House Intelligence Vice-Chairman Calls War Unjustified

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ridgely Evers <revers () evers org>
Date: August 23, 2004 8:05:08 AM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: FW: House Intelligence Vice-Chairman Calls War Unjustified

Dave,

For reasons that are hard to fathom, this seems to have slid off the 
top of
the news almost instantly.  It strikes me as a big deal.

For IP, if you wish.

--Ridge

www.msnbc.com/id/5750615

Intelligence vice chairman calls war unjustified
'Dangerous, costly mess,' Bereuter says as he leaves House

The Associated Press
Updated: 8:15 a.m. ET Aug. 19, 2004

LINCOLN, Neb. - A top Republican lawmaker has broken from his party in 
the
final days of his House career, saying he believes that the U.S. 
military
assault on Iraq was unjustified and that the situation there has
deteriorated into "a dangerous, costly mess."

"I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate
intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things
being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action," Rep.
Doug Bereuter, R-Neb., wrote in a letter to his constituents.

"Left unresolved for now is whether intelligence was intentionally
misconstrued to justify military action," he said.

Bereuter, 65, is a senior member of the International Relations 
Committee
and vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee. He is stepping down 
after
13 terms to become president of the Asia Foundation effective Sept. 1.

The letter, which Bereuter (pronounced BEE-writer) sent to constituents 
who
have contacted him about the war, was reported Wednesday by the Lincoln
Journal Star.

Signs of GOP slippage
In 2002, Bereuter spoke out in support of a House resolution authorizing
President Bush to go to war. Bush has continued to argue that the war 
was
justified because Iraqi President Saddam Hussein represented a threat 
to the
United States, his neighbors and the people of Iraq.

Most Republicans and top administration officials say the war was 
justified
even though no weapons of mass destruction have been found.

However, after a scathing Senate Intelligence Committee report 
concluded in
early July that intelligence agencies had provided false assessments of 
the
Iraqi threat before the war, the panel's Republican chairman, Pat 
Roberts of
Kansas, said Congress might not have approved the Iraq war had lawmakers
known the truth.

Roberts said that without an immediate threat that Saddam had and was 
trying
to get weapons of mass destruction, military action against Iraq still 
could
have been justified on humanitarian grounds but that the battle plan 
might
have been different from a full-scale invasion.

Bereuter sees other problems
Bereuter said that in addition to "a massive failure or 
misinterpretation of
intelligence," the Bush administration made several other errors in 
going to
war.

"From the beginning of the conflict, it was doubtful that we for long 
would
be seen as liberators, but instead increasingly as an occupying force," 
he
said. "Now we are immersed in a dangerous, costly mess, and there is no 
easy
and quick way to end our responsibilities in Iraq without creating 
bigger
future problems in the region and, in general, in the Muslim world."

Bereuter said that as a result of the war, "our country's reputation 
around
the world has never been lower and our alliances are weakened."

Bereuter declined to answer questions Wednesday about the letter. His
spokesman, Alan Feyerherm, said Bereuter "feels the letter speaks for
itself."

C 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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