:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 10.30.2003 ::

:: RE Iraq: High Noon ::

From The NY Times:
Senate Panel Demands C.I.A. Data Leading Up to Iraq War by Friday Noon
By DOUGLAS JEHL

WASHINGTON — In a new clash between Congress and the Central Intelligence Agency, the Senate Intelligence Committee has demanded that the C.I.A. turn over by noon on Friday all of the documents and interviews still being sought by the panel for its inquiry into prewar intelligence on Iraq.

The demand was spelled out in a letter on Wednesday to George Tenet, the director of central intelligence, from the Republican chairman and the Democratic vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, who said that some of the panel's requests have gone unanswered since July.

"In light of the agency's many other responsibilities, the committee has been patient, but we now need immediate access to this information," said the letter, which was released by the chairman, Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas, and the vice-chairman, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia.

A C.I.A. spokesman, Bill Harlow, said Wednesday evening that the agency had "only just received their letter, shortly after it was provided to the news media." Mr. Harlow said it was too soon to say whether the deadline set by the committee was realistic. "The intelligence community has been working hard to fulfill their request and will continue to do so," he said.

The Senate committee is preparing a critical report spelling out what Mr. Roberts has described as "serious errors" on the part of the C.I.A. in gathering and analyzing prewar intelligence about Iraq's suspected illicit weapons program.

posted by me

:: 9:57:00 AM [+] ::
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