Kucinich blasts Bush administration for Iraq war intelligence
Originally published in the Dayton Daily News
Kucinich blasts Bush administration for Iraq war intelligence
By Amy Lorentzen
Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa | Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich blasted the Bush administration Sunday for its handling of intelligence information leading up to the war with Iraq.
The Democratic presidential candidate also criticized the administration for inflating the Pentagon's budget and heightening the nationā€™s fear, which led America into conflict.
"The American people are aware this administration has engaged in a pattern of deceit," said Kucinich, who spoke at a peace forum at Drake University in Des Moines. "Our country is being distorted by fear."
The four-term congressman told reporters that Vice President Dick Cheney put pressure on the CIA to "come up with intelligence that would fit the administration's preconceived notions" about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Kucinich also called CIA Director George Tenet a scapegoat because he has been the focus of criticism over intelligence information that President Bush presented in his State of the Union speech this year.
"Everyone in America knows this," Kucinich told the crowd of about 100 people at the forum for Stop the Arms Race, or STAR PAC. "Tenet is the fall guy."
Kucinich, who called himself a leader in opposing the war in Iraq, says he's leading an effort for Congress to uncover the issue through public hearings.
"If we don't do it, they'll (the Bush administration) do it again," he said.
Kucinich opened a five-city tour Saturday in Iowa, where precinct caucuses launch the presidential nominating season next January. He was set to wrap up his swing in Ames Sunday evening.
As Kucinich unfolded a large, colorful pie chart on the government's spending - with nearly half of it blocked out in red for the Pentagonā€™s budget - he said the Bush administration has ignored domestic issues and heightened fear.
It's "time to get rid of the bloat in the Pentagon budget," he said. "The bigger this budget gets, the more likely we are to go to war."
Kucinich has proposed creating a cabinet-level Department of Peace and cutting the Pentagon budget by as much as 15 percent, using the money for education, health care and environmental clean up.
Kucinich is considered a long-shot candidate among the nine Democrats vying for the party's nomination. He trails the pack in money raised as well as name recognition, but has gained attention from groups such as STAR PAC with his promises of a commitment to peace and diplomacy.
The organization hasnā€™t endorsed a candidate, but Iowa STAR PAC coordinator Marybeth Gardam said Kucinich has "one of the strongest platforms for peace."
"I haven't seen that from many of the other candidates," she said.
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