By KATHERINE SHRADER,
Associated Press Writer
Friday, December 29, 2006
WASHINGTON, (AP) --Incoming House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre
Reyes says he'd rather figure out how to stabilize Iraq and
bring the
troops home than get bogged down investigating what went wrong.
Despite that pledge, he does plan to revisit one bit of history:
What he sees as the government's improper classification of
a letter he wrote during the congressional debate on the 2003
U.S. invasion of Iraq.
In the letter, he questioned the intelligence used to take
the country to war and specifically the "epiphany in the
intelligence community" that al-Qaida and the Iraqi government
of Saddam Hussein were linked, Reyes says. Based on the answers
to questions he'd asked since Sept. 11, 2001, he said that
assessment was "a complete turnaround" for U.S. analysts.
"We now know that the intelligence was cherry-picked
and manipulated," Reyes said in a recent interview. "I
thought it was real petty to get (the letter) classified."
Reyes is taking over the House Intelligence Committee at a
pivotal time, as the Democrats try to shape the U.S. course
on Iraq and Afghanistan, government surveillance programs and
other national security questions. The retired Border Patrol
agent hasn't seen his party in control of the House since 1994.
Yet even before Reyes officially assumes the chairmanship,
questions have been raised about whether he has an adequate
handle on national security issues to do the job.
A Congressional Quarterly reporter recently gave Reyes a pop
quiz about al-Qaida and Hezbollah. Reyes answered that al-Qaida,
a Sunni extremist group, was "predominantly, probably
Shiite." Asked about Hezbollah's religious roots, he replied, "Why
do you ask me these questions at five o'clock?"
Trying to recover from the misstep, Reyes issued a short statement
suggesting he shouldn't be judged on the interview.
"Issues like al-Qaida and the Middle East deserve serious
discussion and consideration. As a member of the Intelligence
Committee since before 9/11, I'm acutely aware of al-Qaida's
desire to harm Americans," said Reyes, who leapfrogged
over two more senior members to get the chairmanship. "The
Intelligence Committee will keep its eye on the ball and focus
on the pressing security and intelligence issues facing us."
The damage was done. Editorial pages from Fresno, Calif.,
to Hartford, Conn., took aim, as well as late-night talk show
host, Jay Leno. "Apparently, the term 'intelligence committee'
is just a suggestion," Leno joked.
Bill Nolte, a former National Security Agency official who
served as the spy agency's legislative affairs chief in 2000,
minimized Reyes' stumbles in the pop-quiz. "He's been
in the field.... So he screwed up on that question, but I bet
he can tell you some interesting things about the border that
other people on the committee can't."
The key challenge facing Reyes, Nolte said, is getting the
fractious intelligence committee to work together to do its
primary job of overseeing the nation's spying apparatus. The
past year has been marked by bitter partisanship, with leaders
of each party accusing the other of dirty politics. "If
the committee spends all their time sniping at each other across
party lines, it is almost a guarantee you won't have effective
oversight," Nolte said.
In his new post, Reyes will oversee all 16 U.S. spy agencies,
including the CIA and the NSA.
A spokesman for incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California
said she has no second thoughts about choosing Reyes to head
the panel. She has said Reyes has "impeccable national
security credentials," pointing to his 26 years with the
Border Patrol and his service on the intelligence, armed services
and veterans affairs committees. His background includes a
stint in Vietnam as a helicopter crew chief and gunner.
Taking cues from Pelosi, Reyes has pledged to work to implement
the remaining, difficult recommendations of the Sept. 11 Commission.
He plans to review U.S. intelligence efforts to support the
military in Iraq and to figure out how the spy agencies can
help the United States transition from a combat to an advisory
role there.
Reyes also hopes to renew the committee's focus on diversity
in the spy agencies and on Latin America, particularly Venezuela.
President Hugo Chavez has influenced elections across Latin
America, has called Bush the devil and has aligned himself
with Iran.
Reyes is the oldest of 10 children, a father of three and
grandfather of three. He is from a farming family outside of
El Paso, Texas, where alfalfa and cotton dot the landscape.
He played fullback on the Canutillo High School football team.
Reyes has said he didn't see himself getting into politics.
But he garnered unusual name recognition through his aggressive
programs to secure the porous border in El Paso, and parlayed
that into a successful bid for the House in 1996.
Reyes has chaired the House Hispanic Caucus, and advised members
against voting for the war in Iraq — advice the group
took.
Now, Reyes may need sharp elbows as he takes over the committee.
Pelosi has proposed creating a new intelligence subcommittee
that will oversee spy agency spending. No one in Congress likes
to cede power, and some of those responsibilities will draw
work away from Reyes' committee and the defense panel of the
powerful Appropriations Committee.
He'll also have to rein in a spy community that recently was
called "headstrong" by one presidential commission.
Before him will be a parade of senior intelligence leaders
who have polished academic credentials. Reyes has an associate's
degree in criminal justice from El Paso Community College.
Jim Currie, a Democratic aide on the Senate Intelligence Committee
from 1985 to 1991, said Reyes' commonsense approach may serve
him well as he goes up against the country's top spies.
Currie's advice: "Be eternally skeptical of everything
you are told. In many instances, these people are trained to
lie for a living."
On the Net:
Rep. Reyes:
wwwc.house.gov/reyes/
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