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Democrats Force Senate Into Iraq Meeting
By LIZ SIDOTI
11/01/05 "AP" -- -- WASHINGTON - Democrats forced the
Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday,
questioning intelligence that President Bush used in the run-up to
the war in Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.
"They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican
administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and
why," Democratic leader Harry Reid said.
Taken by surprise, Republicans derided the move as a political
stunt.
"The United States Senate has been hijacked by the Democratic
leadership," said Majority Leader Bill Frist. "They have no
convictions, they have no principles, they have no ideas," the
Republican leader said.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Reid demanded the Senate go into
closed session. The public was ordered out of the chamber, the
lights were dimmed, and the doors were closed. No vote is required
in such circumstances.
Reid's move shone a spotlight on the continuing controversy over
intelligence that President Bush cited in the run-up to the war in
Iraq. Despite prewar claims, no weapons of mass destruction have
been found in Iraq, and some Democrats have accused the
administration of manipulating the information that was in their
possession.
Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter"
Libby, was indicted last Friday in an investigation that touched on
the war, the leak of the identity of a CIA official married to a
critic of the administration's Iraq policy.
"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all
about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated
intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to
destroy those who dared to challenge its actions," Reid said before
invoking Senate rules that led to the closed session.
Libby resigned from his White House post after being indicted on
charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and
perjury.
Democrats contend that the unmasking of Valerie Plame was
retribution for her husband, Joseph Wilson, publicly challenging the
Bush administration's contention that Iraq was seeking to purchase
uranium from Africa. That claim was part of the White House's
justification for going to war.
Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Reid was making "some sort of stink
about Scooter Libby and the CIA leak."
A former majority leader, Lott said a closed session was appropriate
for such overarching matters as impeachment and chemical weapons _
the two topics that last sent the senators into such sessions.
In addition, Lott said, Reid's move violated the Senate's tradition
of courtesy and consent. But there was nothing in Senate rules
enabling Republicans to thwart Reid's effort.
As Reid spoke, Frist met in the back of the chamber with a
half-dozen senior GOP senators, including Intelligence Committee
Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas, who bore the brunt of Reid's
criticism. Reid said Roberts reneged on a promise to fully
investigate whether the administration exaggerated and manipulated
intelligence leading up to the war.
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
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