Democrats force closed Senate session on Iraq

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

In mid-afternoon today, Reid demanded the Senate go into closed session. The public was ordered out of the chamber, the lights were dimmed, and the doors were closed. No vote is required in such circumstances.

Reid's move shone a spotlight on the continuing controversy over prewar intelligence. Despite administration claims, no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, and some Democrats have accused the White House of manipulating the information.

Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted last Friday in an investigation that touched on the war, the 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, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions," Reid said before invoking Senate rules that led to the closed session.

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

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And, of course, the Republicans are infuriated. Heh. Really, the previously spineless Democrats should have done this in the summer of 2003 when it became completely clear that there were no WMDs in Iraq. I think the plethora of GOP scandals have stoked the opposition's courage--House Majority Leader, I mean former House Majority Leader, Tom DeLay has been indicted for corruption in Texas; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is under investigation by the SEC; Vice Presidential Chief of Staff, I mean former Vice Presidential Chief of Staff, Lewis Libby is under indictment for perjury and obstruction of justice, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove remains under investigation for the CIA leak. Put that together with the mounting death toll in the quagmire known as Iraq, and FEMA's awful response to the New Orleans disaster, and it all spells blood in the water. Cool.

I wonder is this is just an anomolous blip for the Democrats or if it's a change of philosophy. I guess that remains to be seen. Until then, I'm enjoying the show.

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