Balls no longer in air
Senators clash over inquiry on Iraq
Democrats force a rare closed session
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff | November 2, 2005
WASHINGTON -- In a power play that stunned and angered Republicans, Senate Democrats yesterday forced the chamber into a rare closed session to demand further investigation into the intelligence that led the nation into the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq.
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After the two-hour session, lawmakers emerged to announce that the Intelligence Committee would resume work on its investigation of the prewar intelligence next week. Republicans insisted the review was already scheduled to begin next week, but Democrats countered that the GOP had been dragging its feet on the inquiry since before the 2004 presidential election, as US casualties mounted and more questions surfaced about the war.
''The troops have a right to expect answers and accountability worthy of [their] sacrifice," Senate minority leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, told his colleagues on the floor before calling for the closed-door session. ''I demand on behalf of the American people that we understand why these investigations aren't being conducted."