Jousting Over the Senate Intelligence Committee
“I am increasingly concerned that the Senate Intelligence Committee is unable to carry out its critically important oversight and threat assessment responsibilities due to stifling partisanship that is exhibited through repeated calls by Democrats on the committee to conduct politically-motivated investigations,” wrote Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in a March 3 letter (pdf) to Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid.
“I agree with Senator Frist,” Sen. Reid replied, “the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee has been bogged down by partisanship.”
“When faced with strong evidence that the Bush Administration has misused intelligence…, time and again the Senate Intelligence Committee has ducked its responsibilities and refused to hold the Administration accountable. The recent record of the Republican-controlled committee is most notable for its abdication of authority and responsibility,” Sen. Reid said.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is scheduled to vote on March 7 on a proposal by Senator Rockefeller to conduct an investigation of the NSA warrantless surveillance activity. An investigation is favored by Democrats and some Republicans, but opposed by the Republican leadership.
Satellite imagery of RAF Lakenheath reveals new construction of a security perimeter around ten protective aircraft shelters in the designated nuclear area, the latest measure in a series of upgrades as the base prepares for the ability to store U.S. nuclear weapons.
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Getting into a shutdown is the easy part, getting out is much harder. Both sides will be looking to pin responsibility on each other, and the court of public opinion will have a major role to play as to who has the most leverage for getting us out.
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