PPRC Friday Rally highlights findings: no WMDs in Iraq, CIA and FBI incompetence leading up to 9-11 attacks.

Event: PPRC Friday Rally highlights findings: no WMDs in Iraq, CIA and FBI incompetence leading up to 9-11 attacks.
Date: Friday, January 30th, 2004
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Place: Pioneer Courthouse Square

The Portland Peaceful Response Coalition 5:00 p.m. Friday rally and march for peace at Pioneer Courthouse Square turns attention to findings released this week on the search for WMDs in Iraq and the investigation into the 9-11 attacks. "With the resignation of the US arms inspector David Kay, and yesterday�s statements by Condoleezza Rice, the Bush Administration is edging towards confessing that there were no WMDs in Iraq, that their most forceful argument for war was completely false," said Jody Heatlie, a PPRC volunteer. "When you combine that with the revelations of Paul O�Neill, how can we not conclude that Bush deliberately lied to frighten our country into war, that he deceived a nation into sacrificing hundreds of young soldiers, that he has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis in pursuit of a cynical political agenda that includes enriching his pals at Halliburton and plundering another nation�s wealth and sovereignty?" Heatlie emphasized that there was overwhelming evidence that the Bush case for war was fraudulent well before the invasion last March.

In addition to this week�s news stories on the search for WMDs in Iraq, PPRC spokespersons will also highlight the recent report from the federal commission investigating the 9-11 attacks. "It looks like eight of the 9-11 hijackers got through US immigration on doctored passports that should have been caught," said Mikel Clayhold, another PPRC volunteer.1 "The commission judged that these faked documents suggested an association with Al Qaeda, and that should have set off warning alarms throughout our intelligence services." Clayhold observed that to this day nobody at the CIA, the FBI, or the INS has been punished for the lapses that permitted the hijackers to succeed in their deadly attacks. "These findings call into question CIA and FBI claims that there was nothing about these people that would trigger suspicion or a closer investigation," said Clayhold. "We�re faced with more lies that have badly damaged our security, and we are going to have to challenge the incompetence and deceptions of our own government if we�re ever to achieve some measure of real safety." Clayhold hoped the revelations would encourage greater skepticism during the Presidential race.

1. "Clues Missed on 9/11 Plotters ", January 27, 2004, Los Angeles Times.

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