Feith accused of deceiving Congress

Washington. The chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee issued a report accusing Douglas J. Feith of exaggerating intelligence linking al-Qaida and Iraq.

Sen. Carl M. Levin, D-Mich., said he would ask his committee to take "appropriate action" against Feith, the undersecretary of defense for policy, for asserting a relationship between the regime of Saddam Hussein and the terrorist network responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and falsely ascribing that claim to U.S. intelligence agencies, the New York Times reported.

Levin said his 46-page report was intended to expose the "continuing deception of Congress," practiced by Feith.

The Pentagon responded with a statement saying Levin’s report "appears to depart from the bipartisan, consultative relationship" between the Defense Department and the Armed Services Committee, adding, "The unanimous, bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report of July 2004 found no evidence that administration officials tried to coerce, influence or pressure intelligence analysts to change their judgments." (UPI)

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041022-073754-1910r.htm