BUSH APPOINTS INVESTIGATIVE PANEL OF THE WEEK CHAIRS

I see that dubya has anointed appointed co-chairs of the as yet unnamed panel to look into the Iraqi intelligence issue.

Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Under strong political pressure, President Bush on Friday established a bipartisan commission to investigate failures in intelligence used to justify the Iraq war and gave it until well after the November election to submit its conclusions.

Bush picked as the chairmen of the commission former Virginia governor and senator Charles Robb, a Democrat, and appeals court judge Laurence Silberman, a Republican.

In a hastily arranged appearance in the White House press briefing room, Bush said the commission will "look at American intelligence capabilities, especially our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction."

Bush noted that former chief U.S. weapons hunter David Kay has not been able to confirm prewar intelligence that Iraq possessed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

"We are determined to figure out why," Bush said.

"We're also determined to make sure that American intelligence is as accurate as possible for every challenge in the future," he added.

Bush gave the commission until March 31, 2005, to report back, meaning the results of the investigation would not be known until after the November election. Democrats want the report sooner.

Bush is scrambling to limit the political fallout from Kay's revelations that almost all the prewar intelligence about Iraq's alleged unconventional weapons was wrong.

BUSH TO FIGHT BACK

Claims that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction were the main reason cited by Bush for the Iraq war, in which more than 500 U.S. troops have died.

Bush's job approval ratings have been fading due to a number of factors, including the weapons issue and the fact that Democratic presidential candidates have been hammering away at him. He will appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" for an hour on Sunday in an attempt to fight back.
Much more at link

Bush's job ratings have been falling for one reason. As president, he stinks.

I think it's a lovely statement that the commission has until 2005 in order to report. If Bush -- and no doubt he has been advised on this -- really wanted the voters to have the truth, well you can finish the sentence.

I'm sure that people are digging into Robb's and Silverman's records as I type this. I suspect that there will be grousing over the appointees.

On Edit: Dave Neiwert has the poop on Silverman. This guy is a throwback to Jim Crow.

This appointment should be opposed by anyone that values truth over party loyalty. Anyone.