Congress Begins Hearings on Iraq Weapons
WASHINGTON - The Senate Intelligence Committee held its first hearing Thursday on Iraq (news - web sites)'s weapons of mass destruction, even as Democrats and Republicans remained divided about how to examine prewar intelligence on Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s weapons programs.
That estimate, which said Iraq had chemical and biological weapons and an active program to develop a nuclear weapon, served as part of the Bush administration's justification for war. Many of its assertions have not been validated by teams hunting for evidence in postwar Iraq.
Sen. Evan Bayh (news, bio, voting record), D-Ind., said after he left the hearing that it's too early to conclude there were no such weapons.
He said he has heard "nothing that would materially alter the conclusion" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. But Bayh said greater emphasis could have been placed on the uncertainties inherently involved in this kind of intelligence.
Senators: More Time Needed to Judge Iraq WMD
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence analysts who testified at a closed Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday stood by their basic prewar assessment that Iraq (news - web sites) had weapons of mass destruction, two attendees said.
A controversy has erupted over whether the Bush administration exaggerated the threat from Iraq's alleged biological, chemical and nuclear weapons programs in making a case for war against Baghdad. No such weapons have been found.
Sen. Evan Bayh (news, bio, voting record), an Indiana Democrat, said there was "nothing that changes the bottom line" of prewar assessments that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and the capacity to create "voluminous quantities" of such weapons.
He and other Democrats who attended the hearing said either they could not make judgments about whether the Republican administration hyped the intelligence or they did not believe outright deceit had occurred.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, said no intelligence analysts have told the panel the administration pressured them to make a stronger case on the weapons assessment than was warranted.
"If there is anyone in the intelligence community -- former, current -- that thinks that their analytical product in any way was manipulated or coerced or intimidated, please come forward. We will keep it confidential. But we have yet to hear from the first one," Roberts told reporters.
WASHINGTON - The Senate Intelligence Committee held its first hearing Thursday on Iraq (news - web sites)'s weapons of mass destruction, even as Democrats and Republicans remained divided about how to examine prewar intelligence on Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s weapons programs.
That estimate, which said Iraq had chemical and biological weapons and an active program to develop a nuclear weapon, served as part of the Bush administration's justification for war. Many of its assertions have not been validated by teams hunting for evidence in postwar Iraq.
Sen. Evan Bayh (news, bio, voting record), D-Ind., said after he left the hearing that it's too early to conclude there were no such weapons.
He said he has heard "nothing that would materially alter the conclusion" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. But Bayh said greater emphasis could have been placed on the uncertainties inherently involved in this kind of intelligence.
Senators: More Time Needed to Judge Iraq WMD
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence analysts who testified at a closed Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday stood by their basic prewar assessment that Iraq (news - web sites) had weapons of mass destruction, two attendees said.
A controversy has erupted over whether the Bush administration exaggerated the threat from Iraq's alleged biological, chemical and nuclear weapons programs in making a case for war against Baghdad. No such weapons have been found.
Sen. Evan Bayh (news, bio, voting record), an Indiana Democrat, said there was "nothing that changes the bottom line" of prewar assessments that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and the capacity to create "voluminous quantities" of such weapons.
He and other Democrats who attended the hearing said either they could not make judgments about whether the Republican administration hyped the intelligence or they did not believe outright deceit had occurred.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, said no intelligence analysts have told the panel the administration pressured them to make a stronger case on the weapons assessment than was warranted.
"If there is anyone in the intelligence community -- former, current -- that thinks that their analytical product in any way was manipulated or coerced or intimidated, please come forward. We will keep it confidential. But we have yet to hear from the first one," Roberts told reporters.