Paxety Pages

Dear Juan,

The importance of a Democratic congress couldn't have been clearer this week. And with your help, we'll get just that in November.

An explosive report on the still-classified National Intelligence Estimate states that the "invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks".

Republicans are trying to cover it up. The administration is selectively declassifying portions of the report to muddy the waters and the right-wing propaganda machine is in damage-control mode. There's even a second briefing that they still refuse to discuss.

So as the Republican congress tried to skip town, our Democratic leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi, went on the offense. She and her Democratic colleagues offered a motion to send the House into secret session to go over the full report in detail to get to the bottom of it.

But the Republicans wouldn't let it happen. Their "no" votes are the starkest admission yet that they just don't want to know what's really happening on the ground in Iraq, in Afghanistan, or anywhere else.

Leader Pelosi said that enough is enough -- and that when Democrats take back the House we will hold this administration accountable for making us less safe.

Do you agree? If you do, you can send a message that you're with Leader Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats who are tired of business as usual. Make a special donation and send a note of thanks to her asking her to keep up the fight:

http://www.democrats.org/fightback

It's important that Democratic leaders know where you stand, but they can't do the job on their own -- they need your help.

Leader Pelosi is ready to lead a House of Representatives that fulfills its constitutional duty to hold this administration accountable for its corruption, incompetence and ideology-driven agenda. We have a chance to elect that Democratic Congress in just 40 days.

Are you ready to lead? If we're going to win this election, it's up to every single one of us to take responsibility for winning everywhere.

Our 50-State Turnout will be the broadest mobilization of volunteers and voters in our party's history -- it kicks off on October 7th, one month before Election Day.

No matter where you live, this will be your opportunity to make a real, meaningful impact on the election. Volunteer for a 50-State Turnout event near you:

http://www.democrats.org/50stateturnout/find

America and the world will have to live with the results of this election for the next two years.

You can shape history now by stepping up and taking ownership of the political process.

Our 50-state strategy has been transformed into a 50-State Turnout operation unlike anything our party has ever seen. No matter where you are, you have the tools and the opportunity to affect this election.

Are you up to the challenge?

Tom

Tom McMahon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

Remember, this was written by the Democratic National Committee - not some poster on democraticunderground.com.  For Mr. McMahon's information, the National Intelligence Estimate was declassified and available on the Internet on Wednesday. Rather than quote an unsourced "explosive report" on the NIE, here's what the NIE has to say:

• • Although we cannot measure the extent of the spread with precision, a large body of all-source reporting indicates that activists identifying themselves as jihadists, although a small percentage of Muslims, are increasing in both number and geographic dispersion.
• • If this trend continues, threats to US interests at home and abroad will become more diverse, leading to increasing attacks worldwide.
• • Greater pluralism and more responsive political systems in Muslim majority nations would alleviate some of the grievances jihadists exploit. Over time, such progress, together with sustained, multifaceted programs targeting the vulnerabilities of the jihadist movement and continued pressure on al-Qa’ida, could erode support for the jihadists.

US politicians need to remember that they are hired to do what we cannot do very well as individuals - keep the country safe from foreign attack.  This lying and use of intelligence data for political purposes is disgusting.