Congressman Mike Honda Calls for Review of Flawed Intelligence on Iraq

Congress Has Duty to Investigate, But GOP in Denial

Washington, DC - Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) today joined House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) in calling immediate for investigations of the distorted intelligence used by the Bush Administration to deceive the American people - including members of the U.S. Congress - into supporting a misguided push for the Iraq War.

Leader Pelosi introduced a privileged resolution to demand that Republican Congressional leadership comply with their oversight responsibilities and conduct a thorough investigation of abuses relating to the Iraq War. The resolution failed by a party line vote, 220 to191, when Republicans unanimously moved to table, or effectively kill, the resolution.

"The war in Iraq has resulted in the loss of more than 2,000 American lives and more than 15,000 wounded soldiers, and has cost the American people hundreds of billions of dollars," Honda said. "The Republican leadership in Congress has completely forsaken its responsibility to provide oversight, and this Resolution seeks to restore that duty."

"Congress has the responsibility to find out why so many things in Iraq have gone so terribly wrong - that is why I asked the House to investigate abuses relating to Iraq," Pelosi said. "Yet Republicans again thwarted efforts to answer the questions of the American people. This Republican cover-up Congress refuses to live up to its oversight responsibility."

In demanding an investigation by the Republican Congress, Honda cited the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, evidence of the Bush Administration's efforts to discredit critics of the Iraq war, and the exposure of prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Guantanamo, and Afghanistan.

Congressman Honda strongly opposed the nation's invasion of Iraq, and voted 'NO' on the proposal to send troops to Baghdad.

"Congress has an obligation to identify and correct the problems that led to the production of flawed intelligence," Honda said. "To this point, Republican leadership has failed in its duty to scrutinize this process."