Feb. 10, 2007
 
Byrd: Inspector General Report Raises Major Questions on White House War Truths
 
By HNN Staff, from Sen. Robert C. Byrd Press release
 
Washington, DC (HNN) -- U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-WV, said on Friday, Feb. 9, 2007 that a new report by the Pentagon Inspector General raises significant questions about White House claims that led to the war against Iraq.
 
The Inspector General’s report shows that intelligence provided by former Undersecretary for Defense Douglas Feith was intended to support the White House’s political goal of invading Iraq rather than accurately reflecting the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence community.
 
"This White House constantly waves the bloody shirt of 9/11, using the shadow of that terrible day to scare the American people into quiet submission. No more. The Inspector General is pulling back the curtain and showing the country the truth," Byrd said. "The argument that there was a close relationship between the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks and the government of Iraq was never supported by the facts, and this report makes that crystal clear."
 
"With this report, we must ask the questions, ‘Who knew what, did what, and why?’ I do not believe that this misuse of intelligence starts and ends with Undersecretary Feith. The nation deserves to know who gave the order for this policy office to develop intelligence assessments in support of a political purpose," Byrd said. "I have felt all along that the Administration failed to level with the American people in building its case for war, and now we learn that the case may be nothing more than deception and hocus pocus."
 
An unclassified summary of the Inspector General report was released on Friday.