Posted on 02/09/2007 12:29:41 AM PST by STARWISE
To the surprise of the Bush administration, the House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously Wednesday night to allow all 435 House members to see the classified version of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq sent to the White House last week. The report is classified in part because it contains information about sources and methods used in intelligence-gathering.
The document will provide fuel for a House debate, scheduled to begin Tuesday, on a resolution of disapproval of President Bushs plan to boost U.S. troop strength in Iraq. Remarkably, each House member will be given five minutes to speak. The decision to provide such broad access to the microphones is based on the fact that each member got the chance to speak before the Iraq war began, according to House leadership aides.
In announcing the vote to allow all members access to the classified portion of the NIE, the committee said those examining it will be required to review the document in the Committee's secure offices in the Capitol and sign a secrecy oath. The members will not be allowed to leave with notes, congressional sources said.
The White House was not informed or consulted about the decision. Such access for members is rare but not unprecedented. The document had been made available to members of several committees with jurisdiction over the intelligence community, but other lawmakers would have needed to request permission to read it. The committee had received written requests from one Republican and one Democrat, plus some other informal inquires, and decided it would be better to allow blanket access instead of voting on each request, congressional sources said.
The report runs about 90 pages, and the Office of the National Intelligence Director released 3 1/2 pages of Key Judgments last week. The report, called Prospects for Iraqs Stability: A Challenging Road Ahead, was approved Jan. 29 by the heads of the governments 16 intelligence agencies. It paints a generally bleak picture of conditions in Iraq and warns that without successful efforts to rein in insurgent violence and political extremism, the overall security situation will continue to deteriorate at current rates for the next 12 to 18 months, the period covered by the report.
The decision raised fears among some Republicans that members not used to dealing with classified information might play fast and loose with what they saw. But Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement: "It is critical that all Members of Congress understand the consensus view of the Intelligence Community on the gravity of the situation in Iraq and the consequences for U.S. troops and our long-term national security interests."
We are literally DOOMED! I can only imagine how many "leaks" to the media are going to happen. I sure hope this doesn't put any of our troops in danger, but I'm afraid it will.
435 clones of Homer Simpson consider the evidence
Ummm.. hate to break this to you, but the "voters" are far more concerned about who fathered Anna Nicole Smith's baby than our national security.
It is all bread and circuses.
We need to setup 'canary trap' style versions for each congressman, then out the leakers.
...this way when there's a "security leak", it will be enormously difficult to track the source. This ladies and Gentlemen, your Democratically control Congress
Well golly gee why don't we just publish how to make nuclear weapons since the Govt does that an we apparently "have a right to know" every single little thing our Govt does. The Report names sources and means of gather information.
When this leaks, and Congress has proven itself repeatedly a total sieve when it comes to actually abiding by secrecy oaths, people will die. Many of them in very horrible fashion. Their deaths will make it very much harder to develop means of gathering Intelligence in the future.
The WHOLE reason the Intelligence Committees exist is to hold access to people limited so if it leaks the accountable party can be tracked down. Letting the WHOLE Congress sees it is a transparent attempt by the Democrats to make the pool SO big that when they selectively leak the sentence or two to the press no one can be held accountable. We are not a Direct Democracy, we are a Represent Republic. The Intelligence Committees are the selected The people do NOT have a "right to know" every single thing the Govt does.
The reason we want to Govt to sometimes withhold information for that is we as society have a RIGHT to self defense that is being compromised here in the name of playing stupid Washington DC Partisan political games.
NO they cannot. The Executive is required to report to the Congress. The President cannot simply ignore the Congress. They are Co Equal branch's of Govt. I know this runs counter to all the rabid Bush Haters Holliwerid taught world view of American Politics, but the fact is the President is NOT a Dictator who can do whatever he wants when ever he wants to whom ever he wants for whatever reason he wants.
For a nonbinding resolution...
Un effing believable. You can't even trust the traitors (as we know), on the Intel Committee and we've seen them leak and give up programs and identities of agents live on CSPAN from the floor and leaking in the MSM.
I don't know what the hell's going on re: the hill.
These are the same ones who 'couldn't be bothered' to read documents leading up to Iraq (so they say). Next, they'll want CAIR to sit in... i'm sure they have the docs already.
And to those who stayed home or voted the other way, good move, thanks! /sarc
You can say that again.
Your answer is correct..........
"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
-- P. J. O'Rourke"
This is totally insane. These people are going to get our troops kille, leak to the press like the NYT and others, get us killed and OMG the enemy in our government will have a field day with this.
I apologize for my earlier comments in this thread. I was not in the right state of mind to be posting here, and I see now how stupid my posts were. Sorry!
Margaret Thatcher
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