In a day of political drama, Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session on Tuesday (local time), questioning intelligence that President George W. Bush used in the run-up to the war in Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.

"They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why," said Democratic leader Harry Reid.

The afternoon halt in Senate business let Democrats steer the spotlight to the war in Iraq, an issue on which the president is doing badly in public opinion polls.

Democrats sought assurances that Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas would complete the second phase of an investigation of the administration's pre-war intelligence.

Taken by surprise, Republicans derided the move as a political stunt but agreed two hours later to the bipartisan review of the Intelligence Committee's investigation.

Reid's move refocused attention on the continuing controversy over pre-war intelligence. Despite administration claims, no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, and some Democrats have accused the White House of twisting intelligence to exaggerate the threat posed by Iraq.

Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted last Friday in an investigation that touched on the war, into his leak of the identity of a CIA official married to a critic of the administration's Iraq policy.

"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all about," Reid said.

Libby resigned from his White House post after being indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury.

Libby is expected to plead innocent to charges of obstructing justice, perjury and lying when he is arraigned today.

Democrats contend the unmasking of CIA officer Valerie Plame was retribution because her husband, Joseph Wilson, publicly challenged the Bush administration's contention that Iraq was seeking to purchase uranium from Africa. That claim was part of the White House's justification for going to war.

Source: China Daily