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UK’s Galloway puts US Senators to Shame: Delivers passionate speech exposing the real corruption

by Open-Publishing - Tuesday 17 May 2005
14 comments

Wars and conflicts International USA UK

George Galloway had vowed to give US senators "both barrels" and after sitting - coiled - through an hour-and-half of testimony against him, he unloaded all his ammunition.

Far from displaying the forelock-tugging deference to which senators are accustomed, Mr Galloway went on the attack.

He rubbished committee chairman Norm Coleman’s dossier of evidence and stared him in the eye.

"Now I know that standards have slipped over the last few years in Washington, but for a lawyer, you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice," the MP declared.

The whole room scanned Mr Coleman’s face for a reaction. The senator shifted in his seat - nervously it seemed.

It was the first time a British politician had been interrogated as a hostile witness at the US Senate - but Mr Galloway cast himself not as the accused, but the accuser.

On stage at the heart of American power, he attacked the US-led war on Iraq and accused Washington of installing a "puppet" regime there.

’Lions’ den’

The Scotsman launched into his opening statement with relish.

This was not a wrestling match - it wasn’t a contest
Senator Norm Coleman

He had never received any money or any allocations of oil from Iraq. He was not, as the committee alleged, a supporter of Saddam Hussein.

"I have a rather better record of opposition to Saddam Hussein than you do, and than any member of the British or American governments do," he told the committee.

Mr Galloway had expected to testify before a panel of 13 senators in what he termed their "lions’ den".

But he faced off against just two, Mr Coleman and Democratic counterpart Carl Levin.

It was Republican Mr Coleman who bore the brunt of the attack in one of the Senate’s most flamboyant confrontations.

"Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong," he told the chairman, whom he labelled a "neo-con, pro-war hawk".

Mr Coleman tried desperately to take it without emotion, but at one point could not resist breaking in to a smile.

’He’s no lyncher’

In the face of Mr Galloway’s refusal to accept anything the senators were claiming might be true, they tried to establish a link between a Jordanian businessman who they believe received oil allocations from Saddam Hussein, and Mr Galloway’s children’s charity.

Senator Norm Coleman (l) listens to Mr Galloway
At times the Senate panel looked uncomfortable

Mr Galloway said the businessman had given money to the charity but he, Mr Galloway, had never known where it came from.

The senators believe that it came from Iraq, but they could come up with no proof and their questions ended.

Senator Levin later said he was "deeply troubled" that Mr Galloway had "ducked the question".

But it was Mr Galloway who looked most satisfied as he left the vast, wood-panelled committee room.

Outside in a corridor he told reporters he thought he had put the committee on the ropes, saying of Mr Coleman: "He’s not much of a lyncher."

The senators, however, were playing down the confrontation.

’A knockout’

"This was not a wrestling match," Mr Coleman protested. "It wasn’t a contest."

Asked his reaction to the "unusual" manner of the witness, he replied: "I was not offended by what he had to say, it was not relevant.

"The theatre, the dramatics - I was not looking at that. I had one goal and it was to make a record."

The pundits disagreed. One observer of Capitol Hill politics declared the result: "Galloway by a knockout - before round five."

Others cast the confrontation as Braveheart on Capitol Hill.

But though he left the building professing himself satisfied with his trip to Washington, only time will tell whether Mr Galloway has blown away the allegations he described as the "mother of all smokescreens".

Mr Coleman said he didn’t think Mr Galloway had been a "credible witness". If it was found he had lied under oath, there would be "consequences", he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_polit...

Watch the video, is Galloway ’credible’ ?

Download 4 min clip of Galloway’s testimony here
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/...

Partial transcript of Galloway’s barnstorming appearance before the Senate.

"I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster that you did commit in invading Iraq. And I told the world that your case for the war was a pack of lies.

I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your claims, did not have weapons of mass destruction.

I told the world contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to al-Qaeda.

I told the world contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to the atrocity on 9/11, 2001.

I told the world contrary to your claims, that the Iraqi people would resist a British and American invasion of their country, and that the fall of Baghdad would not be the beginning of the end, but merely the end of the beginning.

Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong. And 100,00 people have paid with their lives, 1600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths, on a pack of lies. 15,000 of them wounded, many of them disabled forever, on a pack of lies.

If the world had listened to Kofi Annan, whose dismissal you demanded. If the world had listened to President Chirac, who you want to paint as some kind of corrupt traitor. If the world had listened to me and the anti-war movement in Britain, we would not be in the disaster were are in today.

Senator, this is the mother of all smokescreens. You are trying to divert attention from the crimes that you supported, from the theft of billions of dollars of Iraq’s wealth.

Have a look at the real oil for food scandal, have a look at the fourteen months you were in charge of Baghdad, the first fourteen months, when 8.8 billion dollars of Iraq’s wealth went missing, on your watch.

Have a look at Halliburton and the other American corporations that stole not only Iraq’s money, but the money of the American taxpayer.

Have a look at the oil that you didn’t even meter, that you were shipping out of the country and selling, the proceeds of which went, who knows where.

Have a look at the 800 million dollars you gave out to American military commanders to hand out around the country, without even counting it, or weighing it.

Have a look at the real scandal breaking in the newspapers today, revealed in the earlier testimony in this committee, that the biggest sanctions busters were not me or Russian politicans, or French politicians, the real sanctions busters were your own companies with the connivance of your own government."

(note: Galloway delivered this passionate speech looking the Senators in the eye, not referring to notes even once. Anyone that’s seen American politicians knows that most of them only read prepared statements... this performance by Galloway on live tv puts American politicians, esp the weak-kneed Democrats, to shame.

Forum posts

  • This video is outstanding! !Thank you George Galloway!....Americans everywhere are singing your praises. It shouldn’t be so outrageous to tell the truth to the US congress, however, these days it is a revolutionary act. The claims against Galloway have already been proven untrue, why does Congress insist on embarrassing US? Again, they present a badly forged document that looks like it was done by an 8th grader... and this is what congress thinks in the most pressing issue of the day?

    Galloway wins libel judgement

    "Galloway today won £150,000 in damages from The Daily Telegraph over "outrageous and incredibly damaging" allegations that he was receiving payoffs from Saddam Hussein when the former Iraqi leader was in power.

    I hope Galloway sues the US congress for libel.

    • In the process of dumbing down the population, they found that their "intelligence" officers were also morons, but they still let them forge the documents because they have been getting away with some amazing shit this far might as well keep it up. Their just hoping we will all remain in our Fox stupors and won’t know what is going on anyway. The rest of the world is watching us and laughing their asses off as we make big fools out of what was once a proud nation.

    • George was fantastic.... It must be very strange for US citizens to see a politician take a principled position and not just bow before the great and good on the hill. He told it like it is and amazingly for a politician he told the truth. If it had been a prize fight it would have been stopped to save poor Mr Coleman from taking too much punishment. George 1 US 0.

    • Reactions from britain...http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=40924&hl=

      Seems as like the mainstream american media kept schtumm.

    • If only we had politicains like him. I am green with envy. He has such conviction and intigrity in what he is saying and doing. Incredible! and oh so rare.

      Makes me want to rid myself of this corporate government even more. I need a shower after watching these corp whores all morning on Cspan. Soon, I’ll be gone TG :)

    • LONG LIVE GEORGE GALLOWAY! WHAT GUTS AND TRUTH. KEEP GOING MR. GALLOWAY...KEEP GOING UNTIL THIS STUPID, DUMBASS WAR IS STOPPED. LONG LIVE GEORGE GALLOWAY.

      S. DiMuzio, USA.

  • We watched American (CNN, FOX) and European News (BBC) and it was funny that BBC used the same argument as their American counterparts.
    This men is honest and he is Scotish and very straight forwarded. We like him. And he is telling the truth.
    On the other hand on AOL-chat you could see the hatred of the American rednecks who don’t like the fact that someone grown up in a Democracy really speaks up.
    Go ahead Mr. Galloway and put this phony American accusation against you where it belongs: in the trash of the history as another example of American dishonesty and lies.

  • We watched American (CNN, FOX) and European News (BBC) and it was funny that BBC used the same argument as their American counterparts.
    This men is honest and he is Scotish and very straight forwarded. We like him. And he is telling the truth.
    On the other hand on AOL-chat you could see the hatred of the American rednecks who don’t like the fact that someone grown up in a Democracy really speaks up.
    Go ahead Mr. Galloway and put this phony American accusation against you where it belongs: in the trash of the history as another example of American dishonesty and lies.

  • What the heck is it with these foreigners wanting an american audience? Don’t any of your brits want to listen to you that you have to come all the way over here to make speeches? Why don’t you let your ambassador handle this like things used to be? We have enough politicians boring us with their speeches now we have to have some foreigner boring us with his self-righteous speeches? Give me a break.

    • The beauty of this speech was he was invited to come by a complacent corrupt establishment. He came to defend his reputation and say what your politicians will not. He used this platform to show why democracy works. Anyone who is mealy-mouthed about his testomony under oath should go away and read their Thomas Paine, or move to another country where their views are the only ones allowed.

      Dr Alex Peach
      Leicester UK

    • It makes our rednecks here really unomfortable when someone speaks the truth about their "leaders" particularly if they are from another country. As usual the moronic moonclaves have to make complete fools of themselves by asking questions like, "what are they doing coming here and boring us blah blah blah"....not even realizing that Mr. Galloway was accused of crimes by the biggest crimminals on earth, "our" Washington crooks, and he was here to defend himself and to set the record straight for all of the world to see. Of course Galloway speaking the truth makes the dumbed down Americans totally uncomfortable, mainly because they do not get it and never will since they are products of inbreeding and brainwashing.

    • Galloway’s address was just what is needed in Washington, an incisive indictment of the hypocrisy and lying of the Bush Administration.
      However, it went largely unreported by the US media.
      When it was reported, it was censored to cut out Galloway’s most cutting and to the point remarks (such as Rumfelds visits to Saddam to sell him arms) and introduced by heaps of gratuitous abuse of Galloway. That piece of ordure which is Fox News constantly referred to him as "a thug"..
      The miserable state of this country is due to the failure of the media to inform the American people; worse, it is due to the media’s concerted, intentional misinformation of the American people.
      Not suprising, though, since the American media is owned by the same corporations and "Americans with double national allegiance" who were behind this criminal, unnecessary war to begin with.

  • It figures that the euros thought Galloway was making a point. All that self-righteous bluster is what passes for being effective over there. Over here he looked like an idiot. He came prepared with this tight-assed monologue and ranted all over the place, being evasive and not even answering the questions. Methinks he doth protest too much and so did most of the legislative committee. They looked bored but tolerated it. I bet behind closed doors they were sniggering at him. Meanwhile most of our local new networks didn’t even bother putting on anything about him. I hope Galloway had a chance to relax his sphincter afterwards.

    • Face it, George left your politicians looking like a bunch of lying, pathetic and frankly under-prepared bozos.
      He told the one thing that you people can’t handle - The Truth. It hurst to admit that you’ve been living a lie since the dopey little cowboy (let’s not forget that he’s no more a Texan than I am - he’s from the east coast) stole his first election.
      If you ever get out of your ridiculous state of denial (and believe me, the world is laughing at you) then you will have to face your own stupidity and accept that your leader is a war criminal and a thief.