Dems take the gloves off..... at last!

Some great political theatre here for all you junkies. The Dems have forced a rare closed-door session of the Senate in an effort to try to leverage the Libby/Rove Plame investigation into an investigation into how pre-war intelligence was manipulated and misused in an effort to "sell" the American people on a false pretense for war.

What will this lead to? Will it backfire on the Dems, or, with Bush reeling on the ropes with plunging opinion poll numbers, is this exactly the time to demand accountability for what, after all, is only the most important matter our country ever faces, namely sending Americans into war, and whether this administration lied and/or committed crimes to lead us there. Since the Republicans investigation into the lead up to war was essentially a whitewash, is it really unreasonable to demand that the congress, who's job after all is to do exactly these sorts of things, provide a better acconting for how and why we were drug into what was arguably an illegal un-provoked invasion of a soverign country?

At any rate, this will undoubtedly be high theatre as it progresses.

WASHINGTON -- Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, demanding answers about intelligence that led to the Iraq war.

Republicans derided the move as a political stunt.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Democratic leader Harry Reid said the American people and U.S. troops deserved to know the details of how the United States became engaged in the war, particularly in light of the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff.

Reid demanded the Senate go into closed session. With a second by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the public was ordered out of the chamber, the lights were dimmed, senators filed to their seats on the floor and the doors were closed. No vote is required in such circumstances.

"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 the doors were closed.

Democrats contend that the unmasking of Valerie Plame was retribution for her husband, Joseph Wilson, publicly challenging 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.

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Reid was making "some sort of stink about Scooter Libby and the CIA leak."

A former majority leader, Lott said a closed session is appropriate for such overarching matters as impeachment and chemical weapons -- the two topics that last sent the senators into such sessions.

As Reid spoke, Majority Leader Bill Frist met in the back of the chamber with a half-dozen senior GOP senators, including Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, who bore the brunt of Reid's criticism. Reid said Roberts reneged on a promise to fully investigate whether the administration exaggerated and manipulated intelligence leading up to the war.