I'm reading the editorial page in the Wichita Eagle and what do I see? Not one, but 2
op-ed pieces about the Phase II reports! Including
one by Sen. Roberts himself! Why don't we take a look at what they have to say.
Sen. Roberts
announced thursday that the Senate Intelligence Committee is close to releasing the two of the Phase II reports. The catch? (Because you KNOW there is one) We have to wait for the Whitehouse to declassify most of it! Anybody want to place a bet on how long that will take?
Here are a couple of choice bits from his op-ed on sunday.
Contrary to anonymous sources, the committee has been working on the second phase of its review for more than two years. We have analyzed more than 40,000 documents and conducted upwards of 60 personal interviews in multiple countries to find the facts and reach conclusions.
As a result, I announced on Aug. 3 that the committee had approved the findings of fact and conclusions for the first two of the Phase II reports.
From our work, the public will gain greater insight into -- and an understanding of -- the postwar findings about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs and how those findings compare with the assessments that were made leading up to war. Additionally, I hope the public will learn more about the use by the intelligence community of information provided by the Iraqi National Congress.
And the disclaimer!
I must, however, raise a warning regarding the declassification process. I have been disappointed by the Bush administration's unwillingness to declassify material contained in these reports; material that I believe better informs the public, but does not jeopardize intelligence operations, sources and methods. I have told the administration that I expect minimal redactions so that there are no questions about the facts or how members of the committee came to their conclusions.
Where he blames the delay on Democrats:
At the request of committee vice chairman John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., I have agreed to wait until the Senate returns in September to vote to release these reports to the public. During the recess, I expect the administration to work diligently to complete the declassification.
I am really looking forward to this report, but I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for it! I predict it will be declassified on Jan. 19, 2009 with pardons issued accordingly. I think this will be an election issue for Sen. Roberts in '08, at least I plan to make it one!
Update: I never even touched on the Eagle op-ed piece. So with that in mind here are a couple good ones from them. (go read it!)
To his credit, Roberts pledged not to accept a report whose findings remain heavily redacted and classified. "This committee will not settle for anything less," he said this week. "Neither will the American public."
The most awaited and potentially damaging part of the Senate probe looks at how the Bush administration used -- and, critics charge, cherry-picked and misused -- intelligence to sell the Iraq war to the American people.
Committee staff now say that part of the report might not come out until after the November election. That's convenient -- and reinforces the worst fears of those convinced Roberts is playing politics.
For his part, Roberts blames Democrats for the delay, invoking football: "I may be first and 20 on the goal line, and all of a sudden I'm first and 40" because of their requests for changes, he claimed.
But to follow up the analogy -- he's the quarterback, right? Why not take charge of the team and push it over the goal line?