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 Bush’s 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 Iraq’s Stability: A Challenging Road Ahead,” was approved Jan. 29 by the heads of the government’s 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."
That makes no sense. What does that mean?
Why not just give it to the MSNM and get it over with the Rats will be leaking it.
Great, an article a day for the next two months for the NY times
You've got that right. Content is one thing...sources and methods quite another. If we read about it in the NYT, the entire Congress MUST be held accountable. Welcome to the Democratic vision of secret-keeping. This positively sucks.
The Today show made a mistake on the pentagon report
I just can't believe that this is going to be allowed by the White House. This precedent literally de-balls this and all future presidents, in terms of War Powers.
There's got to be more to this story.....I hope!
Militant
This is simply horrible, Cindy. I'm stunned. And not a little frightened for agents in the field.
Regards, Ivan
You can't even get our reps to READ the bills they are voting on. You can bet this report will be spread far and wide making it useless in the future.
Why should Kerosene Maxine get to see this? She called Bush a Liar at the recent "anti-war" march.
Man.
Those methods and sources wlll be in the NYT shortly thereafter, and we'll again find ourselves on the sh** end of the stick.
Gotcha. I appreciate your clarifying. Looking forward to seeing how this all pans out....
Me too
Too late. All those registered Republicans who petulantly stayed home last November, or who voted third party, or who voted for other items on the ballot but not for congress, delivered us into the hands of the far Left. There's no turning back now.
I firmly believe this critical point is beyond the ability of most people here to grasp. Sounds condescending of me, I know. Not meant that way, though, but meant as an honest assessment of what I've already seen on this thread, and across FR daily.
I feel you said it best...
"Dear God ... protect and save us."
"They" are out to ruin America/Democracy/Freedom, and blame EVERYthing on Bush.
This will have a chilling effect on all future NIEs.
I was just coming to see which Republicans voted for this; thanks for posting that.
Hoekstra surprised me.
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