this has got to be in response to Dean saying the repukes are not tough on security!!! LOL!!!
WASHINGTON (AP) - Stifling partisanship is preventing the Senate Intelligence Committee from overseeing the nation's spy agencies, the Senate's Republican leadership says.
But the top Senate Democrat says the Republican-controlled panel is falling down on its responsibility to hold the Bush administration accountable. The exchange came four days before the intelligence committee was scheduled to discuss whether to open a full-blown inquiry into the National Security Agency's U.S.-based monitoring operations. West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the committee's top Democrat, has proposed 13 specific areas to be reviewed.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., wrote to Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Friday that repeated calls for investigations are hampering the panel's ability to focus on issues including Iran, North Korea, Muslim extremism and the military modernization of China.
snip...
Reid said the way to end the partisanship is to stop yielding to the White House. "The recent record of the Republican-controlled committee is most notable for its abdication of authority and responsibility," he said.
Without much success, Democrats have been pushing the Bush administration for more information about its monitoring of calls and e-mails of terror suspects - without court approval - when one party to the communication is in the U.S. and the other is overseas. Senior administration officials say the program is too valuable to discuss further in public. more...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-cong/2006/mar/03/030308673.html