Bush to announce Iraq intelligence probe this week

3.00pm - By STEVE HOLLAND

WASHINGTON - In a reversal of his position, President Bush will announce this week the establishment of a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate apparent flaws in intelligence used to justify the Iraq war, senior administration officials said today.

Bush, who had earlier opposed such a commission, was under strong pressure from Republicans and Democrats in Congress to support an independent probe into intelligence that said Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons when in fact none have been found.

Assertions that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction was the main reason cited by Bush for the war, in which more than 500 US troops have died.

"The president wants a broad, bipartisan and independent review of our intelligence, particularly relating to weapons of mass destruction and counter-proliferation efforts," said a senior Bush administration official, who asked to remain unidentified.

The commission is expected to be given until next year to report back, instead of this year as Democrats demand. This represents an attempt to avoid having the probe's results emerge as a campaign issue, as Democratic challengers attempt to derail the president's re-election bid in November.

"It is important that the work of the commission is done in a way that it doesn't become embroiled in partisan politics," a senior administration official said. "We need a commission that not only looks back but looks ahead at ways we can improve our intelligence-gathering to meet the new and dangerous threats we face today."

About nine members are expected to be picked for the commission. Some will be experts outside the government, while others could be members of Congress. They will include both Republicans and Democrats, officials said.

Still, the commission poses a political risk for the president, who put US credibility at stake by ordering Iraq invaded on what now appears to be flawed intelligence.

In going to war to topple Saddam Hussein's government in March 2003, Bush cited intelligence that said Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons and was developing a nuclear weapon.

But David Kay, who resigned in January as the chief US weapons hunter in Iraq, told a congressional panel on Wednesday "we were almost all wrong" in assuming that Iraq had illicit weapons.

The commission will be given a "broad mandate" to look not just at Iraq but other intelligence challenges around the world, an official said. "The commission will have full access to information it needs to do a thorough and complete review," he said.

Officials said Bush retained strong confidence in CIA Director George Tenet.

They said Bush began considering an independent commission early last week and made the final decision over the weekend.

Putting the commission's report back past the election was likely to meet resistance from Democrats.

Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the Senate Intelligence Committee's vice chairman, said earlier the probe had to get under way before the November election and should include how the intelligence was used by those who decided to go to war.

"It has to have that included. And that is still not settled," he said.

Bush had earlier rejected an independent probe amid White House fears of a political witch hunt by Democrats hoping to unseat him in this year's presidential election, but began in recent days to reconsider the position given the bipartisan pressure for an investigation.

"I want the American people to know that I, too, want to know the facts," Bush told reporters on Friday.

Some Republican insiders have said that although a probe on intelligence poses plenty of political risks for Bush in the run-up to the election, continuing to resist calls for an inquiry might make the president appear as if he has something to hide.

Sens. Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat, and Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, said earlier it is essential to have an independent probe.

"I don't think there is any way around it," said Hagel, appearing with Biden on CNN's "Late Edition." Biden said, "America's credibility is at stake."

Biden said he had no evidence intelligence analysts had been pressured into tailoring their findings, but said it should be determined if the administration had properly used the information that these analysts provided.

A Democratic candidate for president, Howard Dean, who has been sharply critical of the Iraq war, accused Bush of not being truthful with the American people.

"We don't know if he was given bad information ... or if he and the administration at the highest level decided to manipulate the intelligence reports," Dean told NBC's "Meet the Press."

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq