One argument goes that U.S. credibility matters a great deal, and if we lose that over this WMD affair, perhaps we won't even have the British or Australians on our side when we next think we need to fight as we did in Afghanistan and Iraq.

That's an assumption I'm not willing to make. I believe we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has been upset because intelligence that had reportedly been widely discredited -- forged information saying that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger -- was cited by the president in his State of the Union address. Do you think he has a point? Do you share his concern?

I think he has a point and I think it's one that should be addressed, but I hesitate to reach conclusions until I have complete information and all sides of an issue are heard. Congressional hearings and oversight are an appropriate way to do that. Henry Waxman is a fine man, and I admire him. He is also known as pretty partisan Democrat. We have to take everything into consideration.

On Wednesday, Senators Warner and Roberts and Congressman Porter Goss [R-Fla.], chair of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, said that they intended to limit the review of prewar intelligence on Iraqi WMD to intelligence documents provided by the Bush administration and will hold only closed hearings. Is that the best way to go about this?

It may be appropriate for the Intelligence Committee because of the classification of the stuff that they handle. But Senator Warner, who as you know is the chairman of our committee, is going to start hearings in a couple weeks -- an open hearing with General [Tommy] Franks [the former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command]. I think we need a review of the entire conflict, of which WMD will be a part. We always do post -conflict oversight hearings so we can learn lessons. I'd like to know more about the tragedy of the friendly fire incidents that happened, I'd like to know more about what went into the brilliant strategy. The issue of weapons of mass destruction is just one of many.

Ahmad Chalabi, part of the administration-backed three-man leadership council for the Iraqi opposition group, the Iraqi National Congress, recently denied allegations that he gave the U.S. any bad intelligence on Saddam's WMD. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chalabi said that "We gave very accurate information, and we produced people who we handed over to the United States who told them very significant things. The weapons of mass destruction are in Iraq." Do you believe Chalabi about this and do you trust him in general?

In general I have no reason to mistrust him. I've been at meetings with him, but I've never discussed this issue with him, so I've never drawn any particular conclusion. I think he's a source of information and one that should be evaluated with all the others. I certainly don't disbelieve him.

His critics have argued that his opposition to Saddam was so strong -- and justifiably so -- that perhaps he was given to exaggerating the threat so as to better secure the support of the U.S. for toppling the regime, so he could then return to Iraq and head up its government. And some say the Bush administration relied too much on his information.

I have no information on that. I was never brought into those kinds of meetings, so it's impossible for me to make a judgment on it.

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