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In statements from his Congressional office and on the campaign trail, Kucinich continued today to urge a change of direction in Iraq. His advocacy of a U.S. to U.N. transition is in stark contrast to other Democratic candidates; Howard Dean, for example, supports sending additional U.S. troops to Iraq (Meet the Press, 6/22).

Kucinich said today: "This weekend, with the deaths of 5 US troops, we were once again reminded of the dangers facing US troops in what has become a quagmire. To date 243 U.S. troops have died in Iraq. It is time that the United States begins the process of withdrawing our troops, and allow a UN peacekeeping force to take over the reconstruction of Iraq.

"In their rush to war, the Administration failed to adequately prepare for the post-invasion period. Negotiations for an exit must begin now. An exit agreement with the United Nations must involve the US letting go of the contracting process.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The congressional report by the committees on intelligence about 9-11 partially made public last week reminds me of the recent investigation into the crash of the Columbia shuttle -- months of effort to reconfirm the obvious.

            In the case of the Columbia, we knew from the beginning a piece of insulation had come loose and struck the underside of one wing. So, after much study, it was determined the crash was caused by the piece of insulation that came loose and struck the underside of the wing.

            Likewise in the case of 9-11, all the stuff that has been blindingly obvious for months is now blamed for the fiasco.

It's well past time to say it. Despite the weaseling and finger-pointing--in fact, because of it--the Forged Niger letter is indeed the smoking gun, and the chips have yet to stop falling. Who wrote the damn thing, and on whose orders? Who cares whether Tenet, his job on the line, acquiesced to including a literal truth that actually amounts to one of the great frauds of the century? The sheer audacity and cynicism of this coterie of hacks and hustlers is simply astounding. As a teacher, I won't let six-year-olds get away with such transparent sophistry. The bottom line is that Bush knew the information was bogus, and used it anyway to convince millions to go along with his phony war.

Last weekend, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz explained that the United States at times relied on "murky" intelligence in trying to link Iraq to the al-Qaeda terrorist group, but the war against Iraq was justified despite the fact that the White House is now being dogged by questions about the accuracy of its prewar intelligence.  

"The nature of terrorism intelligence is intrinsically murky," Wolfowitz said on "Meet the Press. "If you wait until the terrorism picture is clear, you're going to wait until after something terrible has happened."    

But the reasons behind the murky intelligence used by the White House to build a case for war against Iraq may have more to do with the people who provided the Pentagon and the White House with its information on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction than the difficulties the intelligence community already faces in trying to obtain reliable intelligence from a variety of sources.  

Mr. Wasserman,

Your article is a sobering account of this vile administration.  Why do they war on the poor who have no lobby in Washington.  To trash the head start program is indeed a miscarriage of justice for our very young who deserve a better environment to grow , which should be a matter of right and not subject to any alleged budgetary constraints.  To grant tax cuts to the rich and token benefits to the poor is grossly obscene and grossly negligent.

So my plea to you is to continue to report the facts about the Bush administration. I would suggest your columns keep the heat on the actions of the office of president.  I would also suggest that you publicize the workings of the Carlyle Investment Group as most of its executives are attached to the Bush family interests and most of this "private investment company." Senior Bush has profited enormously because of the large governmental projects in Iraq with companies that Carlyle companies have received fromthe US government.

Rove's White House lies about global AIDS funding and access to generic medicines, while millions die

(Washington, D.C.) Chanting and holding signs reading "Dying for AIDS drugs? Karl says drop dead" and "Bush's lies kill, generic medicines now!", angry AIDS activists staged a noisy disruption of an appearance by top White House advisor Karl Rove at the National Conference of the College Republican National Committee, at the Washington Hilton.

"President Bush is breaking his promise to fully fund a $3 billion global AIDS bill signed into law in June. Bush is breaking his promise that countries can put access to medicines and public health ahead of the patent rights of greedy drug companies. The deadly global AIDS fraud perpetrated by this White House has gone far enough," said Sean Barry, a protester.

"Rove pulls the strings in this Administration, and Rove has the blood of people with HIV on his hands."

The Bush Administration is desperately trying to contain the brewing controversy about its false statements regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. They lied to drive us into a war against a country that posed no threat, a war which has so far killed over 6000 Iraqi civilians (www.iraqbodycount.net) and over 200 American soldiers. Speak out now! Help keep this issue in the public spotlight.

TAKE ACTION:

I taught for sixteen years and consider myself an educated, sophisticated man.  However calm reason doesn't work with the republicans or their supporters.  These bastards are sending three nuns off to prison for an act of bravery second to none!!  "Dangerously irresponsible," Blackburn called them.  THOSE GODDAMNED MISSLES BELONG TO ME AND THE PEOPLE OFTHIS COUNTRY, NOT THE US GOVERNMENT!!!, and frankly, I don' t give a damn about em as long as the nuns are ok.  They are political prisoners, no less than in China, or the DPRK, or the former USSR.  This rogue group of terrorists, the Bush Cartel MUST BE STOPPED SOMEHOW!!!  They are MURDERING what is left in the US that is good and caring!!  Every word they utter murders some part of the world.  How many more must die before these black guards are brought down!?  I'm convinced due to and unlimited body of data, factual and evidential, that goes back at least a century, that republicans can not be reasoned with, and absolutely will not stop until they are DESTROYED.  Just as any rabid animal would be.

I have read your article with interest, as one of your northern neighbours the actions of your government from time to time affect us up here in varying degrees. I would prefer a neighbouring people vigourous in the defense of their constitution and their rights and with few exceptions it isn't happening, at least from my limited view point.. Your president is just the tip of the iceberg it seems to me for I think the republican party has corralled in the business interests which includes the media, with Congress a republican sea and the old cry of "the business of America is business" a neofacist regime is being brought into being. I predict with tongue in cheek that before the 2004 election either a red alert will be brought in and martial law declared and that will be the end of free elections or the voting will be done by electronic means with no paper trail and guess who gets in.. I don't look to the democrats to turn back the tide as they to some extent suffer from the same need for large lumps of money.

Greetings, patriots!  Many thanks to all of you who contacted your representatives in support of the Sanders-Otter-Conyers Amendment that would have restored legal standards and warrant procedures for investigations of libraries and bookstores which were in place before passage of the USA PATRIOT Act.  Unfortunately, due to a highly unusual procedural maneuver the amendment was excluded from consideration.  For more information on what happened, go to http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories/0,1413,103%257E9054%257E1530442,00…