Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Democrats: Americans deserve 'full story' of Iraq intelligence report

WASHINGTON — Some Democratic lawmakers today pushed the White House to release the full text of a previously secret intelligence assessment on terrorism, not just the key judgments, saying Americans deserve the "full story."

President Bush on Tuesday ordered a portion of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) declassified after sections of it were leaked to The New York Times. Bush charged that the document was leaked for political reasons in advance of November mid-term elections.

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Democrats called for the release of the full report.

"The American people deserve the full story, not those parts of it that the Bush administration selects," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

But Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, warned that releasing more of the intelligence assessment could aid terrorists. "We are very cautious and very restrained about the kind of information we want to give al-Qaeda," Hoekstra said in a C-SPAN interview today.

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