Report: Bush Had More Prewar Intelligence
Than Congress
Washington Post
By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 16, 2005; Page A23
A congressional report made public yesterday concluded that President Bush
and his inner circle had access to more intelligence and reviewed more
sensitive material than what was shared with Congress when it gave Bush the
authority to wage war against Iraq.
Democrats said the 14-page report contradicts Bush's contention that
lawmakers saw all the evidence before U.S. troops invaded in March 2003,
stating that the president and a small number of advisers "have access to a far
greater volume of intelligence and to more sensitive intelligence
information."
The report does not cite examples of intelligence Bush reviewed that
differed from what Congress saw. If such information is available, the report's
authors do not have access to it. The Bush administration has routinely denied
Congress access to documents, saying it would have a chilling effect on
deliberations. The report, however, concludes that the Bush administration has
been more restrictive than its predecessors in sharing intelligence with
Congress.
The White House disputed both charges, noting that Congress often works
directly with U.S. intelligence agencies and is privy to an enormous amount of
classified information. "In 2004 alone, intelligence agencies provided over
1,000 personal briefings and more than 4,000 intelligence products to the
Congress," an administration official said.
The report, done by the Congressional Research Service at the request of
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), comes amid allegations by Democrats that
administration officials exaggerated Iraq's weapons capabilities and terrorism
ties and then resisted inquiries into the intelligence failures.
Bush has fiercely rejected those claims. "Some of the most irresponsible
comments -- about manipulating intelligence -- have come from politicians who
saw the same intelligence I saw and then voted to authorize the use of force
against Saddam Hussein," he said this week.
Feinstein, who is on the Senate intelligence committee, disagreed. "The
report demonstrates that Congress routinely is denied access to intelligence
sources, intelligence collection and analysis," she said. The intelligence
panel met yesterday to discuss the second phase of its investigation into the
administration's handling of prewar assertions. In July 2004, the committee
issued the first phase of its bipartisan report, which found the U.S.
intelligence community had assembled a flawed and exaggerated assessment of
Iraq's weapons capabilities.
The second phase, which examines the White House's role, was agreed to in
February 2004 but remains incomplete. Last month, Democrats forced the Senate
into a rare closed-door session to extract a promise from Republicans to speed
up the inquiry. At the time, committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said the
report was nearing completion. But yesterday, committee aides said it is
unlikely the report will be done before spring.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), a former member of the panel, said the
report should not be rushed. But he urged the White House to release more
documents to support its claims. "The only way to be is certain is to look at
what they saw and what we saw side by side," he said.
Researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
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