Sr Republican Changes Tune Rep. Bereuter Tells Constituents Iraq War Was a Mistake

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LINCOLN, Neb. (Aug. 18) - A top Republican congressman has broken from his party in the final days of his House career, saying he believes the U.S. military assault on Iraq was unjustified and 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 wrote in a letter to his constituents.

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

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

The letter, sent to constituents who have contacted him about the war, was reported by the Lincoln Journal Star in its Wednesday editions.

In 2002, Bereuter had spoken out in support of a House resolution authorizing the president to go to war.

President Bush has continued to argue the war was justified because Saddam 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.


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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 - Sen. 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 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 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 the congressman "feels the letter speaks for itself."

Lincoln City Council member Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican, is facing off against Democratic state Sen. Matt Connealy to replace Bereuter.


08/18/04 18:54 EDT
 
I heard on the radio this morning though that the guy already has a high-paying job lined up with a major Dem contributor after he leaves office. It's probably a condition of employment.
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While I tend to be a conservative, it is getting hard to believe anyone. All of these guys in Washington are full of it (left or right). They say today what will benefit them tomorrow.
 
quote:

While I tend to be a conservative, it is getting hard to believe anyone. All of these guys in Washington are full of it (left or right). They say today what will benefit them tomorrow

Exactly right.
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We don't know yet if it's a mistake. Some days it looks that way and some days it doesn't History will be the judge. I think the Bush team did have a "fever" for Iraq regardless of WMD's and 911 simply bc they feel Democracy is the only way to reshape that region. A big ballzy plan. 30 years from now they could go down as great leaders.
 
You know, it's easy to say that Dubya and his posse were quick on the trigger. Hindsight is much more perfect.

I doubt if waiting would have proved much more fruitful.

All the waiting in the world would not have brought the French, Germans or Russians on board. Although, had they postured with us as a united front, Saddam might have conceded that which would have prevented a war JMO.

To the families who have lost loved ones, no war is worth it. I hope that everyone can have a good thought each night for those families
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We do have non altruistic interests in this region. It needs to be as stabil as possible for the next 30 years or so. Saddam was too much of a wild card and the oil for food was BS. It would be amazing if this would result in a perfect outcome of a democracy with a non corrupt government, I wouldn't count on it.

The best we can hope for is a government that can become a member of non-terror supporting entities. I pray that this will be the least that this endeavor returns.
 
quote:

Originally posted by GROUCHO MARX:
Saddam might have conceded that which would have prevented a war JMO.

He did, he let the inspectors back in, and we asked them to leave so that we could start the war !
 
Shannow, he was playing cat and mouse. The inspectors were allowed to look here but not there. How would you get real inspection?

In my opinion, Saddam was buying time. Again JMO.

[ August 21, 2004, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: GROUCHO MARX ]
 
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