Jackson Free Press

Rep. John Lewis, a legendary civil rights hero, this week tells Atlanta's Creative Loafing, the alternative weekly there, that the Bush administration lied to convince the American people to support his plan for war in Iraq. In the interview, he said:
"We've been very frustrated with the administration not giving us a timetable about getting out, and we continue to lose so many of our young men and young women."

At a Democratic House leadership luncheon in Washington last week, he said, "We need to organize and start speaking up and speaking out to stop this madness."

[...]"I believe this, and I probably would never say it on the House floor, but it may come down to that, that this President and his Secretary of State Colin Powell, his National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Mr. Rumsfeld, his secretary of defense, they misled us. They deceived the American people. And they lied to us.

Read full piece here.

Previous Comments

ID

87329

Comment

Thanks, good article, although it doesn't mention Rep. Conyers efforts w/Downing St. memo recently it reminds me that Cynthia McKinney got elected again and that is so great! I almost forgot. Can we say Georgia is turning a little progressive? Hurray for them, let's follow if we can.

Author

sunshine

Date

2005-06-28T17:09:46-06:00

ID

87330

Comment

Thank you, Donna. I became suspicious when Bush defied the United Nations. The way things are going now, how in the world can we concentrate on "homeland security" if everything's being poured into Iraq? My dad's going to have to spend 80 days in Turkey, and they better not slip him over to Iraq, or I will be very unhappy. I just know there is some kind of backdoor draft going on - I don't care what they say.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2005-06-28T18:56:30-06:00

ID

87331

Comment

L.W., for starters, just Google 'backdoor draft" . Do care what they say. this is just one I saw, if it shows up. (opruth.org) http://www.optruth.org/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=issues&htmlId=973 I hope your dad will be ok.

Author

sunshine

Date

2005-06-28T19:06:55-06:00

ID

87332

Comment

Operation Truth - I like the sound of that! That IRR thing is scary, though. I've heard of it but I didn't know the name of it. Just think...I almost joined the Air Force. PHEW!

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2005-06-28T19:19:48-06:00

ID

87333

Comment

phew is right, I have a nephew in Minnesota who is in ROTC at UofM, air force. he would like to get out, just be a regular civil engineer. no way. I am worried about him and everyone else who thinks they might be doing a good thing and then realize.

Author

sunshine

Date

2005-06-28T20:28:11-06:00

ID

87334

Comment

Everyone is giving Bush far too much credit. I think this has more to do with Cheney and Rice.

Author

Johann

Date

2005-06-29T09:24:16-06:00

ID

87335

Comment

Well, Bush is their boss. Whether or not he deserves the credit, he gets it. What did everyone think of his speech last night? How about working the pain over 9-11 to justify the war in Iraq? It's really unconscionable. And is is intriguing logic to create a hotbed for terrorism, then say that's why we can't establish a timetable for getting out. I was half asleep when someone on NPR this a.m., I forget who, said that the insurgency isn't going to die down until we're gone -- our presence is fueling the fire. That is rather common sense. I think what I hate the most about this administration and their followers is the contempt they show for the intelligence of the American people. That alone will be their downfall, I believe. Hubris, pure and simple. People are going to (already are) getting sick of being treated like idiots. I'll try to find the speech and post it, so y'all can tear it apart, should you choose.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-06-29T10:09:13-06:00

ID

87336

Comment

What puzzles me is with the exception of NPR, PBS and fantastic periodicals like JFP, the media are largely silent on these glaring inconsistencies. Where the heck are the media? Why hasn't all hell broken loose around this administration and this war? I was in the military (Persian Gulf OIF 2003) and the intelligent, discriminating military members know the difference between opposition to the soldier and opposition to the war. They can't speak out because of something called the UCMJ (Uniformed Code of Military Justice). They rely on the media and the American people for that support and so far they've been let down.

Author

El Canario

Date

2005-06-30T10:08:18-06:00