Posted on 06/22/2003 2:50:51 PM PDT by AntiGuv
WASHINGTON - The question of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction has left a cloud over the Bush administration's credibility that won't be removed until Americans know whether the administration was straightforward with them, a Republican member of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday.
At the same time, the committee's chairman and its senior Democrat said it is too early to say whether prewar weapons intelligence was manipulated or hyped before the U.S.-led invasion in March, as some Democrats have suggested.
The committee began last week an inquiry into the administration's use of intelligence to justify the invasion, specifically assertions that President Saddam Hussein had thriving programs to develop chemical and biological weapons and had tried to obtain material for nuclear arms.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said the administration is cooperating with the committee hearings, and he expects the cooperation to continue.
"This is a cloud hanging over their credibility, their word," said Hagel. "They need to get that dealt with, taken care of, removed."
Hagel, who spoke on ABC's "This Week" program, said: "The world — certainly Americans — must have confidence in this administration. ... And to resolve this issue is certainly in the interests of this administration."
The Intelligence Committee chairman, Sen. Pat Roberts, said he had seen no evidence in the hearings' early going of any manipulation or other questionable administration tactics, but his panel hopes to answer that question once and for all.
"That's why we have all of the voluminous material from the ceiling to the floor from the CIA," the Kansas Republican said.
The panel's top Democrat, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, said he does not know whether intelligence may have been exaggerated to bolster the administration's case for going to war, but he added that he has misgivings over the possibility.
Rockefeller pointed to claims that Iraq sought uranium from Africa, which were later determined to be based on forged documents that came to the CIA through Italian and British agencies. President Bush mentioned the purported Niger-Iraq connection in his State of the Union address, apparently after the forgery had been discovered.
For now, Rockefeller said, "I am not going to conclude from that that the president was deliberately misleading."
Rockefeller and Roberts both appeared on "Fox News Sunday."
Their committee held one secret session last week. Roberts said three more hearings are planned, and they probably will be followed by an open hearing, which Democrats have demanded.
"At the end of it, doubtlessly, we will have a public hearing. We'll make a public report and probably a classified report," Roberts said.
The House Intelligence Committee is conducting a similar review on prewar weapons assessments, as is the Senate Armed Services Committee.
More than two months after the fall of Baghdad, no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, which has raised questions about the Bush administration's primary justification for invading.
Until recently, Bush and his aides had maintained prohibited weapons would be found. In his radio address Saturday, Bush made no such promise and said instead that documents and suspected weapons sites were looted and burned "in the regime's final days."
I'm betting a little bit on bitterness. Hagel was one of the top choices for the Vice President slot under Bush. In fact he even bought some of the domain names for a Bush/Hagel ticket. Rove liked him and wanted him, since Hagel had 3 solids, he was conservative, a vietnam veteran, and known for being very independent, but never the less solid. Dick Cheney even interviewed him (Cheney was head of the committee to pick the VP for Bush, him and his committee's conclusion was that he was the best guy).
Hagel was mad, Rove fought against Cheney being named tooth and nail, lost that battle and moved on. Hagel probably still holds a grudge over it.
More likely Hagel is still a little teed from 2000. He was one of the front runners for the VP slot on the ticket, Rove loved him, and every liked what he could bring to the table as a solid ACU conservative who is a fomer vietnam veteran and has a reputation for being independent.
Cheney instead became the VP choice, Hagel was ticked that the guy who interviewed him, chose himself, and was mad that Bush ignored Rove and chose Cheney anyway. He probably still holds a grudge, its worth noting that he even bought some domain names for a Bush and Hagel ticket.
http://www.theindependent.com/stories/052700/new_hagel27.html
I remember him being a front runner for the job, I kind of liked him as a pick, after what he did with the kyoto treaty. He came back from the summit before, I think Gore or clinton, whichever one went, he came back first and declared it dead if it goes to the senate and swore it would never be ratified.
Richard W.
Nobody's asking any questions. Accusations, based on nothing, are being thrown about. This has been the case since the day that GWB took office. The only thing that changes is the accusation.
When "the idiots" come up with the next accusation, they'll pretty much drop this one. They're just throwing things against the wall hoping that something, anything, will stick.
It is easy to spout off and call an independent thinker any name that comes to mind without considering that person's background and the reasons for his thinking. Hagel is honest in his beliefs and that is more than you can say for most of our politicians and their followers who are more interested in manipulating public opinion than honest beliefs.
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