The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore : on Homeland Security

Donald Rumsfeld: 9/11: First response was to look for Iraq link

As a result of the 9/11 Commission report, we now know that within hours after the attack on 9/11, Secretary Rumsfeld was busy attempting to find a way to link Saddam Hussein with the attack. We have the sworn testimony of the president's White House hea of counterterrorism, Richard Clarke, that on the day after the attack, September 12, the president wanted to connect the attacks to Saddam. Clarke recounted, "The president said, 'I want you to find whether Iraq did this.' I said, 'Mr. President, there's no connection.' The CIA/FBI report we sent to the president got bounced back saying, 'Wrong answer. Do it again.' I don't think the president sees memos that he wouldn't like the answer."

By 2004, even Rumsfeld, who saw all of the intelligence availabl to President Bush that might bear on the alleged connection between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, finally admitted under tough repeated questioning from reporters, "To my knowledge, I have not seen any strong, hard evidence that links the two."

Source: The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore, p.107-108&111 Jul 1, 2008

George W. Bush: Signing statement: We will decide what is torture

The administration sought to justify torture and to somehow provide a legal rationale for the sadistic activities conducted in the name of the American people.

The uproar caused by the disclosure of this legal analysis forced the administration to claim it was throwing out the memo and to dismiss it as irrelevant and over-broad, but the administration still refuses to acknowledge that the memo's original audacious claims that the president can ignore the law are just wrong.

Congress enacted the McCain Amendment by overwhelming, veto-proof majorities. Rather than see his veto overridden, the president signed the law but simultaneously issued a signing statement indicating that he would not be bound by the new law. The statement declared that the McCain Amendment would be "construed" to make it "consistent with" the president's power as head of the unitary executive and as commander-in-chief and also in light of the "constitutional limitations on the judicial power."

Source: The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore, p.153-154 Jul 1, 2008

John McCain: McCain Amendment: Torture ban passed by veto-proof majority

You'll recall the strange and perverted legal memorandum from inside the administration that actually sought to justify torture. The uproar caused by the disclosure of this legal analysis forced the administration to claim it was throwing out the memo and to dismiss it as irrelevant and over-broad, but the administration still refuses to acknowledge that the memo's original audacious claims that the president can ignore the law are just wrong.

Congress was understandably unmoved by these disclaimers and enacted the McCain Amendment, preventing not only what the memo regards as torture but also "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" of detainees. Despite the threat of a veto, the legislation passed by overwhelming, veto-proof majorities in both houses. Rather than see his veto overridden, the president signed the law but simultaneously issued a signing statement indicating that he would not be bound by the new law.

Source: The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore, p.153-154 Jul 1, 2008

Al Gore: Our government condones torture for first time in history

For the first time in American history, the Executive Branch of our government has not only condoned but actively promoted the treatment of captives in wartime that clearly involves torture, thus overturning a prohibition established by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

It is too easy--and too partisan--to simply place the blame on the policies of Pres. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes. We have a Congress. We have an independent judiciary. We have checks and balances. We are a nation of laws. We have free speech. We have a free press. Have they all failed us? Why has America’s public discourse become less focused and clear, less reasoned? Faith in the power of reason--the belief that free citizens can govern themselves wisely and fairly by resorting to logical debate on the basis of the best evidence available, instead of raw power--remains the central premise of American democracy. This premise is now under assault.

Source: The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore May 16, 2007

Al Gore: Mass eavesdropping threatens integrity of Bill of Rights

The disclosure that our government has been cruelly and routinely torturing captured prisoners--and was continuing to do so as official policy--provoked surprisingly little public outcry, even though it threatened America’s values and moral authority in the world. Similarly, the disclosure that the executive branch had been conducting mass eavesdropping on American citizens without respecting the constitutional requirement that it obtain judicial warrants--and was continuing to do so--caused so little controversy that the Congress actually adopted legislation approving and affirming the practice. Yet this action threatened the integrity of the Bill of Rights, which is at the heart of America’s gift to human history. Source: The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore, p. 53 May 16, 2007

The above quotations are from The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore. Click here for definitions & background information on Homeland Security. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by Al Gore on Homeland Security. Click here for more quotes by George W. Bush on Homeland Security.
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Page last updated: Sep 27, 2012