Joseph Lieberman: Next!

On October 10, 2002 Congress passed H. J. RES. 114 , a Joint Resolution "To authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq."

It's time to put an end to the myth that White House "lies" or "faulty intelligence" is an acceptable explanation for Senators who voted in favor of the war resolution. Democrats who voted for this resolution did so because like Joseph Lieberman they were either on the same page as the White House, or because they were simply too afraid they would find themselves on other side of what many thought would be a speedy military victory to vote their conscience.

I am not a member of Congress, I do not have their tools of research at my disposal, I do not have their subpoena powers or the ability to haul members of the Administration in front of me to answer my questions under oath. Yet by simply reading newspapers articles, journals and other publicly available material it was absolutely clear to me at the time that the Administration's context for going to war in Iraq was a complete falsehood. The subsequent parade of current and former government officials, from Richard Clarke to Joe Wilson to paul Bremer, speaking out to anyone who will listen as to the dangerous nature of the White House policy on Iraq bears this out. In fact Bob Woodward has Donald Rumsfeld quoted in his 2002 book Bush at War as seeing an "opportunity" to invade Iraq days after 9-11 even though no one in the White House or anywhere in the intelligence community believed Iraq had anything to do with 9-11 in particular or terrorism in general.

It is true that the Administration lied, it is also true that the Administration cherry picked intelligence reports that pointed them in the right direction and ignored or suppressed reports that did not. These are obvious and transparent facts. Why did the United States go to war in Iraq? Thanks to the Senators listed below that question remains unanswered 4 years and tens of thousands of lives later. Some of these folks are no longer in office and I think it's time to make sure the same goes for the rest in the coming election season.

Senators in support of H. J. RES. 114:

Allard (R-CO), Allen (R-VA), Baucus (D-MT), Bayh (D-IN), Bennett (R-UT), Biden (D-DE), Bond (R-MO), Breaux (D-LA), Brownback (R-KS), Bunning (R-KY), Burns (R-MT), Campbell (R-CO), Cantwell (D-WA), Carnahan (D-MO), Carper (D-DE), Cleland (D-GA), Clinton (D-NY), Cochran (R-MS), Collins (R-ME), Craig (R-ID), Crapo (R-ID), Daschle (D-SD), DeWine (R-OH), Dodd (D-CT), Domenici (R-NM), Dorgan (D-ND), Edwards (D-NC), Ensign (R-NV), Enzi (R-WY), Feinstein (D-CA), Fitzgerald (R-IL), Frist (R-TN), Gramm (R-TX), Grassley (R-IA), Gregg (R-NH), Hagel (R-NE), Harkin (D-IA), Hatch (R-UT), Helms (R-NC), Hollings (D-SC), Hutchinson (R-AR), Hutchison (R-TX), Inhofe (R-OK), Johnson (D-SD), Kerry (D-MA), Kohl (D-WI), Kyl (R-AZ), Landrieu (D-LA), Lieberman (D-CT). Lincoln (D-AR), Lott (R-MS), Lugar (R-IN), McCain (R-AZ), McConnell (R-KY), Miller (D-GA), Murkowski (R-AK), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Nickles (R-OK), Reid (D-NV), Roberts (R-KS), Rockefeller (D-WV), Santorum (R-PA), Schumer (D-NY), Sessions (R-AL), Shelby (R-AL), Smith (R-NH), Smith (R-OR), Snowe (R-ME), Specter (R-PA), Stevens (R-AK), Thomas (R-WY), Thompson (R-TN), Thurmond (R-SC), Torricelli (D-NJ), Voinovich (R-OH), Warner (R-VA)