Dems to Hold OVERSIGHT hearings on conduct of Iraq war...!
<< Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) chairs a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on the planning and conduct in the War in Iraq. Major General John R.S. Batiste, U.S. Army (Ret.) and other former military officers are scheduled to testify on lessons learned and corrections that should be made going forward. >>
What is important in all this is not just that Democrats catalogue mistakes that have been made, and possible solutions to those failures, BUT THAT DEMOCRATS MASTER the political NARRATIVE... the MESSAGE that Americans keep with them as they read and watch news and make their decisions on whom to vote for in the upcoming election.
It must be said that the Republicans, led from the White House by Karl Rove's "evil genius" fax machine, are doing a MASTERFUL JOB of HIDING the real issues this election.
- They have BROUGHT DOWN FUEL PRICES a full 50 cents a gallon, leading to a sigh of relief from not just motorists but consumers nationwide alike.
- They have PUSHED bad news from Iraq off of the front pages, now casualty counts and other bad news from Iraq is usually buried deep in the A-section, or only briefly mentioned on TV.
- To CONTINUE the occupation of Iraq DEMANDS a military draft, but the Bush White House has thus far AVOIDED this "we own your butt!" issue, an issue that is at the core of Republican/Bush arrogance that THEY know what is best for us, even if "best" entails getting you drafted and shipped of to a foreign war where you may be killed.
- And, in the very best GOEBBELS/STALIN tradition, the Bush-Rove-Republicans were able to transmute the TORTURE issue from an issue about "torture" to an issue on politics and "the handling of detainees," - America's current euphemism for KGB/Gestapoesque torture that not only can (and does) result in dead "DETAINEES," but as in the Nazi or Soviet totalitarian regimes, WE ARE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO ASK who has been tortured, murdered, arrested, or imprisoned, nor on what charges and evidence!
THOSE are the current "MEDIA NARRATIVES" played out by the US press & media this season - torture victims as "detainees," the Iraq war in a psuedo 'calming phase' even as violence there ratchets up and the Bush White House seeks MORE life-and-death powers over American citizens; and falling gas prices leading to a sense of economic relief - THOSE are the REAL issues the Democrats face this November, and holding hearings into the failures and incompetence of the Iraq war are only the most important part of the Bush White House's gross mismanagement and deceptions.
Will the Democratic leadership be able to COORDINATE their hearings, and CONTROL the message, with even 1/5'th of the efficiency of Karl Rove's evil "White House Command Fax Central"?
As our previous post sought to detail, in the case of Senator Chris Dodd you can be right (as in, "correct") about describing Bush administration failures and policy debacles, and STILL sound apologetic or restrained in offering Democratic leadership as an alternative.
Hopefully, the Dem's war OVERSIGHT HEARINGS will uncover some genuine truths, and the Democrats will make a determined effort to CONTROL THE MEDIA NARRATIVE.
<<“Because we have one-party control, there’s been virtually no oversight,”Dorgan said. [Senator Byron Dorgan, D-ND] “This Republican-led Congress has been AWOL when it comes to the war in Iraq.” >>
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Dems to spotlight Iraq
By Jonathan Allen
25 Sept. 2006
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/092106/iraq.html
Congressional Democrats plan to hold Iraq war hearings on Capitol Hill and around the country, turning an election spotlight on an issue much as the GOP did with immigration during the summer recess.
The Democrats’ will highlight the fact that they intend to go toe-to-toe with Republicans on the issue of national security, believing that this election cycle it can play to their advantage rather than to their detriment as it has in elections past.
And Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), a leading House critic of the war, indicated yesterday that he would give the hearings a degree of bipartisan cover by attending them when he can.
“Any [hearings] up here that I can get to, I’ll attend,” said Jones, who voted for the resolution authorizing President Bush to use force in Iraq but has since pressed to bring American troops home. “I wish it was my party, the committees in the House, doing the same thing. The American people want answers.”
Jones said he would try to attend the Senate Democratic Policy Committee’s (DPC) first planned hearing on Monday, provided he can make the five-hour drive from his district in time.
Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) also said he would consider taking part in the hearings, which Democrats say will be open to Republican lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol.
“I might take them up on it,” Gutknecht said. “I would certainly consider sending them some written testimony.”
The hearing on Monday, featuring military officers who served in Iraq, will delve into “the policy decisions that led to the current situation in Iraq,” according to Barry Piatt, spokesman for DPC Chairman Byron Dorgan (N.D.).
Democrats said they will follow up that hearing with field hearings around the country at least through November. They argue that Republicans have neglected to provide proper oversight of the war in a number of areas, including postwar planning, troop readiness and care for troops and veterans.
“At no time is congressional oversight more important than when the men and women of our armed forces are engaged in combat to defend our freedom,” Dorgan and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wrote in a letter to Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Republican Policy Committee Chairman Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) in which the Democrats invited Senate Republicans to attend their hearings.
“We all understand how important the war on terror is, especially the ongoing fighting in Iraq. These issues have been addressed on the floor of the Senate and will continue to be addressed,” Frist spokeswoman Carolyn Weforth said. “It’s no surprise, however, that on the day after a national poll showed improving American attitudes toward the liberation of Iraq, that the Democrat leadership would want to change the subject.”...
Dorgan has held numerous hearings on Iraq contracting and the government’s handling of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Like Leach, he has called for the establishment of a commission, modeled after a committee run by then-Sen. Harry Truman (D-Mo.) during World War II, that would investigate allegations of contracting abuses....
“Because we have one-party control, there’s been virtually no oversight,” Dorgan said. “This Republican-led Congress has been AWOL when it comes to the war in Iraq.”
---------------------------------------------------------
Democrats plan hearings that focus on hiring in Iraq
By Lisa Mascaro
Las Vegas Sun
September 22, 2006
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2006/sep/22/566672129.html
WASHINGTON - After failing to persuade the Republican-led Congress to investigate problems with the war in Iraq, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats have arrived at an unorthodox strategy: They will hold their own hearings around the country.
Democrats have been calling for great congressional oversight of the war for many months, but their push intensified this week after reading a story in the Washington Post on Sunday. The newspaper reported that the Pentagon screened candidates who applied for work rebuilding Iraq by asking them about their loyalty to Republicans and the party's ideals, even to the point of asking their views on Roe v. Wade.
"This cries out for attention," Reid told reporters this week. "We've asked. We've asked. They refuse to hold hearings."
Republican Senate leaders scoffed that the move was a political ploy. House leadership called it "hollow and absurd."
So Reid announced that starting Monday, Senate Democrats will launch a series of hearings via their party's policy committee. The proceedings will touch on all aspects of the war, including post-war planning, military strategy and the reconstruction issues raised by the Post.
The first hearing will be Monday, in Washington, followed by several more around the country in the weeks ahead. Nevada is a possible site for a hearing.... [continued]
Lisa Mascaro can be reached at (202) 662-7436 or at lisa.mascaro@lasvegassun.com.
What is important in all this is not just that Democrats catalogue mistakes that have been made, and possible solutions to those failures, BUT THAT DEMOCRATS MASTER the political NARRATIVE... the MESSAGE that Americans keep with them as they read and watch news and make their decisions on whom to vote for in the upcoming election.
It must be said that the Republicans, led from the White House by Karl Rove's "evil genius" fax machine, are doing a MASTERFUL JOB of HIDING the real issues this election.
- They have BROUGHT DOWN FUEL PRICES a full 50 cents a gallon, leading to a sigh of relief from not just motorists but consumers nationwide alike.
- They have PUSHED bad news from Iraq off of the front pages, now casualty counts and other bad news from Iraq is usually buried deep in the A-section, or only briefly mentioned on TV.
- To CONTINUE the occupation of Iraq DEMANDS a military draft, but the Bush White House has thus far AVOIDED this "we own your butt!" issue, an issue that is at the core of Republican/Bush arrogance that THEY know what is best for us, even if "best" entails getting you drafted and shipped of to a foreign war where you may be killed.
- And, in the very best GOEBBELS/STALIN tradition, the Bush-Rove-Republicans were able to transmute the TORTURE issue from an issue about "torture" to an issue on politics and "the handling of detainees," - America's current euphemism for KGB/Gestapoesque torture that not only can (and does) result in dead "DETAINEES," but as in the Nazi or Soviet totalitarian regimes, WE ARE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO ASK who has been tortured, murdered, arrested, or imprisoned, nor on what charges and evidence!
THOSE are the current "MEDIA NARRATIVES" played out by the US press & media this season - torture victims as "detainees," the Iraq war in a psuedo 'calming phase' even as violence there ratchets up and the Bush White House seeks MORE life-and-death powers over American citizens; and falling gas prices leading to a sense of economic relief - THOSE are the REAL issues the Democrats face this November, and holding hearings into the failures and incompetence of the Iraq war are only the most important part of the Bush White House's gross mismanagement and deceptions.
Will the Democratic leadership be able to COORDINATE their hearings, and CONTROL the message, with even 1/5'th of the efficiency of Karl Rove's evil "White House Command Fax Central"?
As our previous post sought to detail, in the case of Senator Chris Dodd you can be right (as in, "correct") about describing Bush administration failures and policy debacles, and STILL sound apologetic or restrained in offering Democratic leadership as an alternative.
Hopefully, the Dem's war OVERSIGHT HEARINGS will uncover some genuine truths, and the Democrats will make a determined effort to CONTROL THE MEDIA NARRATIVE.
<<“Because we have one-party control, there’s been virtually no oversight,”Dorgan said. [Senator Byron Dorgan, D-ND] “This Republican-led Congress has been AWOL when it comes to the war in Iraq.” >>
---------------------------------------------------
Dems to spotlight Iraq
By Jonathan Allen
25 Sept. 2006
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/092106/iraq.html
Congressional Democrats plan to hold Iraq war hearings on Capitol Hill and around the country, turning an election spotlight on an issue much as the GOP did with immigration during the summer recess.
The Democrats’ will highlight the fact that they intend to go toe-to-toe with Republicans on the issue of national security, believing that this election cycle it can play to their advantage rather than to their detriment as it has in elections past.
And Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), a leading House critic of the war, indicated yesterday that he would give the hearings a degree of bipartisan cover by attending them when he can.
“Any [hearings] up here that I can get to, I’ll attend,” said Jones, who voted for the resolution authorizing President Bush to use force in Iraq but has since pressed to bring American troops home. “I wish it was my party, the committees in the House, doing the same thing. The American people want answers.”
Jones said he would try to attend the Senate Democratic Policy Committee’s (DPC) first planned hearing on Monday, provided he can make the five-hour drive from his district in time.
Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) also said he would consider taking part in the hearings, which Democrats say will be open to Republican lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol.
“I might take them up on it,” Gutknecht said. “I would certainly consider sending them some written testimony.”
The hearing on Monday, featuring military officers who served in Iraq, will delve into “the policy decisions that led to the current situation in Iraq,” according to Barry Piatt, spokesman for DPC Chairman Byron Dorgan (N.D.).
Democrats said they will follow up that hearing with field hearings around the country at least through November. They argue that Republicans have neglected to provide proper oversight of the war in a number of areas, including postwar planning, troop readiness and care for troops and veterans.
“At no time is congressional oversight more important than when the men and women of our armed forces are engaged in combat to defend our freedom,” Dorgan and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wrote in a letter to Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Republican Policy Committee Chairman Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) in which the Democrats invited Senate Republicans to attend their hearings.
“We all understand how important the war on terror is, especially the ongoing fighting in Iraq. These issues have been addressed on the floor of the Senate and will continue to be addressed,” Frist spokeswoman Carolyn Weforth said. “It’s no surprise, however, that on the day after a national poll showed improving American attitudes toward the liberation of Iraq, that the Democrat leadership would want to change the subject.”...
Dorgan has held numerous hearings on Iraq contracting and the government’s handling of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Like Leach, he has called for the establishment of a commission, modeled after a committee run by then-Sen. Harry Truman (D-Mo.) during World War II, that would investigate allegations of contracting abuses....
“Because we have one-party control, there’s been virtually no oversight,” Dorgan said. “This Republican-led Congress has been AWOL when it comes to the war in Iraq.”
---------------------------------------------------------
Democrats plan hearings that focus on hiring in Iraq
By Lisa Mascaro
Las Vegas Sun
September 22, 2006
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2006/sep/22/566672129.html
WASHINGTON - After failing to persuade the Republican-led Congress to investigate problems with the war in Iraq, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats have arrived at an unorthodox strategy: They will hold their own hearings around the country.
Democrats have been calling for great congressional oversight of the war for many months, but their push intensified this week after reading a story in the Washington Post on Sunday. The newspaper reported that the Pentagon screened candidates who applied for work rebuilding Iraq by asking them about their loyalty to Republicans and the party's ideals, even to the point of asking their views on Roe v. Wade.
"This cries out for attention," Reid told reporters this week. "We've asked. We've asked. They refuse to hold hearings."
Republican Senate leaders scoffed that the move was a political ploy. House leadership called it "hollow and absurd."
So Reid announced that starting Monday, Senate Democrats will launch a series of hearings via their party's policy committee. The proceedings will touch on all aspects of the war, including post-war planning, military strategy and the reconstruction issues raised by the Post.
The first hearing will be Monday, in Washington, followed by several more around the country in the weeks ahead. Nevada is a possible site for a hearing.... [continued]
Lisa Mascaro can be reached at (202) 662-7436 or at lisa.mascaro@lasvegassun.com.
posted by verifi at 8:42 AM
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