Bush to Back Probe of Iraq Data: Wash Post

[jbfam4]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1845-2004Jan31.html?nav=hptop_ts

Bush to Back Probe of Iraq Data, Officials Say
Reported Shift Comes Amid Pressure From Hill
By Dana Milbank and Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, February 1, 2004; Page A01


President Bush has agreed to support an independent inquiry into the prewar intelligence that he used to assert that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, Republican and congressional sources said yesterday.

The shift by the White House, which had previously maintained that any such inquiry should wait until a more exhaustive weapons search has been completed, came after pressure from lawmakers in both parties and from the former chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq.



Bush's shift in position represents an effort to get out in front of a potentially dangerous issue that threatens to cloud his reelection bid. An independent commission would not necessarily absolve Bush politically, congressional officials said, but it could quiet the current furor and delay calls for top-level resignations at the CIA and elsewhere until after the elections, diluting the potency of the issue for Democrats.


The panel, Roberts said, would have to be bipartisan and include only recognized experts whose recommendations could "leapfrog" over the current debate and quickly tackle the issue of how to fix intelligence deficiencies. "It would be helpful not only politically, but also for the nation," Roberts said.

Sources said Bush intends to endorse a commission in the coming days while remaining publicly agnostic on the accuracy of the intelligence that the administration used to take the nation to war in Iraq. Though some in the White House favor a frank admission that the intelligence was wrong -- something lawmakers and inspectors have given -- Bush and his aides have so far concluded that would only increase the pressure on them.

[FloridaPat]

1. He'll find ways to stonewall it. He's not going to let

any truth out, especially during an election year. Let's see how really "independent" it is.

[Faygo Kid]

2. What a joke. Like the 9/11 commission? Like the Plame investigation?

Oh yeah, Bush will promise a "thorough" investigation, then quash it, like he does with all else. Then honest parties will sue, and Scalia will go duck hunting with Dick Cheney and that's that. What really ticks me off is this: The Post, with its new right wing editorial page, will applaud the President's "call" for an investigation. Then, they will profess disappointment a few months later that the administration has not been as forthcoming as they might have liked. But, they will continue their slavish support of this administration anyway, and decide maybe it's best to drop the whole matter, which they will do. And the next time Bush promises disclosure on any issue, they will repeat the process, and the news page will continue to report these promises as though they had any validity whatsoever. Screw the Post. It's become a horrendous joke, only it's not funny.