House Republicans Continue Cover-up on Iraq War

House Republicans Continue Cover-up on Iraq War
Thursday, November 10, 2005

House International Relations Committee Has Not Held Iraq Oversight Hearing since September 2003; "Negligent abdication of responsibility"

Washington, DC-Today, Republicans on the House International Relations Committee abruptly cut-off debate in order to block a Democratic effort to request that the President and Secretary of State provide Congress with documents in their possession relating to the secretive White House Iraq Group (WHIG). The WHIG was composed of senior Bush Administration officials, and its role leading up to the invasion of Iraq is in question due to the flawed intelligence and misinformation used by the White House to promote the invasion of Iraq to Congress and the American people.

"As U.S. troops die and the war costs mount by $6 billion per month, Republicans continue to protect the scandal ridden White House by denying Congress and the American people the true story of President Bush's pre-emptive war," said Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04), a member of the House International Relations Committee. "Congress has a constitutional obligation to conduct oversight of U.S. foreign policy. Yet, in the past twenty-five months, the full House International Relations Committee has not held a single hearing regarding U.S. policy in Iraq. This is a negligent abdication of the committee's responsibility. Congressional Republicans are only interested in covering up the greatest foreign policy disaster in American history."

House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde abruptly ended debate on H.Res. 505, a resolution sponsored by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), while more than ten Democrats requesting time waited to speak. While little is publicly known about WHIG, it has been reported that it was a small organization within the White House that was formed seven months before the invasion of Iraq to sell the war to Congress and the American people. Members included senior White House and Bush/Cheney '04 campaign staffers Karl Rove, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Andrew Card, Condoleezza Rice, Karen Hughes and Mary Matalin.

"Republicans squandered the opportunity to allow the White House to put to rest the charges that it exaggerated intelligence and lied to take the nation into war. Democrats and the American people are demanding to know the truth," said McCollum.

http://www.mccollum.house.gov/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={64C7914D-5761-4B66-9535-75F8756F9261}&DE={4AC71E2A-79A2-4102-A8E4-5C0BB146118A}