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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (40388)	4/21/2004 12:41:40 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 794268

Wolfowitz denies secret Iraq war funding Senators accuse administration of holding back info By Tom Squitieri USA TODAY WASHINGTON -- Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz denied on Tuesday to angry Democrats on Capitol Hill that the Bush administration secretly financed preparations for the war in Iraq long before last year's invasion. As a weeklong series of congressional hearings on Iraq began, Wolfowitz and his administration colleagues also faced charges from both parties that the Pentagon is withholding vital information on the war from Congress. As Wolfowitz testified on Iraqi operations before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Richard Lugar criticized the administration, at another hearing, for the Pentagon's refusal to testify later this week on the transition to Iraqi sovereignty planned for June 30. Lugar, R-Ind., said the administration has ''failed to communicate'' its plans to Congress and the American people. He said the administration was jeopardizing its credibility by not showing up as requested for a hearing Thursday. The senior Democrat on the committee agreed. ''This administration has taken this committee and the Congress for granted,'' Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said. Wolfowitz was closely questioned about claims in journalist Bob Woodward's new book, Plan of Attack, that the Defense Department had secretly diverted $700 million earmarked for Afghanistan and other purposes to planning for Iraq in summer 2002. Wolfowitz said that money was not assembled until after Congress voted in October 2002 to authorize the use of force ''if necessary'' in Iraq. Wolfowitz was accused of a lack of candor. ''We get a series of very glossy statements on how things have transpired and how Saddam Hussein is a really bad man, (but) we have a right to know and should be told what is going on in factual terms,'' Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., said. He called Wolfowitz's testimony ''a continuation of this attitude that Congress is to be duped and led along. I find it just abhorrent.'' Wolfowitz said that he and others at the Pentagon ''manage the whole process of the reports'' that go to Congress so that people who are interviewed ''give us candid opinions'' without worrying that Congress will see what they say. That displeased several senators. ''Don't we deserve candid opinions?'' Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., asked. ''The Constitution requires us to supervise the activities of the Department of Defense, and we have just as much of a right to get this information.'' Wolfowitz was joined at the Armed Services hearing by Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman. Myers said the Pentagon is ''evaluating right now'' whether it will need more emergency money for Iraq before next year, which could put a spending bill before Congress at the height of this year's political season. The hearings took place as U.S. concerns mounted that the international military coalition in Iraq was unraveling. Aides said Secretary of State Colin Powell called 13 coalition partners over the past two days, in the wake of announcements that Spain and Honduras would withdraw troops. Bulgaria's prime minister said Tuesday that his nation's commitment to Iraq could hinge on the United Nations passing a resolution giving the international force in Iraq an international mandate. Kazakhstan officials already had announced they will withdraw their troops from Iraq. And Thailand's foreign minister told Powell that Thai troops would be withdrawn if security conditions become too dangerous. Administration officials insisted, however, that the bulk of the coalition remained steadfast. ''The coalition in Iraq is strong, and their resolve is firm,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.