Congressional Quarterly Today February 02, 2004
Democrats Oppose Bush Naming All Members for Independent Iraq Inquiry
By Helen Fessenden, CQ Staff
Democrats on Monday challenged the White House over the scope and independence of an inquiry on prewar Iraq intelligence that President Bush -- in a major policy reversal -- embraced earlier in the day.
Some Democrats say they still plan to push ahead with their own proposal for a broad independent review if Bush insists on picking its commissioners.
Following reports over the weekend that the White House had dropped its opposition to an independent intelligence probe, Bush said Monday the White House is assembling "an independent, bipartisan commission to analyze where we stand [on the quality of U.S. intelligence], what we can do better as we fight this war against terror."
Later, Bush met with David Kay, the outgoing top weapons inspector in Iraq who told senators last week that he did not expect any illicit weapons to be found in Iraq and that he favored an independent review of U.S. prewar intelligence.
Details about the commission's composition and mandate remain vague. Some reports have quoted administration officials as saying the panel probably would have nine members and would not finish its work until after the November election. These reports said the commission would look not only at the intelligence on Iraq, but possible intelligence failures regarding Libya and North Korea's nuclear programs and the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan in 1998.
One issue that already has grabbed lawmakers' attention is whether the White House will appoint the commissioners.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and four other top Democrats sent a letter to Bush warning against any commission appointments by executive order.
"A commission appointed and controlled by the White House will not have the independence or credibility necessary to investigate these issues," read the letter, which was cosigned by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Others who signed the letter were House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, presidential candidate Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut and Rep. Henry A. Waxman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee.
But Republicans appeared unlikely to protest the president's proposal. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he expects any such commission would be appointed by the president and that such a move would be appropriate.
At the same time, Roberts, who said he expected the panel to be modeled after the Warren Commission, said the term "Independent commission is sort of a misnomer. The president would appoint the commissioners."
Meanwhile, an aide to Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., said Monday the senator plans to move ahead with a proposal of his own for an independent probe. He added that it would be slated to work for 18 months, putting its completion well past the November election.
Several Iraq intelligence reviews already are under way. They include inquiries by the House and Senate intelligence panels and the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Senate panel's members are expected to get a draft report Feb. 5, according to Roberts. The CIA is also conducting an internal review.
In the Senate probe, Democrats have called for closer scrutiny of the White House's use of intelligence while Republicans have sought to keep the focus on the intelligence agencies. That disagreement mirrors the larger divide in Congress that has become especially pronounced in recent months.
But following Kay's comments, momentum picked up in Congress for an independent review. Two Republican senators -- John McCain of Arizona and intelligence panel member Chuck Hagel of Nebraska -- said last week that they would support such a probe. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, a Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who previously had opposed an independent review, also came out in favor.
Political pressure is the main driving force behind Bush's announcement, according to John Pike, an analyst at globalsecurity.org.
"This is a way for the president to kick the can down the road past the election and keep the White House and the intelligence community from devouring each other," said Pike, who added he expected "massive redundancies" between any new effort and the current reviews under way.
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