he chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on held out the possibility Sunday of open hearings in the panel's examination of the quality of prewar intelligence on Iraq's weap-ons of mass destruction and how it was used by the Bush administration.
But Republican Senator Pat Roberts would go no further than promising eventual public hearings "if we think that is warranted."
Senate Democrats have de-manded open hearings and a public report to be issued after the committee ends its review.
Roberts also said on CBS' Face the Nation that the committee would publish a secret report of its findings, but a public report probably would be released as well, another possible concession to Democrats.
The closed hearings of Roberts' committee will begin this week, handling the question of the information US President George W. Bush used to build a case for war against Iraq as routine oversight of the nation's intelligence services.
The format overrules Democratic members' demands for a more formal investigation with extensive questioning of wit-nesses about why weapons of mass destruction have not been found in Iraq and accusations that some evidence cited by the administration has proved false or misleading.
Last week, the Republicans suggested that such a probe could become politicized or harm national security and said they instead favored the routine oversight formula for hearings by the intelligence and armed services committees. The Senate Armed Services Committee already has begun closed hearings.
Senator Carl Levin, the top Democrat on Armed Services, expressed disappointment with the way his Republican colleagues are handling questions about Iraqi weapons intelligence.
"We need a thorough, bipartisan investigation," said Levin, also appearing on CBS.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’ A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death. In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter. “I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
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