Rep. Israel says 'false pretenses' led to war

[cal04]

Three years after he voted for invading Iraq, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) says the case for war was based on a "false pretense" perpetuated by President George W. Bush. "I never would have voted the way I did had I known what I know now," said Israel, who will travel this week to Iraq for the second time. "Either he was misinformed or he misled. I'm not satisfied with either option."

Israel initially voted in favor of giving Bush the authority to use force to remove Saddam Hussein because, he says, Bush personally assured him that weapons of mass destruction would be found and that the fighting would be quick and relatively inexpensive. When Israel returns to Iraq, he said, he expects to find conditions nothing like what Bush had promised and a far more precarious environment than last time.

"I don't want to say we're losing, but we're not winning," said Israel. "We're playing a game of 'whack-a-mole,' where you hit an insurgent in one place and another appears somewhere else." During his first trip in January 2004, Israel said, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then commander of U.S. ground forces, told him there were no more than a "few thousand insurgents and 300 foreign terrorists" in Iraq.

"By some estimates there are now 20,000 insurgents and several thousand foreign terrorists," he said. "My guess is that his math at the time was right and U.S. military planning was wrong." While in Iraq, Israel said, the four-member delegation will travel to Baghdad and Balad and is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and President Jalal Talabani. For security reasons, Israel said, military officials asked that the visit's schedule not be disclosed.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-usisra0419,0,6537571.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

[mike_c]

1. why don't any of them have the courage to call it lies...?

:nuke:

[acmejack]

2. Steve is easily fooled it appears

He has the the dubious distinction of being one of the three dems who voted for the Medicare Drug Benefit Bill (HR1) as well...

[jsamuel]

3. accuses Bush of being "misinformed" as not satisfactory, but isn't he just

"misinformed" as well? So does that mean that Rep. Israel is just as guilty as Bush?

Just saying... I don't think that anyone who voted for the war res. is going to have a good time explaining it...

[howmad1]

4. Yup, it sure is easy to criticize when you're clueless.

I know for a fact that Rep. Israel is spending this evening in Iraq with our troops. I do hope you DU'ers have spent a pleasent evening at your computers bitching about a "damned if I do, damned if I don't" situation. Good god, what would you have liked the Congressman to do, tell the republican majority of voters in his district to fuck off, along with their president? Bet that move would get him re-elected to a fourth term - in a heartbeat. I am just amazed at the stupidity shown on this board sometimes.

[mike_c]

5. what do you have to say about all the dems who stood up....

...and voted against the IWR? Were they really "damned if you don't?" Nobody was damned except those who lacked the courage or the insight to stand up against an illegal war of aggression. They are war criminals.

on edit: I won't give this guy props for going to Iraq to "be with the troops." I'd rather he went to Crawford to be with those working to end this nightmare.