GOP Rep. to former Bush staffer: Investigate WMD claims before attacking Susan Rice

[kpete]

Last edited Sun Dec 2, 2012, 06:33 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Raw Story

Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma, says that if lawmakers are going to go after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice over her initial public assessment of the September attack in Benghazi then maybe Congress should also look at how President George W. Bush pushed bad intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Dan Senor, who worked to spin the Iraq war for the Bush administration as the chief spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), told a Sunday panel on ABC that Rice deserved to be scrutinized because she was “front and center” as the voice of the Obama administration after the Benghazi attack.

.......................

“There is a legitimate concern that she was used five days after the fact to propagate a story that we should have known at the time was not the case,” Cole agreed, adding that there were also “serious questions about our own intelligence people.”

“We saw President Bush out front defending something wasn’t true too,” the Oklahoma Republican recalled. “Maybe we should ask those guys some questions too.”




Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/02/gop-rep-to-former-bush-staffer-investigate-wmd-claims-before-attacking-susan-rice/

[calimary]

1. Yeah, Baghdad Dan, what about it? Just where ARE those WMD anyway?

What about all the lies you told all over Christendom when YOU were "front and center" as the voice of the bush administration in the Green Zone?

[CindyinIndy]

2. Been saying this since 9/16/12!

Why do they talk out of both sides of their faces? Clearly Rethugs were not taught "Good for Goose / Gander" saying.

[GatorLarry]

31. Absolutely not.

They can always dish it out but never take it.

Can you guys remember when they actually said, almost daily, when Bush II was in the White House, that any criticism of a sitting President during a time of war was treasonous?

[patrice]

3. That's an interesting line of inquiry. Not real sure that it will produce anything much more than an

excuse to attack Rice, without actually being productive on the BushCo cohort, after-all we're talking Dick fucking Cheney here, if he has anything to do with BOTH of these front-persons, he also has the ability to control what is revealed about whichever one he chooses.

[heaven05]

4. nothing will come of the wmd question

as with the august 2001 nsa/cia warning. alquaida looking to crash planes in us. nothing. whimpers here, whimpers there. but nothing.

[zbdent]

5. If they truly could blame it on Bill Clinton

then the Repugs would have been screaming (with their control of enough of the House, control of the Senate, and all the other parts of the govt. at the time) for a thorough investigation.

See "whitewater" for their willingness to find SOMETHING on a Dem to make into a (literal) federal case ...

[patrice]

6. That's my thought on the matter. This is a feint to justify attacking Rice in order to get

Senator Kerry's seat.

[freshwest]

28. 'Oooh, we need someone with more gravitas to attack Rice.'

Let's call Dick Cheney. He'll tell them off good! Come on, Darth, bring down Obama with your light saber, Dark Lord! We worship you!

Does anyone believe this goon really cares about the crimes of BushCo?

Someone on DU had this as a sig line and I never forgot it:

Republicans serve The Beast. From the dawn of mankind they are the regressive element that's been holding back and destroying our civilization. They nourish other-dimensional entities that feed on misery, pain, and chaos. Republicans are their minions, and hope to share in these entities' power, or be spared the pain. But The Beast never shares; The Beast never spares.

I'll buy that before I think this gent from OK wants to get to the truth. About anything.

[patrice]

32. Some people think those "other-dimentional entities" are all about hocus-pocus, soft-minded

superstition, but they aren't. It's as obvious as wide-spread and deep synchrony in any kind of trait(s), big and small, behavioral tendencies distributed across groups, potentialities for good and bad that are multiplied at meta- or archetypical levels.

[freshwest]

34. You nailed it. We are surrounded by repetition.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Cole was the one who said they should accept the president's tax plan

this year, and then make more proposals next year: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/tom-cole-obama-taxes_n_2201479.html?1354073594

He seems to be marking out the territory as a 'reasonable' Republican congressman.

[reACTIONary]

12. Tom Cole's district is conservative, but...

...the mean annual income is hovering a little under 50K. Which means most of his constituents fall into the economic segment that Romney's adviser was bragging about loosing. And loosing big. Cole seems to know which way the wind blows.

[Andy823]

20. I agree.

And it was mentioned here that his district has a lot of people making $50,000.00 or less. Polls have shown that the vast majority of republicans are in favor of ending the tax cuts for the rich, so maybe those who voted him into office have let him know how they feel.

I think there may be more republicans that will come around and decide that the actual will of the people who voted them into office means more than people like Grover who want to keep giving the breaks to the rich no matter how much it hurts the rest of the country. I hope that more republicans start following the lead of rep. Cole and tell Grover to take a hike!

[NewJeffCT]

48. not "a" reasonable Republican, "the" reasonable Repubican

These days, the GOP can only have one at a time.

[fredamae]

50. K++-Yes, He might be the "Canary"

..I understand hes close friends w/Boehner-I believe Maddow was talking about this when he came out on the Tax issue..and now this.

I agree, he's checking the "GOP territory of reason" to see what TP backlash they may get..

Todays Mr Cole is very representative of "Old School GOP" when the far right extremists like McCarthy were in the minority...the Pendulum Swung--we have paid the price--I think maybe they "heard us" on Nov 6th, but won't admit it.

[OKNancy]

8. Tom Cole.. who would have thunk it

He is in a very safe district. He is a Chickasaw tribe member. He is also not a dumbass.

From wiki:
His postgraduate degrees include an M.A. from Yale University (1974) and a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma (1984), both in British history. Cole did research abroad as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow and was a Fulbright Fellow (1977–78) at the University of London. He was a college professor in history and politics before becoming a politician.

[Cha]

11. Thanks for the history, OKNancy nm

[JI7]

19. sounds like one of those elitist communist whatever the wingnuts are always going on about

[Ikonoklast]

21. A man that just might favor fact and reality over Woo.

Good to see that there are few left with some emblance of sanity.

[grasswire]

43. wow -- awesome credentials. nt

[BlueCaliDem]

9. I think hell's frozen over! I'm beginning to like this ultra-Con, Tom Cole!

God help me!

[cyclezealot]

10. In addition.. Richard Clark's advice.

that might have prevented 911, but Candi was too busy or bored.

[The Wizard]

22. Condi was brushing up

on her Russian skills.

[tex-wyo-dem]

40. Or shopping for that new pair of Chanel pumps (nt)

[SoapBox]

13. Senor...asshole supreme.

What a jag off...shut the fuck up or go to jail.

All of BushCo. should be shipped to Gitmo.

[xxxsdesdexxx]

14. Wow!

First he agrees with the President and other Democrats and wants to extend the Bush Tax Cuts for 98% of Americans and now he wants to investigate WMD claims before attacking Susan Rice? This is amazing -- finally a break in the ranks and some common sense. I hope this trend continues with him, and I hope others join him in his "based in reality" approach.

[dkf]

15. Yes they both need to be investigated and brought into the light.

No administration should ever mislead the public for a political benefit or even worse to trick us into going to war. Any allegations to this effect should be investigated and exposed as thoroughly as possible so that future administrations never ever feel this is an option.

Bush getting away with WMD allegations sets an awful precedent, especially now that Iran is an issue. Obama made a huge mistake not addressing it earlier.

[DallasNE]

18. Not Addressing What Earlier?

The day after the attack Obama called the attack "an act of terror" in a Rose Garden statement. If there was a problem it was in giving out too much information too quickly and before the facts had all been sorted out. Rather than not addressing it earlier he was too transparent and that is just the opposite of a cover-up.

[dkf]

38. I was actually talking about Bush but I don't think Obama came clean on Benghazi either.

[DallasNE]

41. What Part? n/t

[OldDem2012]

55. +1000. nt.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

29. Fuck off. nt

[Kingofalldems]

35. Classic.

[OldDem2012]

54. Sorry, not buying the GOP Benghazi bull...you can if you want. nt.

[DallasNE]

16. So Why Do They Only Go After Dr. Susan Rice

And not Gen. Petraeus when it was his department that provided the talking points Rice used. Any reasonable person would place the blame on the faulty message rather that the messenger and the Republicans are doing here. Frankly, all this posturing by Republicans has caused is for some classified data to be unclassified, showing terrorism was always suspected and the CIA was simply trying to hide from al Qaeda how much they really knew about the attack. Romney, who was privy to the classified data, really forced the issue with his press conference the night of 9/11 (for political gain). Obviously, there is another reason they let Petraeus and Romney off the hook while going after Rice with both barrels. They need to come clean.

[IdaBriggs]

23. I am under the impression it is because we didn't want the

Specific terrorists to know we had their information.

I frankly support a little bit of "need to know" details not being released, and felt Obama's statement was sufficient code to make clear our people were investigating.

But I am not a Republican playing political theater.

[dkf]

39. Petraeus said it wasn't his people.

But the fact that no one owns up to it is bad.

[DallasNE]

42. This Is News To Me

Do you have a link?

[OldDem2012]

56. Got a link to back up your statement? nt.

[hrmjustin]

17. K&R!

[coalition_unwilling]

24. We are truly down the rabbit hole. Next thing you know, Cole will be calling

for Cheney's indictment for war crimes!

Wow-zer!

[Live and Learn]

46. +1 nt

[pipewrench]

25. great link kpete

[kpete]

33. thanks pipewrench

it feels good to hear truth
from unexpected places
doesn't it?

peace, kp

[SCVDem]

26. Very simple.

How fucking stupid do you think we are?!

On second thought...........

[progressoid]

27. Ruh Roh.

Somebody is breaking ranks in the GOP!!11!

[Pryderi]

36. This is part of Boehner's "Fiscal Cliff" negotiation n/t

[Blandocyte]

37. Indeed. Fuck yes. n/t

[yurbud]

44. Why couldn't a Dem say that?

[Live and Learn]

47. Not fair. Not only has DU been saying it for years

but so have some of our reps. Kucinich and Grayson are two that come to mind easily. Sanders too (of course he isn't quite ours but I like to claim him) and I am sure their are others.

[yurbud]

59. absolutely, I meant a Dem "leader" in Congress or Obama

Unfortunately, those Democrats in Congress who simply state the facts are treated like they're wearing tinfoil hats by the leadership of the party.

[NewJeffCT]

49. A lot of times, they do say it

It just doesn't get coverage. When a Republican says it, it's along the lines of a "man bites dog" story.

[OldDem2012]

57. Where were you while plenty of Dems were saying that? nt.

[yurbud]

60. see my reply #59

[OldDem2012]

61. I read your reply #59 and wasn't impressed by your comment. Again, where were you? nt.

[yurbud]

62. Which Dems are you talking about? The ones that gave Bush the use of force authorization?

[Quantess]

45. No shit.

Hypocrites.

[Flashmann]

51. “Maybe we should ask those guys some questions too.”

What's this?.....A rethug using reasoned logic??......How can this be??...I am thoroughly confused.....

[KansDem]

52. Did Bush see the first attack or did her hear about it?

He's stated he did both.

Which is it? I'd like to know. It might help to explain the rest of his bizarre behavior...

[OldDem2012]

58. And if W did see the first attack as he claims, how did he know to watch? nt.

[KansDem]

63. Yeah, how did he know?

He saw it--

He was told about it (0'50&quot --

Which is it? Why don't our crack investigative journalists ask him?

[OldDem2012]

65. Bush had just left the Colony Resort in Sarasota at about 8:35am.....

....and supposedly wasn't told about the crash until he arrived at the school at 8:55am. There is absolutely no way his staff waited to tell Bush from the time of the first impact on the WTC at 8:46am until his arrival at the school at 8:55am. No way.

Additionally, Bush's presidential limo was LOADED with communications gear to include a closed-circuit television system. He stated that he saw the first impact and that cctv system is the only way he could have done that. That implies the Bush Administration had prior knowledge of the terrorist attack, does it not?

And doesn't that lead to a ton of other questions?

[Royal Sloan 09]

53. K-n-R, Howz about some cover-up for those war crimes?

remember those DOWNING STREET Memos, official British government docs. Yeh me, neither!

[steve2470]

64. k&r nt