GOP leaders reject WMD probe
Helen Dewar and Peter Slevin - Washington Post
Issue date: 6/12/03 Section: Nation
WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans on Wednesday spurned Democrats' demands for a full-blown probe into whether the Bush administration manipulated prewar intelligence on Iraq's weapons programs, saying Congress's current oversight operations will suffice.
Key Democrats called the GOP plan "entirely inadequate" and accused the administration of "hyping" intelligence data, as the debate over Iraqi weapons of mass destruction - which until now has focused on the White House, CIA, and State Department - found full voice in Congress.
At a news conference that appeared aimed at quelling mounting Democratic criticism, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said the committee continues to review intelligence documents on weapons and plans to focus on them in closed-door hearings starting next week.
"We are going to complete a very thorough review of all the documentation" supplied by intelligence agencies, he said. "It seems sensible to do that kind of homework before you talk about a formal investigation of this or that or the other thing."
Roberts said some of the criticism of intelligence operations was politically inspired. "I will not allow the committee to be politicized or to be used as an unwitting tool for any political strategist," he said.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., said his panel has been holding hearings and reviewing evidence for some time. He joined Roberts and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla., in rejecting a broader probe at this time.
Some leading Democrats have demanded an aggressive inquiry to determine whether the intelligence cited by the administration to build the case for war against Iraq may have been inaccurate or skewed to serve administration interests. In the months leading to the March invasion of Iraq, President Bush repeatedly said Saddam Hussein's government had significant chemical and biological weapons capabilities that threatened the United States.
Key Democrats called the GOP plan "entirely inadequate" and accused the administration of "hyping" intelligence data, as the debate over Iraqi weapons of mass destruction - which until now has focused on the White House, CIA, and State Department - found full voice in Congress.
At a news conference that appeared aimed at quelling mounting Democratic criticism, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said the committee continues to review intelligence documents on weapons and plans to focus on them in closed-door hearings starting next week.
"We are going to complete a very thorough review of all the documentation" supplied by intelligence agencies, he said. "It seems sensible to do that kind of homework before you talk about a formal investigation of this or that or the other thing."
Roberts said some of the criticism of intelligence operations was politically inspired. "I will not allow the committee to be politicized or to be used as an unwitting tool for any political strategist," he said.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., said his panel has been holding hearings and reviewing evidence for some time. He joined Roberts and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla., in rejecting a broader probe at this time.
Some leading Democrats have demanded an aggressive inquiry to determine whether the intelligence cited by the administration to build the case for war against Iraq may have been inaccurate or skewed to serve administration interests. In the months leading to the March invasion of Iraq, President Bush repeatedly said Saddam Hussein's government had significant chemical and biological weapons capabilities that threatened the United States.
