser" it was in a very off-handed way. The message stuck.

Scheduling all those bills was a disgrace, even worse than trying to force Conyers out of the building and then giving him a closet where many had to stand. The Democrats have no support outside the public. See Dana Milbank's pathetic, freeper article on the hearings. To bypass the press, the Democrats have to start shouting, pounding tables, ridiculing and making the point that they've had enough of the bullshit.

I'm a Yellow Dog Democrat. I have no where else to go so I'm hoping things crank up real soon.

:hi:

[EFerrari]

24. Exactly. Where is Nancy?

If she's picking her fights, she's not picking the right ones.

:nuke:

[autorank]

31. Nancy needs to drop her guard and LET LOOSE. She's got the power if

she'll just lay it out. She's from a great Democratic family. I'd' like to see her do a Howard Beal!

NEW LEADERS FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Contact the DNC and Tell Them to PREVENT Election Fraud

[FreedomAngel82]

43. I don't know about Pelosi

but Reid is a Senator and this was a Congressional forum. Senators don't attend Congressional forums from what I know since they work in different parts of the government.

[autorank]

51. Well, he could um...SPEAK OUT...That's all I want. All the DEMS

speaking out. I love that "Freedom Fries" Guy from NC, the Republican Congressman who changed his mind and now demands we leave Iraq. I can respect that a great deal.

I firmly believe the "troops," meaning the core Kerry supporters (as in core Democrats) are ready to rumble.

So as Michael Buffer says before all the big bouts:

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBULLLLLLLL!

[ananda]

21. Isn't perpetual war..

.. one of the precepts of fascism?

[leftchick]

22. So they finally admit what we have known about the PNAC plans

Interestingly she uses the same terminology as Clarridge...


http://www.thenation.com/blogs/outrage?pid=2132

"People need to get realistic and think in terms of our presence being in Iraq for a generation or until democratic stability in the region is reached," Dewey Clarridge, the CIA's former chief of Arab operations (and Iran-contra point man), told the Sun.

The fabled "exit strategy" may be not to exit. Thomas Donnelly, a defense specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, said the new communication system resembles those built in West Germany and the Balkans, places where American troops remain today. "The operational advantages of US bases in Iraq should be obvious for other power-projection missions in the region," Donnelly wrote in an AEI policy paper.

Next time the Bush Administration hints at withdrawing troops, keep these grand plans in mind.

[paineinthearse]

25. Troll/freeper reaction

http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000144.htm#comments

The freepers have finally caught on to Rep. Conyers' blog, man, they must be shitting in their pants. Here are a couple of their posts, in relation to Rice on ABC calling * committment "generational":

:puke: Comment #39: Joe Mama said on 6/19/05 @ 3:49pm ET...
OMFG...Conyers has been getting you retards all worked up in a lather over FAKED MEMOS??? (oh, pardon me..."re-typed" memos) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Must be a Rovian plot...HAHAHAHAHAHA
oh, wait...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

:puke: Comment #41: Warren Peace said on 6/19/05 @ 3:50pm ET...
Oh well, whatever the outcome of these dubious typed copies of some original memos-slash-minutes, one fact remains. One day very soon Congressman Conyers will be just another name no one remembers, while Two-Term President George W. Bush will be immortal throughout history along with the other Greats Presidents before him. Doesn't that make you proud to be an American?

sheesh

[FreedomAngel82]

44. The only thing wrong with the second statement

is Bush will be remembered but not like they wish. He will be remembered as an evil son of a bitch.

[charlyvi]

26. They are not human beings to him.

They are pawns in shrub's egotistical chess game. He can do it, so he will. Legacy. Retribution (for the New Deal--Prescott hated it). I can do better than Daddy. You get the picture.

[autorank]

27. KICK & Recommend

:kick:

[notadmblnd]

28. Let's try to get this through on Washington Journal in the AM

Call right at 7 when they start, I think it's easier to get through then too.

[Terran]

34. The truth comes out

Obviously this IS a generational commitment...if we want to protect our new oil supplies and our new bases. That's been pretty obvious from the get-go. We are never going to give Iraq back to the Iraqis, not as long as we have neocons running the country.

[FreedomAngel82]

45. Exactly

Bush didn't even want to have "elections" in Iraq. He already had someone in mind as reported by Greg Palast. My guess was Allawi. So it wouldn't have even been "democracy" and still isn't "democracy". Just a nice coverup for their asses. If you haven't seen that Greg Palast segment you should. It's so amazing.

[CatWoman]

35. back to the top!!!!

that WITCH!!!!!!

As I've noted before, these people are tripping over their own lies -- eventually the truth slips out.

[Disturbed]

36. Exit?

The only thing that will exit from Iraq is the oil.

[Amonester]

57. Wrong (sorry...).

Oil isn't the only thing that will exit from Iraq.

Four and a half billion years lasting radioactive depleted-uranium particules drained down into Iraq's natural sewer system, then out and into the sea waters will (already is)...

Plus the blood of thousands and thousands of innocent (and poor) people (that includes 1700+ poor boys 'n girls who hadn't the same "better priorities" option that some well known rich chicken pigs had...)

:mad:

[FreedomAngel82]

37. But wait

didn't they claim they had post-war planning and the British documents were wrong?? Are they showing the documents are indeed right?

[paineinthearse]

47. They have floated so many lies they are coming home to roost.

Just a matter of time till the public wakes up.