Last 2 Members Named to Iraq Intel Panel

[Dudley_DUright]

President Bush on Thursday named the final two members of the commission that will investigate prewar intelligence on Iraq, adding the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former Pentagon official.

Charles M. Vest has been MIT's president since 1990. Henry S. Rowen, a professor emeritus at Stanford University, was an assistant defense secretary from 1989 to 1991.

Bush, under fire about whether Iraq had banned weapons before the U.S.-led invasion, reversed course last week and created the nine-member bipartisan commission. Iraq's alleged possession of such weapons was Bush's primary rationale for war.

The president instructed commissioners to examine the apparently flawed intelligence that suggested Iraq had chemical and biological weapons stockpiles and an aggressive nuclear weapons program.

Note that Rowen is a PNACer and a member of the Defense Policy Board. A twofer for shrub!

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-wh/2004/feb/12/021206221.html

[Cooley Hurd]

1. A quote from Charles Vest in regards to the start of the Iraq war:

http://web.mit.edu/cmv/cmv030320.html

Second, freedom of speech and inquiry are at the heart of a university. It is essential that we respect the rights of all members of our community to express their views on the world situation. We should also continue to use our own scholarly capabilities to inform and learn from each other about the issues. My concern is for everyone working and learning here -- from those who may be called to active military duty to those who strongly disagree with the actions of the U.S. government.

The way he phrased "strongly disagree" indicates to me that he might've been against the war...

[Dudley_DUright]

3. Vest I don't have much problem with

It is Rowen that is the ringer (along with Silberman et al.).

[KoKo]

2. Imagine if Clinton had "Hand Picked" his own Investigation....

I can't imagine this will work out for him. It's the first time I can remember a President handpicking the group that will investigate his administration......I think it sets a precident..First time in the history of America, maybe?

[starroute]

4. Quote from Rowen back in 1998 (!)

http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/publications/digest/981/rowen.html

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION: A CHILLING SURVEY

Any state could move weapons of mass destruction to practically anywhere on earth. Anyone with a long-range civil aircraft has the means of delivering a bomb over great distances. Of particular worry is the prospect that nations such as Iran, Iraq, and North Korea will be able to deliver nuclear, chemical, or biological warheads with cruise or ballistic missiles. Cruise missiles having a range several hundred kilometers (hard to detect and intercept) are becoming ubiquitous and can be launched from land, aircraft, and ships. The Chinese-made CSS-2 missiles in Saudi Arabia are capable of reaching Western Europe, and there have been reports of Saudi Arabia seeking nuclear warheads for them. In short, the ability to deliver weapons of mass destruction long distances is inexorably increasing, and although Europe is closer to some possible launch sites than is the United States, the difference in exposure, if any, will not last long.

[Jacobin]

5. Those PNACers will get to the bottom of this!!!!

"Clinton's penis!!!!"

:puke: