Congress Questions White House on Iraq Policy

Congress opens series of hearings on Iraq

Lawmakers want to investigate details of handover

The Associated Press
Updated: 9:48 a.m. ET April 20, 2004WASHINGTON - With the rising death toll and increasing fear that the United States lacks an effective plan for success in Iraq, lawmakers on Tuesday were opening a series of hearings in which some hope to talk about how America got into the dangerous predicament and how it will get out.

It was unclear Monday night how many administration officials will show up at the hearings, which begin dring one of the worst months of the yearlong Iraq campaign.

At hearings Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee was to hear from Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers and State Department Undersecretary Marc Grossman. Meanwhile, Samuel Berger, national security adviser under former President Bill Clinton, and James Schlesinger, defense secretary under Presidents Nixon and Ford and co-chairman of a a bipartisan task force on Iraq organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, were to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Other hearings before the House Armed Services Committee and a second session by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also were scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday.

As of Monday, the Pentagon had not agreed to attend Thursday's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on how it intends to transfer political power June 30 to an as-yet unnamed Iraqi government. As of Monday, only former officials, an array of think tank witnesses and Grossman had agreed to attend.


Pentagon officials acknowledged Monday that Wolfowitz and Myers would not go to that hearing, but had no immediate comment on why.


Throughout the week’s hearings, officials are likely to face questions on what is being done to calm the increased violence in Iraq, whether troop levels are high enough and exactly how the administration intends to work with the United Nations.

U.S. occupation authorities, who long shunned a substantive U.N. role in Iraq, are now counting on it to help devise a plan for forming a new Iraqi government to accept sovereignty on the turnover date.

Democrats probably will focus on mistakes they say got American forces to this point. Their criticisms include: too few troops sent over in the first place; a lack of planning for postwar operations; unilateral action that has left the United States bearing the bulk of the financial and human toll; and overly optimistic predictions on what it would take to oust Saddam Hussein and build a new democratic government in his place.


“Time is rapidly running out on getting it right in Iraq,” Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said recently.

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he remains “steadfastly optimistic,” adding, “We’ll see our way through this.”

But worry about events in Iraq crosses party lines.

The hearings come during the deadliest month in Iraq for U.S. forces since the invasion began — 100 killed in the increasingly violent insurgency. Some estimate over 1,000 Iraqis have died, including civilians, insurgents and police.

Many lawmakers who visited their districts on the just-ended spring recess faced constituents’ questions about Iraq.

Polls are showing an increase in the number of Americans who think troops should come home and a reduction in support for the president’s handling of Iraq. Already, almost six in 10 of those surveyed say he does not have a clear plan for success in Iraq.

Republicans say Bush eased some Americans’ concerns with his news conference last week when he pledged to stay the course in Iraq. Democrats say he was short on details.

 

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Lawmakers say they're not getting Iraq information.

Wolfowitz questioned as Congress focuses on Iraq.

MSNBC staff and news service reports

Updated: 2:37 p.m. ET April 20, 2004WASHINGTON - Democratic senators sharply criticized Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz during a contentious hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, charging that the Bush administration was failing to keep Congress informed on the situation in Iraq.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island was among those charging that the administration was failing to provide copies of briefings and reports on the security situation to the committee, one of three holding public hearings this week on the situation in Iraq.

“It takes us weeks and weeks and weeks to get reports ... that you have and that you have reviewed,” Reed said, calling the withholding of such reports “inappropriate” and “unacceptable.”

Wolfowitz says withholding of reports justified.

Wolfowitz said he would check to see if it was appropriate to release the specific report on Iraq security forces cited by Reed, but added, “We try to give you everything we can. We also have got to be sure that we manage the whole process of reports like this and reviews like this so that people give us candid opinions. ... The issue is how to protect the decisional processes that I think are in the country’s interest.”

That drew a strong rebuke from Reed and Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., who fumed that he is forced to read the published works of journalist Bob Woodward to find out about the administration’s policy on Iraq.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the committee, also questioned Wolfowitz about a briefing that Pentagon officials gave to the National Security Council and members of Vice President Dick Cheney's staff, saying that according to media reports that it was more detailed than one given to members of Congress.

Wolfowitz also tangled with Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts after he opened his testimony by reading a lengthy opening statement that largely focused on brutality under Saddam's rule.

Kennedy called Wolfowitz's statement "somewhat disingenuous," noting that it did not mention the administration's rationale for going to war in Iraq in March 2003, including its allegations that Saddam had an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.


“I am not here to paint a rosy picture or to view this through rose glasses. There are enormous problems,” Wolfowitz responded.

But he said the situation in Iraq was improving despite continued attacks from insurgents ahead of the planned U.S. turnover of power to an interim Iraqi government on July 1. He noted that a recent pilgrimage in Iraq by a multitude of Shiite Muslims "didn't make news" because it was free of violence.

Wolfowitz also insisted that the administration is firm on plans to transfer authority to an interim Iraqi government as scheduled on June 30, but he acknowledged under questioning from Levin, D-Mich., that back-up plans have been laid in case the deadline slips.

"There certainly are ways to proceed if it can’t be done by July 1, but the reason for keeping so much pressure on ... is it will improve the security situation if people can stop thinking of themselves as occupied," Wolfowitz said.

Marc Grossman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, also told the committee that the Bush administration wanted a new U.N. Security Council Resolution on Iraq to try to draw other countries to provide both security and financial support for rebuilding the country.

Myers: U.S. commanders will remain in charge
But the Pentagon’s top general assured the senators that U.S. troops — who have been battling both Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq this month — will continue to operate under command of their own officers even after the handover of political power on July 1.

“In the end, Mr. Chairman, we’re going to do what we have to do,” Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in response to committee chairman, Sen. John Warner, R-Va.

The hearing was among a host of question-and-answer face-offs Congress scheduled for administration officials amid increased anxiety on Capitol Hill about the course of the war. Wolfowitz gave a half-hour statement focusing mostly on administration claims about the abuses of Iraqis under Saddam's rule.

As Wolfowitz testified on Iraqi operations before the Armed Services panel, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Dick Lugar criticized the administration at another hearing for the Pentagon's refusal to send officials to testify later this week on the planned June 30 transition to Iraqi sovereignty.

Saying success in Iraq depends on the administration's credibility, Lugar noted that over the past year and a half the administration has "failed to communicate" its plans to Congress and the American people. And it may be missing another chance by not showing up Thursday, he said at the opening the first of his committee's three hearings. Testifying before the committee on Monday were Samuel Berger, national security adviser under former President Bill Clinton, and James Schlesinger, defense secretary under Presidents Nixon and Ford and co-chairman of a a bipartisan task force on Iraq organized by the Council on Foreign Relations

Warner opened his hearing noting the rise in violence in Iraq this month and saying insurgents "seek to delay their inevitable defeat" by occupation forces.

"The importance of this hearing cannot be overstated," said Warner. "We are at a critical juncture ... in both Iraq and Afghanistan."

Long list of questions awaits officials
Throughout the week's hearings, officials are likely to face questions on what is being done to calm the increased violence in Iraq, whether troop levels are high enough and exactly how the administration intends to work with the United Nations. U.S. occupation authorities, who long shunned a substantive U.N. role in Iraq, are now counting on it to help devise a plan for forming a new Iraqi government to accept sovereignty on the turnover date.

Democrats are expected to ask about mistakes of the past that they say have brought the administration to this point. Levin said before Tuesday's hearing it is necessary to do that in order to more forward.

"Despite the obvious setbacks that we have experienced, I believe that we can succeed in bringing peace and stability to Iraq," he said. "It will help to achieve that goal if we're willing to learn from our mistakes. The first step is to recognize that mistakes were made."

Criticisms include: too few troops sent over in the first place; a lack of planning for postwar operations; unilateral action that has left the United States bearing the bulk of the financial and human toll; and overly optimistic predictions on what it would take to oust Saddam and build a new democratic government in his place.

Republicans invited to White House meeting
Meanwhile, presidential press secretary Scott McClellan said President Bush invited congressional Republicans to a meeting at the White House late Tuesday.

McClellan also said the "coalition is strong" in Iraq despite the announcements this week of the impending departure of troops from Spain and Honduras. Asked whether this was evidence the coalition was unraveling, McClellan, traveling with Bush to Buffalo, N.Y., replied, "I disagree with that strongly."

Worry about events in Iraq has crossed party lines.

The hearings come during the deadliest month in Iraq for U.S. forces since the invasion began -- 100 killed in the increasingly violent insurgency. Some estimate over 1,000 Iraqis have died, including civilians, insurgents and police.

Many lawmakers who visited their districts on the just-ended spring recess faced constituents' questions about Iraq.

Polls are showing an increase in the number of Americans who think troops should come home and a reduction in support for the president's handling of Iraq. Already, almost six in 10 of those surveyed say he does not have a clear plan for success in Iraq.

Republicans say Bush eased some Americans' concerns with his news conference last week when he pledged to stay the course in Iraq. Democrats say he was short on details.

MSBNC.com's Mike Brunker and the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.