GOP Turns Tables on Democrats Over Iraq Probe

[babylonsister]

GOP Turns Tables on Democrats Over Iraq Probe
By Tim Starks | 9:01 PM; Oct. 21, 2007


In a reversal of roles, Republicans are now complaining that Democrats are stalling on an investigation into intelligence during the buildup to the Iraq War.

Senate Intelligence Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., made completion of the “Phase II” investigation a top priority after Democrats took control of the committee in January. He said earlier this year that he wanted to finish by summer.

But since then, the panel has completed work on only one of the three outstanding reports. In May, it released a study of ­prewar forecasts of what postwar Iraq would look like. The two remaining are the same controversial reports that bedeviled Republicans — one examining the role of the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans and the other contrasting the statements of public officials with what the intelligence community was saying at the time.

The Phase II investigation began at the urging of Democrats in 2004, after the panel wrapped up the first phase, which Democrats had argued focused on the CIA’s failings to the exclusion of other players, such as the Pentagon.

As time wore on, though, Democrats accused Republicans of delaying the investigation to protect the Bush administration. Republicans countered that Democrats were trying to use the investigation for political gain.

The fight became so heated that in November 2005, Democrats forced the Senate into a closed session to pressure Republicans into moving forward, prompting nasty exchanges between the two parties.

more...

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/10/gop_turns_tables_on_democrats.html

[TwilightGardener]

1. They're stalling until it's too late to impeach.

[gratuitous]

2. I wonder if the delay has anything to do with . . .

I wonder if the delay has anything to do with a lack of cooperation from certain government agencies? It's kind of hard to write a report without information. But I'm sure George "Mr. Cellophane" Bush would never, e-e-e-e-ever withhold vital information from Congressional investigators.