Monday, November 14, 2005

Can Bush Be Trusted Again?. This weekend, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts suggested that the President could no longer be unconditionally trusted if he called for future military action. “I think a lot of us would really stop and think a moment before we would ever vote for war or to go and take military action,” Sen. Pat Roberts (Kan.) said on “Fox News Sunday.” Given the White House[base ']Äôs current argument that those who took the President[base ']Äôs pre-war statements about Iraq at face value are equally at fault as the administration, Congress has every right to be weary of trusting the President in the future. Here[base ']Äôs a question every defender of Bush needs to answer: Would you trust the President[base ']Äôs word if he sought a resolution for future military action? Below are some examples of Bush[base ']Äôs congressional allies who urged critics of the war to trust President Bush on Iraq. Rep. J.D. Hayworth: [base ']ÄúI don’t believe the president is trying to deceive anyone or dissuade anyone. People can trust the word of the president of the United States. He makes a compelling case that we cannot trust Saddam.[base ']Äù [Fox News, Hannity & Colmes, 10/7/02] Former Rep. Joe Skeen: “Rep. Joe Skeen, a Picacho Republican, said some of the issues involved are necessarily secret. ‘He (Bush) knows more about the situation in Iraq than probably anyone else in the world. And he’s not about to tell Congress everything he knows,’ Skeen said. ‘So you have to know he’s playing some of his cards close to his chest this time. I know him and I trust him. So I support him.‘” [Albuquerque Tribune, 10/11/02] Former Majority Leader Dick Armey: [base ']ÄúThe House voted 296-133 in favour of a resolution giving Mr Bush the right to launch a military strike, even without the backing of the United Nations. [base ']ÄòMr President, we are about to give you a great trust,[base ']Äô said the House majority leader, Republican Dick Armey.[base ']Äù [Independent, 10/11/02] “Mr. President,” he said, “we trust to you the best we have to give. Use them well so they can come home and say to our grandchildren, ‘Sleep soundly, my baby.’ ” He choked up and walked out of the House chamber. [NYT, 10/11/02] Sen. Robert Bennett: [base ']ÄúI’m absolutely sure that the Presidential power will be used in the right possible way in every possible circumstance. I will be doing it because I trust George W. Bush’s instincts as outlined, as clearly as any President has ever outlined America’s role in the post-war world.[base ']Äù [NewsHour, 10/7/02] Sen. Trent Lott: “The Democratic Party is - is certainly very liberal, and I think is really represented by people like Jim McDermott and David Bonior that went over to Baghdad and said we can take Saddam Hussein at face value, but we can’t trust the president of the United States,” Sen. Trent Lott said. [Boston Globe, 10/7/02] “Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) derided Daschle and other Democrats for isolating themselves in their opposition to giving Bush the power he needs. ‘I trust this president and I believe the American people do,’ said Lott. ‘Only in the Senate Democratic caucus do you find that kind of reservation.’” [Los Angeles Times, 10/3/02] Rep. Don Young: “The President understands, I understand and a sizable majority of the Congress understands that the UN is not responsible for the safety of America. Saddam Hussein is in fact a dangerous threat to our Democracy. In the end, we have to address these facts and I trust the President and his advisors to handle this situation,” said Congressman [Don] Young [R-AK]. [Press Release, 10/3/02] - Faiz and Payson [Think Progress] 12:46:21 PM    comment []

Iraq detainees 'found in poor health'. Facing "significant resistance," U.S. and Iraqi forces on Monday entered the western town of Ubeydi on the tenth day of Operation Steel Curtain, an offensive designed to push insurgents from along the Iraq-Syria border. [CNN.com - World] 12:32:20 PM    comment []

Breaking: GAO Confirms FDA Put Ideology Before Science On Plan B. The GAO has just released a long-awaited report documenting the politicized process that led the Food & Drug Administration to block over-the-counter (OTC) access to Plan B, the “morning-after pill,” in 2003. The blockbuster finding of the report is that then-FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford (a close ally of anti-choice groups) reportedly decided to reject the Plan B application months before the FDA’s study of the drug was completed. FDA officials, including the Director and Deputy Director of the Office of New Drugs and the Directors of the Offices of Drug Evaluation III and V, told us that they were told by high-level management that the Plan B OTC switch application would be denied months before staff had completed their reviews of the application. The Director and Deputy Director of the Office of New Drugs told us that they were told by the Acting Deputy Commissioner for Operations43 and the Acting Director of CDER, after the Plan B public meeting in December 2003, that the decision on the Plan B application would be not-approvable. They informed us that they were also told that the direction for this decision came from the Office of the Commissioner. … Both office reviews were not completed until April 2004. Of course, times haven’t really changed. President Bush’s FDA is still putting politics over science, women’s health, and responsible abortion prevention, and Plan B still isn’t available over-the-counter. [Think Progress] 12:29:46 PM    comment []

Medical Experts Debate Role In Facilitating Interrogations . On Oct. 19, leaders of several medical organizations flew to the U.S. Navy detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After meeting with officials and two psychologists who served as consultants during interrogations with detainees, a vigorous debate sprang up among the experts over the ethics of... By Shankar Vedantam. [washingtonpost.com - washingtonpost.com - elections, campaigns, government and politics news and headlines.] 7:34:29 AM    comment []

http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf 7:17:14 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2005 Patricia Thurston.