Congressional Republicans Push Iraq Hearings
Wed Aug 28, 4:49 PM ET
By Vicki Allen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee ( news - web sites) on Wednesday increased pressure on the White House to make its case for an invasion of Iraq, saying he wants Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to testify before the committee.
Virginia Sen. John Warner called for more congressional inquiry into President Bush ( news - web sites)'s call to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites), as House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, an Illinois Republican, was working to secure administration witnesses for hearings on Iraq he plans to hold in September.
In a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, Warner urged a series of committee hearings "to explore the national security implications of possible military action against Iraq."
Levin was not immediately available to comment.
Saying the "crescendo of debate on Iraq has reached an extraordinary level," Warner said the committee hearings should start with administration witnesses, preferably Rumsfeld.
Rumsfeld said on Tuesday Bush had not made a decision on whether to launch an invasion of Iraq, but said the United States would get international support if it decided to take the action.
The administration says Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction and poses a threat to the United States and its allies. Most leaders of those countries oppose a military action.
If Levin decides to hold hearings, he would follow on Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings last month that got views from think tanks and analysts but not the White House, which said it was not ready to send its people to testify.
Sen. Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat and Foreign Relations Committee chairman, said at the time he might hold more hearings when Congress returned from its August recess to hear from administration witnesses, His spokesman said that had not yet been decided.
In his letter, Warner said there "appears to be a 'gap' in the facts" possessed by the White House and by Congress, and "a growing diversity of viewpoints" among experts.
He said it was essential "in this extraordinarily complex foreign policy debate, that Congress step up and assume its responsibilities," and share with the president accountability for military actions against Iraq.
In the Republican-led House of Representatives, the International Relations Committee will hold hearings soon after Congress returns next week and intends to hear from administration officials, Hyde's spokesman said.
"Chairman Hyde is in discussion with the White House on the availability of witnesses," spokesman Sam Stratman said. "Chairman Hyde wants to hear from the administration."
He said Hyde "is prepared to support the president" but thought more information on the risks and the administration's longer-term plans for the region was needed from public hearings along with more classified briefings.
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