Durbin kept silent on prewar knowledge

THE WASHINGTON TIMES ^ | April 27, 2007 | Sean Lengell

[3AngelaD]

The Senate's No. 2 Democrat says he knew that the American public was being misled into the Iraq war but remained silent because he was sworn to secrecy as a member of the intelligence committee.

"The information we had in the intelligence committee was not the same information being given to the American people. I couldn't believe it," Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said Wednesday when talking on the Senate floor...

"I was angry about it. [But] frankly, I couldn't do much about it because, in the intelligence committee, we are sworn to secrecy...."

The White House responded by saying Congress had access to the same intelligence and voted overwhelmingly to go to war.

"We all understand today that there were intelligence failures, but there was no effort to mislead either members of Congress or the American people," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.

Mr. Durbin yesterday said there was no "ethical" way to notify the public of specific misleading information being touted by the Bush administration because it would have required revealing top-secret information being provided to the intelligence committee...

Congress authorized the 2003 use of armed force against Iraq by votes of 296-133 in the House and 77-23 in the Senate. Five of nine Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted for the measure as did all eight Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office circulated an e-mail...(saying)Mr. Durbin's comments were inconsistent with the words of other Democrats on the committee, including Sens. John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia and Carl Levin of Michigan...

A congressional official familiar with the information about Iraq that was provided to the intelligence committee in 2002 said it did not differ from what the administration was saying publicly...

[3AngelaD]

He has certainly put Rockefeller in an awkward position on this.

[BallyBill]

I think it would be his duty to speak up. If this were true, he either comes out a liar or a coward.

[MrB]

Yeah, I don’t buy it -

there’s never been a piece of classified info that the Dems wouldn’t leak in order to damage this president.

[jpl]

Does anyone believe this?

Not one iota. Durbin is lying through his teeth.

[daviscupper]

This is the same Dick Durbin that accused American soldiers of engaging in “Nazi like tactics” at Abu Graib. And now he is worried about being ethical. Yeah, this is rich.

He will do anything to demoralize Americans and the American military. Every time he opens his mouth he gives aid and comfort to the enemy. Years ago he would have been correctly labeled a traitor and dealt with accordingly. He is a vile, American-hating bitter old man.

[Political Junkie Too]

Did he write a note to himself and lock it away in his safe until now, like Rockefeller said he did?

-PJ

[four more in O 4]

His breath must be TERRIBLE.

[desherwood7]

Yeah, I bet he knew that this war was a fraud. Just like he said that our fighting forces were butchers.

[Eagle of Liberty]

"The information we had in the intelligence committee was not the same information being given to the American people. I couldn't believe it," Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said Wednesday when talking on the Senate floor...

I am embarrassed that someone like Dick Durbin is an American. Dick, stop insulting my and millions of other Americans intelligence. We could see the writing on the wall since 1979. YOU GUYS IN WASHINGTON are the ones who decided not to do anything about terrorism. I read a freaking article in High School in the mid-80's about all of the terrorists that inhabited Syria. All through the 90's, the nightly news talked about how awful Saddam was at least a few nights a week. We went to war with him in 1991. He fired missles into Israel. I specifically remember seeing the damage done by the missles that our Patriot system did not intercept. Explain Abu Nidal. Explain Saddam and Sudan. Explain Saddam, Osirak and the French. Explain Saddam's bunkers and the Germans. Explain Saddam's WMD removal with the Russians and the Syrians.

This "different intelligence" BS is insulting. Anyone who has been paying even remote attention to world news since 1980 could see for themselves what kind of monster Saddam was and what he was capable of. Durbin, you may have had to be convinced in 2002 by an intelligence report to go after Saddam, but MANY Americans have known for years that Saddam would have to be dealt with sometime. Much like we know Lil Kim and others will have to be dealt with.

The only thing most of Congress has shown itself to be good for for a while now is playing "kick the can" with America's problems. Heaven forbid you guys have to debate serious problems and come to agreements on methods for successful reforms.

Personally, I am sick and tired of listening to whiny crybabies in Washington who are supposed to be the REPRESENTATIVES of this great country. Do you freaking jobs. Look at reality. Take the threats to our nation seriously or GO FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO!!!

[corlorde]

Double-0-Durbin. (00Durbin)

Secret Agent man

[montag813]

What do the KosNazis have to say about THIS?? Isn’t Turban Durbin one of their heroes?

[IamConservative]

What a liar.....he could have revealed on the senate floor with impunity and absolutely NO risk of legal consequences.

At a minimum, he could have said to anyone, anytime, anywhere: "The information we have on the Senate Intelligence Committee is different than the Administration is presenting publicly." It's no more or less ethical now that it was in 2003. So what he is really saying is: "I am no longer ethical, so I can tell you this now." I've seen third graders that have more on the ball than these clowns.

[jveritas]

A Traitor and a Liar of the first degree. Does this man have any shame left in him?

[Sioux-san]

Thank the people of Illinois, and Michigan, and Massachusetts, and New York, and Vermont, and California (shall I go on?) for electing not 1, but 2 lame Senators to help lead our Nation. I live in Michigan and am ashamed of my two Senators, but even those two can’t compare with the traitorous rhetoric of Dick the Durbin. I have finally gone to the side of Term Limits as the only solution. Read Sen. Tom Coburn’s “Breach of Trust” and after it sickens you, then you’ll see that we have to kick out the Ruling Class, even the “good ones” and go back to Citizen legislators who won’t make a career out of “serving.”

[craig_eddy]

PowerLine has a great post on this at http://powerlineblog.com/archives/017457.php.

[3AngelaD]

That is truly hilarious:

"A Searing Self-Indictment

"Dick Durbin accused himself of political cowardice yesterday...

[gulfcoast6]

This is bull stuff, ain't no way a Dem would stay quiet on something like this, epically him..

[drzz]

LIE !

This guy is lying !

LIE !

[drzz]

Don’t discuss it. Don’t buy it.

It’s a LIE.

[You Dirty Rats]

I’ll paraphrase Xenophon:

“The ‘rat Party belongs to the person who has the courage to attack it”.