AS SEEN TONIGHT
My Peter Pace Appropriation Hearing Download ... And the here is an embed for the Apropriations Hearings:
At
0:00:30 Robert Byrd's almost blues like opening statement
calls it a nefferious infernal war complains of the lack of White House cooperation. Very moving.
0:12:15 Senator Thad Cochran R-Mississipi
0:14:13 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates opening statements
one short interuption
0:21:00 Deputy Secretary of Sate John Negroponte
protestor evacuated at 0:21:30
seeks funds, touts successes. blah blah blah..... Hard to concentrate on obliterating his misinformation with all those liver spots on his dome.
0:28:00 Byrd again
Says appropriations need to be justified
0:28:45 Sen Dan Inouye D-Hawaii
asked Gates about contractors in Iraq, how many are there, rules of engagement, accountability and who oversees. 137,000 contractors are in Iraq.
0:35:30 Senator Ted Stevens R-Alaska chastises protestors and gets all holy about the rules - he's implicated on bribery right now so really hollow. http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/story/9179115p-9095789c.html
blows Pace then wants to know why its taking so long to get $2B contracts placed. Digging his own grave here.
Negroponte bristles at the opportunity to sell another $6B of crap.
0:42:40 Byrd asks Gates what the president meant by saying we will be there 50 years
Gate affirms the time agreements, claims it would be a fraction of what is there now. Calls it a partnership.
0:51:30 Pace opening statements
0:54:35 Senator Arlen Spector R-Pennnsilvania
over $808B expense by end of '08 Complains that children's health facing veto to pay for this.
requests cost envelope. Arlen asks Negroponte why more talks aren't going on with Iran and other Syria.
0:59:00 Negroponte beats the war drums again Arlen shuts him off and
forces John to admit he is limiting diplomacy.
1:03:00 Senator Patrick Leahy D-Vermont complains to John Negroponte about lack of detail in budget request.
asks if we have the ability to hold Blackwater legally responsible for the criminal conduct. Says they are under the coalition order admits
that he doesn't know but United States can hold them accountable. Admits no one has been jailed, only one investigation, nobody prosecuted. Gates interrupts to say Iraq can not hold
non-iraqi contractors accountable. Gates says military code of justice can hold Blackwater accountable. Asks John if NYT article is false, says he has not read it. Asks for a timeline on investigation. John says pursued actively but doesn't sound to persuasive.
Sounds like a cover-up. Reluctantly admits US courts could try any indictment post investigation.
then there is a blip at 1:22. Moves to Harkin complaining about closing Guantanamo w/Gates. Then Harkin nails Pace on "immoral" comments regarding gays in the military. I will fix this file.
01:26:00 Pace gives his response. Significantly different than TPM's
edited content.
01:29:00 Thou Shall Not Kill erupts Hearing suspended.
Proceedings resume with an empty chamber
01:33:36 Pace tries to wiggle out Harkin holds him to the fire.
01:36:49 Senator Cochran asks Negroponte what can be done to make our forces less necessary. John says he's hopeful with little detail. Gates talks of Jordan & Saudi Arabia and the refugees.
01:42:00 Senator Mikulsi D - Maryland decrys the indignant hearings. Addresses Gen. Pace about his personal sacrifice. Asks Robert Gates about where we are in improvements in Walter Reed. Gates elaborates. 300 recommendations have been made. Determining disability is a big hang up.
01:52:00 Senator Sam Brownback Asks John Negroponte about the sense of the Senate resolution to split up Iraq into 3 pieces. Complains about lack of political accomplishments. Touts Anbar. John talks a bunch but not very focused or defined nor did this reveal anything new.
02:00:00 Senator Herb Kohl brings up Gates' involvement with the Iraq Study Group Conclusions. Gates says most recommendations have been or is being implemented. Beats a few war drums' but Kohl asks about diplomacy.
02:08:00 Senator Patty Murray D-Washington questions Gates if the breathing space strategy worked to provide political progress, provided push back and asks how much more time Iraqi leadership needs. Gates touts some military success but doesn't answer the political question. Then Patty asks about care management.
02:15:30 Senator Byron Dorgan D-North Dakota discusses illegal small weapons proliferations, how the whistleblower (an American Citizen) was tortured and jailed and asks for an investigation. Then Senator Dorgan complains about why the appropriation is off the books. Gates puts the question back on Congress, admits George also has a role. Then questions why major fight is in Iraq when Al Qaeda is in Pakistan. Gates does Double speaks about the "Central Front".
02:23:40 Senator Feinstein D-California $34, 81, 91, 107, 121, 173, 189B appropriations. Says it's going the wrong way, questions if this money isn't being done to stage a war on Iran. Questions the long term commitment and how the supplemental fits with the rest of the Middle East. Gates said expects long term to be a small effort with no permanent bases but no detailed plans are out there, maybe a force about a fourth as big as now.
02:31:30 senator Dick Durbin D-Illinois Brings up Blackwater and their criminal nature. Gates passes to Negroponte claims not his domain. John Negroponte submits a prepared statement. Talks of the preparation in training of the contractors. Clearly can't answer. Then Dubin talks about the inability to recruit because of contractors. Gates has dear in the headlights look.
02:40:20 Senator Jack Reed D- Rhode Island to Gates wants to know where he's going to get the troops to balance the numbers. Gates says Bush was purposely vauge about the draw down then admits there will be no draw down intro ops. Then Reed finds what sounds like a huge double dip in the request for funding. Questions Pace about Newsweek report (Admiral Fallon's report with rapid drawdown). Admits Fallon's report and Petraeus had different "flavors" but in the end settled on what the president would accept.
2:49:30 Senator Ben Nelson D-Nebraska tells pace he likes his handwriting. Then Negroponte gets quizzed about benchmarks.
2:58:00 Senator Byrd asks about draw down plans. Expected to take at minimum 22 months. No plans exist.
