On June 26th, Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) introduced legislation to create an independent commission to look into the distortion of evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
As he was introducing the resolution, Waxman said: "We were allies of the President when he wanted authority to go to war. And we are allies of the President today in the ongoing fight against terrorism.
For us, this issue is not about whether we were right to go to war in Iraq. We voted for the war resolution. And it is not about whether biological or chemical weapons will ultimately be found in Iraq. Instead, we are introducing this bill because it is now clear we had an inexcusable breakdown in our intelligence system prior to the Iraq war. We need to know how and why this happened, so that we can make sure it never happens again."
"We need to know whether the breakdown was caused by problems within our intelligence agencies, and whether they failed to do their jobs competently and responsibly. If, as some in the Administration have hinted, essential information was withheld from the President, we need to discover who did that and hold them accountable."
Win Without War members including MoveOn.org, True Majority, Working Assets, and the National Council of Churches have called on Congress to support Waxman's bill. Over 250,000 Americans have contacted their Member of Congress to ask him or her to support it, and the number keeps growing. You can join them by urging your Representative to pledge to support the commission.
Over 25 Members of Congress have taken leadership and signed on as co-sponsors for the bill. For taking a stand and saying what needs to be said, they deserve our thanks: they're patriots and true heroes. The list of these folks is below.
Co-Sponsors on the Resolution for an Independent Commission:
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Congresswoman Ellen O. Tauscher (D-CA)
Congressman Calvin M. Dooley (D-CA)
Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Congressman Adam B. Schiff (D-CA)
Congressman Jim Davis (D-FL)
Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)
Congresswoman Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL)
Congressman Baron P. Hill (D-IN)
Congressman Christopher Van Hollen (D-MD)
Congressman Martin T. Meehan (D-MA)
Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA)
Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA)
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY)
Congressman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY)
Congressman Anthony D. Weiner (D-NY)
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY)
Congressman Eliot L. Engel (D-NY)
Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-NC)
Congressman Brad Carson (D-OK)
Congressman Harold E. Ford (D-TN)
Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Congressman Martin Frost (D-TX)
Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI)