US Republicans signal readiness to resume Iraq weapons probe: "Bush, when asked in a television interview to clarify whether he had hard facts about Iraqi weapons or just feared Baghdad may acquire them, replied: "So what's the difference?" "There is a huge difference between having something and seeking something," Senator Carl Levin
No banned weapons have been found in Iraq since then, despite an intense search by a team of experts from the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency.
sg.news.yahoo.com
US Senate Republicans have signaled their readiness to resume a probe into pre-war charges that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, which was halted more than six weeks ago amid bitter partisan bickering.
"I think we will have, hopefully, some public hearings by February," announced Pat Roberts, chairman of the US Senate intelligence committee, appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation" program. "We will get those questions out."
US President George W. Bush and other top administration officials had accused Iraq of secretly producing chemical and biological weapons in violation of UN resolutions -- charges that were used to justify the March invasion of the country.
No banned weapons have been found in Iraq since then, despite an intense search by a team of experts from the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Senate committee had been revisiting the US intelligence dossier and looking into whether the Bush administration twisted data to suit its goal of regime change in Iraq.
But hearings into the matter were suspended in early November, after Senate Republicans, citing a leaked Democratic strategy paper, accused Democrats of trying to exploit the investigation for political gain.
Now, striking a conciliatory posture, Roberts said he had been working with the ranking committee Democrat, Senator John Rockefeller, and other members to defuse the standoff.
He did not repeat previous Republican demands that Democrats disavow their strategy paper, identify its author and present a formal apology for allegedly trying to manipulate the probe.
The apparent change of heart came after the CIA acknowledged late last month that it "lacked specific information" about alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction when it compiled a 2002 intelligence estimate that served to justify the invasion.
Congressional Republicans also found themselves under renewed pressure last week after Bush, when asked in a television interview to clarify whether he had hard facts about Iraqi weapons or just feared Baghdad may acquire them, replied: "So what's the difference?"
Senator Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the remark was "a stunning revelation" of Bush's "thinking and of his decision to go to war."
"There is a huge difference between having something and seeking something," the lawmaker observed.
Democratic Senator Joseph Biden said it was important to complete the Iraqi weapons review to maintain US credibility in the world at large.
"The idea that we're going to go in next time and say, by the way, Kim Jong Il in North Korea's about to do the following, who the heck's going to believe us?" Biden asked in a CBS interview.
But General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed confidence the weapons of mass destruction will be eventually found the same way US troops caught up with deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein -- through cooperation of Iraqi individuals.
"The same thing's going to be true in WMD," Myers assured in an interview with "Fox News Sunday."
Email this story |
