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Posted on 11/09/2003 6:32:27 AM PST by Lando Lincoln
There was a time on Capitol Hill when those who had to deal with matters of national security and intelligence felt a duty to conduct business without regard to partisanship. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had always served as a bastion of such commonality of purpose.
But no more. A memo written by Democratic staffers and first revealed on the Fox News Channel discloses an appalling strategy that proposes to sacrifice the national interest to partisan politics.
The committee has been investigating the pre-Iraq war intelligence and, of course, is in receipt of all manner of classified documents in order to do so.
Those on the staff of the committee's ranking Democratic member, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, proposed that committee Democrats ``pull the (Republican) majority along as far as we can on issues that may lead to major new disclosures regarding improper or questionable conduct by administration officials.
``We can pull the trigger on an independent investigation of the administration's use of intelligence at any time,'' the memo notes. ``But we can only do so once. The best time to do so will probably be next year.''
And, yes, that would be during the next presidential election.
Rockefeller dismissed the memo as the product of ``staff frustration'' over the ``difficulty of obtaining information from the administration.'' In doing so, he risks attempting to defend the indefensible.
Writing in Friday's New York Post, former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey, who once served as vice chairman of that same committee, noted there was a time when committee staffers were not divided between Democrats and Republicans but served all committee members.
He also wrote, ``The House and Senate intelligence committees were established 30 years ago expressly and explicitly to be a unique refuge from the destructive forces of partisan politics. Keeping these committees nonpartisan is vital for the nation's security . . .''
Rockefeller's nonresponsive response is nearly as offensive as the memo itself. This nation expects more from its congressional leaders than seeking partisan advantage on matters of national intelligence.
If those staffers aren't summarily dismissed, their futures ought to be left to the tender mercies of the Senate Ethics Committee - and soon.
There was a time on Capitol Hill when those who had to deal with matters of national security and intelligence felt a duty to conduct business without regard to partisanship. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had always served as a bastion of such commonality of purpose.
But no more. A memo written by Democratic staffers and first revealed on the Fox News Channel discloses an appalling strategy that proposes to sacrifice the national interest to partisan politics.
The committee has been investigating the pre-Iraq war intelligence and, of course, is in receipt of all manner of classified documents in order to do so.
Those on the staff of the committee's ranking Democratic member, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, proposed that committee Democrats ``pull the (Republican) majority along as far as we can on issues that may lead to major new disclosures regarding improper or questionable conduct by administration officials.
``We can pull the trigger on an independent investigation of the administration's use of intelligence at any time,'' the memo notes. ``But we can only do so once. The best time to do so will probably be next year.''
And, yes, that would be during the next presidential election.
Rockefeller dismissed the memo as the product of ``staff frustration'' over the ``difficulty of obtaining information from the administration.'' In doing so, he risks attempting to defend the indefensible.
Writing in Friday's New York Post, former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey, who once served as vice chairman of that same committee, noted there was a time when committee staffers were not divided between Democrats and Republicans but served all committee members.
He also wrote, ``The House and Senate intelligence committees were established 30 years ago expressly and explicitly to be a unique refuge from the destructive forces of partisan politics. Keeping these committees nonpartisan is vital for the nation's security . . .''
Rockefeller's nonresponsive response is nearly as offensive as the memo itself. This nation expects more from its congressional leaders than seeking partisan advantage on matters of national intelligence.
If those staffers aren't summarily dismissed, their futures ought to be left to the tender mercies of the Senate Ethics Committee - and soon.
Boston Herald : Boston Globe :: New Yawk Post : New Yawk Times.
Hmmm... Was the memo first disclosed on Hannity's radio program or on his Fox program? I thought that it was the radio program (at least, that is where I heard of it first), but I suppose that I could be mistaken...
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