Senators Seek Probe of Spying Orders
Reuters is reporting that five U.S. Senators, Chuck Hagel, Olympia Snowe, Carl Levin Dianne Feinstein and Ron Wyden, have called for “an immediate inquiry into his authorization of spying on Americans.” Here’s some of the details of their proposal:
Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Olympia Snowe of Maine joined Democratic Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan, Dianne Feinstein of California and Ron Wyden of Oregon in calling for a joint investigation by the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees into whether the government eavesdropped “without appropriate legal authority.”
What a bunch of boneheads. The issue of security clearances might prevent some members of the Judiciary Committee from being able to see the details that the President is basing his case on. Without those details, how can the Judiciary Committee make any sort of ruling other than a blanket ruling that the President doesn’t have the authority? Based on Specter’s comments, them ruling that President Bush has the authority isn’t even a consideration.
Further, what makes those committees the final arbiters on this? Isn’t the Supreme Court where this dispute should be determined, if it hasn’t already?
Someone should let Mr. Hagel that this will be his only term in the Senate and that he’ll be defeated in the Republican Primary when he’s up for re-election. He’s been a constant critic of the Iraq war, saying such outrageous things as “Staying the course isn’t a plan, it’s a slogan” and hinting that we aren’t winning the war in Iraq.
As we’ve seen in the past couple weeks, we’re clearly winning over there, attacks are dropping and Iraqi troops are getting trained to being fully competent. And Sunnis are voting, with the insurgents protecting the Sunni voting stations. And with the Sunni insurgents negotiating a truce with the current government, with a permanent truce being called if certain reasonable requests are met. Here’s the list of the insurgents’ main requests:
- a reduction in military raids
- an increase in development projects for their vast desert province
If Sen. Hagel spent more time staying briefed on these issues instead of preening in front of CNN’s cameras, he might actually have learned these things.
As for the Democrats suggesting this probe, what would you expect from the party that cheers their leader when he announces that they’ve killed the Patriot Act? They’re to be derided, scorned and defeated.
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRing
December 20th, 2005 at 9:46 pm
Words/California/California
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December 20th, 2005 at 10:01 pm
Words/intelligence/intelligence
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December 20th, 2005 at 10:31 pm
“As we’ve seen in the past couple weeks, we’re clearly winning over there, attacks are dropping and Iraqi troops are getting trained to being fully competent.”
Ah, where have we seen this? A citation please.
What an idiot you are.
December 20th, 2005 at 10:33 pm
WAR NEWS FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2005
Bring ‘em on: Women killed, child injured by blast in Kirkuk
Bring ‘em on: Two police officers shot in Baqouba, one police officer shot in Baghdad. Fourteen bodies found in the outskirts of Fallujah, some still handcuffed and appearing to have been tortured (from three months ago). A driver for the Jordanian Embassy was kidnapped. Three civilians wounded when a bomb exploded in Baghdad.
Bring ‘em on: Gunmen fire on a car in Buhriz, killing four women and wounding five others. Member of the Badr organization shot in Baghdad. Two convoys of trucks carrying goods for US military attacked and set on fire in Baghdad.
Bring ‘em on: Three civilians wounded by bomb in eastern Baghdad.
Bring ‘em on: Two children wounded when gunmen open fire on the minibus they were traveling in. This happened in Baghdad. Two Iraqi contractors killed by gunfire near US base in Balad. Four civilians wounded by car bomb in Miqdadiya. Three people wounded by bomb in Basra. Gunmen attack the offices of the Turkman Front in Kirkuk. A guard killed and three more wounded. Two civilians killed by suicide car bomber directed at an Iraqi police colonel. Seven more wounded. Three bodyguards of Baghdad deputy governor were killed by gunmen and the governor and his secretary were wounded.
Bring ‘em on: Iraqi militant group posted video of the killing of a US security consultant who had been kidnapped.
Bring ‘em on: More than 200 foreigners and thousands of Iraqis have been kidnapped since the US led invasion in 2003. 54 foreign hostages are known to have been executed by their captors.
Following is a list of foreigners believed to be held hostage in Iraq: HOSTAGE NATIONALITY DATE OF CAPTURE Mohammed Rifat Canada April 8, 2004 Wael Mamduh Jordan April 12 Saad Saadoun Kuwait June 5 Ali Ahmed Mousa Somalia July 29 Unidentified hostage Jordan Sept 1* Four unidentified hostages Jordan Sept 5* Two unidentified hostages East Asian Sept 13* Khalifa al-Breizat Jordan Sept 14* Two unidentified hostages Turkey Sept 14 One unidentified hostage Syria Sept 16 Unidentified hostage Turkey Oct 9 Two unidentified hostages Turkey Oct 14 Unidentified Somalia Oct 30 Noureddin Zakaria Sudan Oct 30 Radim Sadiq U.S. Nov 2 Ghazi Abu Hamzeh Lebanon Nov 13* Two unnamed Turkey Dec 25 Two unidentified South Korea Jan 9, 2005* Unidentified Turkey Jan 13 Sayed Abdel Khalek Egypt Jan 13* Joao Jose Vasconcelos Jr. Brazil Jan 19 Mohammed Haroun Hamad Sudan March 9* Maher Ataya Sudan March 9* Nabil Tawfiq Sulaiman Egypt March 19 Mitwali Mohammed Qassem Egypt March 19 Jeffrey Ake U.S. April 11 Six unidentified Jordan May 6 Ali Abdullah Turkey June 7 Unidentified Turkey June 21* Samuel Edward Egypt Sept 26 Abderrahim Boualam Morocco Oct 20 Abdelkrim El Mouhafidim Morocco Oct 20 Norman Kember Britain Nov 26 James Loney Canada Nov 26 Harmeet Singh Sooden Canada Nov 26 Tom Fox U.S. Nov 26 Bernard Planche France Dec 5 Mahmoud Saedat Jordan Dec 20 2 Ghazi Abu Hamzeh Lebanon Nov 13* Two unnamed Turkey Dec 25 Two unidentified South Korea Jan 9, 2005* Unidentified Turkey Jan 13 Sayed Abdel Khalek Egypt Jan 13* Joao Jose Vasconcelos Jr. Brazil Jan 19 Mohammed Haroun Hamad Sudan March 9* Maher Ataya Sudan March 9* Nabil Tawfiq Sulaiman Egypt March 19 Mitwali Mohammed Qassem Egypt March 19 Jeffrey Ake U.S. April 11 Six unidentified Jordan May 6 Ali Abdullah Turkey June 7 Unidentified Turkey June 21* Samuel Edward Egypt Sept 26 Abderrahim Boualam Morocco Oct 20 Abdelkrim El Mouhafidim Morocco Oct 20 Norman Kember Britain Nov 26 James Loney Canada Nov 26 Harmeet Singh Sooden Canada Nov 26 Tom Fox U.S. Nov 26 Bernard Planche France Dec 5 Mahmoud Saedat Jordan Dec 20 Britain Nov 26 James Loney Canada Nov 26 Harmeet Singh Sooden Canada Nov 26 Tom Fox U.S. Nov 26 Bernard Planche France Dec 5 Mahmoud Saedat Jordan Dec 20
Bring ‘em on: Three bodies of kidnapped policemen found in western Baghdad. According to residents, unknown car threw the bullet-riddled bodies, Abdullah said, adding that the victims’ jobs were guarding a facility of a Saudi company working in building barricades for US troops and Iraqi security forces.
Bring ‘em on: US Marine killed by small arms fire in Ramadi on December 18.
Bring ‘em on: Gunmen attack civil defense members in Baghdad, three wounded.
Bring ‘em on: Three policemen killed in Tuz, two employees working in US military base killed in Balad when gunmen opened fired on their car
December 20th, 2005 at 10:54 pm
“As we’ve seen in the past couple weeks, we’re clearly winning over there, attacks are dropping and Iraqi troops are getting trained to being fully competent.â€Â
“Ah, where have we seen this? A citation please.”
http://insider.washingtontimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20051217-123710-1773r
U.S. commanders say fewer foreign fighters are carrying out the war’s suicide bombing attacks. The decrease is credited to better patrols along the Syrian border and village-by-village sweeps up and down the Euphrates River. Gen. Casey said suicide bombings went from 60 in June to 26 in November.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20051218-013825-8851r.htm
Key Sunni Muslim leaders in Iraq’s violent Anbar province have concluded that their interests lie in cooperating with the United States, and they are seeking to extend a temporary truce honored by most insurgent groups for last week’s elections. But at the same time, they are demanding specific steps by the U.S. military, including a reduction in military raids and an increase in development projects for their vast desert province that stretches from the edge of Baghdad to the Syrian and Jordanian borders.
Adnan al-Dulaimi, leader of a prominent Sunni bloc, confirmed yesterday that insurgent groups had prevented violence from interfering with Thursday’s election for a 275-seat parliament. His comments yesterday on a cease-fire deal, first reported in The Washington Times on the day Iraqis voted, provided the first public explanation for the sharp drop in violence last week.
A prominent Sunni religious leader in Anbar province, Sheik Abed al-Latif Hemaiym, told The Times in an interview in Amman that Sunnis were prepared to work with the Americans. “We now believe we must get on good terms with the Americans,” Sheik Hemaiym said. “As Arab Sunnis, we believe that within this hot area of Iraq, facing challenges from neighboring nations who want to swallow us, especially the Iranians, we feel we have no alternative.”
I hope that’s enough for now.
December 21st, 2005 at 5:18 am
Regardless of whether or not Bush acted legally, the Congressmen aren’t “boneheads” for calling for an investigation: they’re just doing their job. We have a government of checks and balances for a reason. Come on people, let’s not name-call for once.
December 21st, 2005 at 8:07 am
the Congressmen aren’t “boneheads†for calling for an investigation: they’re just doing their job.
James, You’re right about them just doing their job. I called them boneheads because they said they’d include the Judiciary & Intel committees. As I stated, there are people on the Judiciary Committee that don’t have the clearance to see all the information about the program.
Had they said Intel committee, I wouldn’t have called them boneheads.