Silvestre Reyes' Valentine to George Bush

2/14/2008

President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

[...]

Because I care so deeply about protecting our country, I take strong offense to your suggestion in recent days that the country will be vulnerable to terrorist attack unless Congress immediately enacts legislation giving you broader powers to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans' communications and provides legal immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the Administration's warrantless surveillance program.

[...]

If our nation is left vulnerable in the coming months, it will not be because we don't have enough domestic spying powers. It will be because your Administration has not done enough to defeat terrorist organizations – including al Qaeda -- that have gained strength since 9/11. We do not have nearly enough linguists to translate the reams of information we currently collect. We do not have enough intelligence officers who can penetrate the hardest targets, such as al Qaeda. We have surged so many intelligence resources into Iraq that we have taken our eye off the ball in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As a result, you have allowed al Qaeda to reconstitute itself on your watch.

[...]

I, for one, do not intend to back down – not to the terrorists and not to anyone, including a President, who wants Americans to cower in fear.

We are a strong nation. We cannot allow ourselves to be scared into suspending the Constitution. If we do that, we might as well call the terrorists and tell them that they have won.

  U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes
  Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Texans (16th Dist., El Paso) he's ours. Thank him.

Behind Closed Doors

Alberto Gonzales testified before the House Intel Committee about his middle-of-the-night pressure visit to John Ashcroft's hospital bedside yesterday, but we're not allowed to know what he said, because the issue of why he was there is classified. At any rate, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) was satisfied with Gonzo's answers.

"When there are issues of national security at stake, I think certainly one should not question the motivation of individuals," Reyes told reporters. "I'm willing to accept the rationale behind it."

Not question motives when national security is at stake? That's a GOP talking point, isn't it? Senator [ooops] Congressman Reyes is a Democrat. You remember Senator [ooops] Congressman Reyes, don't you?

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.

Silvestre Reyes to Reporters: How Many Ways Do I Have to Say No?

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Tex., chairman of the House intelligence committee, did not respond today to questions from the Blotter on ABCNews.com about why he refuses to release a report on the abuses of power by former committee member Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

The one-time California Republican lawmaker took millions in bribes in exchange for awarding millions more in government contracts he wrote into law. He is now serving a lengthy prison term for his misdeeds.

"It's exactly the wrong thing to do," said Steven Aftergood of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists of Reyes' decision to withhold the report. "They should be setting an example of accountability and transparency."

  Raw Story

Let me think.....why would a Democrat hide that report? Hmmmm?

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.