Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

On July 7, 2004, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a report  detailing Phase I of a two-phase investigation into pre-war intelligence, intelligence used by the Bush Administration to rally support for a war against Iraq.

Phase I focused on the quality of that intelligence and controversies over its analysis; the White House was less than cooperative in providing evidence and testimony, and many issues were left undressed. Despite those facts, Phase II was planned as an investigation into  how pre-war intelligence was used by the Bush White House, and if the White House knew that the information it was using was incorrect -- and in some cases, completely false.

The progress of Phase II has been stalled several times, and little effort to complete it has been made by  Senate Republicans. Further, the Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Pat Roberts, repeatedly ignored Democrats' requests to commence the investigation and engaged in tactics to distract Democrats. It is believed Roberts, at the behest of the Senate's GOP leadership, has been stalling Phase II to shield the Bush Administration.

Should Reid have consulted with Senator Frist before using the rule?

Bill Frist was fully aware of Democrats' concerns and -- like Roberts -- ignored them for over a year-and-a-half. As such, Frist could not be trusted to do the right thing unless forced to.

Why is Phase II so important?

This country was led into an illegal war in Iraq based on intelligence that was hotly contested by various intelligence agencies; much of the information has since been proven false.

Roughly $2 billion a week is being spent in Iraq, and the total cost is nearing a half-trillion dollars. Over 2000 soldiers have died,  and a solid majority of the American people now oppose the war. Since the war is being waged in our name with our money, we have every right to know the truth about how and why it was started by the White House.

What does Phase II have to do with "PlameGate?"

Part of Phase II's investigation would explore White House leaks to the media, attempts by the Bush Administration to win public support for the war by planting stories. When Joseph Wilson exposed a major White House lie, Oval Office officials Karl Rove and "Scooter" Libby retaliated by speaking with six reporters and falsely accusing Wilson's wife, an undercover CIA operative, of sending him on a fact-finding mission to Niger. That mission put Wilson in a position to know that White House had made a blatantly false claim.

What came out of the closed session?

A six-member, bipartisan task force will study what little progress Phase II has made, and no doubt the investigation will now be completed rather than fading away. The task force will deliver a report on November 14th on Phase II's findings to date.