Bush approves probe of Iraq errors
Panel to investigate intelligence flaws
Unlikely to report back before election
STEVE HOLLAND
REUTERS NEWS AGENCY
WASHINGTON—In a reversal of his position,
President George W. Bush will announce this
week the establishment of a bipartisan,
independent commission to investigate
apparent flaws in intelligence used to
justify the Iraq war, senior administration
officials said yesterday.
Bush, who had earlier opposed such a
commission, was under strong pressure from
Republicans and Democrats in Congress to
support an independent probe into
intelligence that said Iraq possessed
chemical and biological weapons when in fact
none have been found.
Assertions that Iraq had stockpiles of
weapons of mass destruction were the main
reason Bush cited for the war, in which more
than 500 U.S. troops have died.
"The president wants a broad, bipartisan and
independent review of our intelligence,
particularly relating to weapons of mass
destruction and counter-proliferation
efforts," said a senior Bush administration
official who asked to remain unidentified.
The commission is expected to be given
until next year to report back, instead of
this year as Democrats demand. This
represents an attempt to avoid having the
probe's results emerge as a campaign issue,
as Democratic challengers attempt to derail
the president's re-election bid in November.
"It is important that the work of the
commission is done in a way that it doesn't
become embroiled in partisan politics," a
senior administration official said. "We
need a commission that not only looks back
but looks ahead at ways we can improve our
intelligence-gathering to meet the new and
dangerous threats we face today."
About nine members are expected to be
picked for the commission. Some will be
experts outside the government, while others
could be members of Congress. They will
include both Republicans and Democrats,
officials said.
Still, the commission poses a political risk
for the president, who put U.S. credibility
at stake by ordering Iraq invaded on what
now appears to be flawed intelligence.
In going to war to topple Saddam Hussein
last March, Bush cited intelligence that
said Iraq possessed chemical and biological
weapons and was developing a nuclear weapon.
But David Kay, who resigned in January as
the chief U.S. weapons hunter in Iraq, told
a congressional panel last week "we were
almost all wrong" in assuming that Iraq had
illicit weapons.
The commission will be given a "broad
mandate" to look not just at Iraq but other
intelligence challenges around the world, an
official said. "The commission will have
full access to information it needs to do a
thorough and complete review," he said. |
