| WASHINGTON
- June 12 -Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), the leader of the opposition to the war in Iraq in the House, today, continued his pressure to demand the truth about the Administration's lead-up to the war in Iraq.
Today, Kucinich issued the following statement:
"Last October, this Congress voted to give the President the authority to use force against Iraq to thwart an imminent threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
"The Administration urged action against an imminent threat. So Congress voted, only weeks before the 2002 election. Some Democrats voted for it thinking there would be an opportunity to refocus on domestic issues. Instead national security and Iraq's so-called imminent threat became the divisive issue in the election. The question became: who as patriotic and who wasn't.
"Now it is becoming apparent that there were no massive stockpiles of WMD in Iraq. There was no imminent threat. The Administration capitalized on the fears of Americans. They misrepresented the nature of the Iraqi threat. They misled Congress. They misled the American people. By pushing for a quick vote before the election they changed the election and manipulated the outcome of the 2002 election.
"The Resolution of Inquiry will establish the truth once and for all."
Last Thursday, Kucinich introduced a Resolution of Inquiry in the House of Representatives to force the Administration to turn over the intelligence to back its yet unproven claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
The resolution, now signed by 36 Members of Congress, seeks to force the Administration to turn over the intelligence to substantiate claims by the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and the White House Press Secretary that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons and therefore posed a threat to the United States. The resolution is a privileged resolution and must be voted on in Committee within 14 legislative days of being introduced.
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