Many changes – some for the better and some for the worse – are about to take place in the U.S. Senate as a result of Tuesday’s off-year elections.

Republicans had enjoyed the majority in the U.S. House and Senate since 1994. As the majority party, all committees were chaired by Republicans.

Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts has chaired the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, one of the most important committees in today’s climate of deadly terrorism and unconventional “wars.” Roberts’ chairmanship began before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and spanned the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Early on, he warned Washington and the nation about what might be ahead for the United States. In 1999, he saw a “real opportunity for a handful of zealots to wreak havoc on a scale that hitherto only armies could attain.” How prophetic!

During Roberts’ tenure, the Senate Intelligence Committee has been under intense scrutiny by members of Congress and the public, all wanting to know why this nation was not better prepared and what was being done to improve our intelligence-gathering capabilities. This question is due to surface again when Congress reconvenes and Democrats take the leadership on trying to find out more about reports of “weapons of mass destruction,” which played such a central role in Bush’s military decision in Iraq, when few, if any, such weapons have been found.

Who failed? Who or what agency was asleep? Why didn’t this country’s intelligence agencies have a better, more cooperative intelligence-sharing environment?

These questions have been circling around the Senate Intelligence Committee since September 2001.

So far, partisan politics within the committee has been held to a minimum, with Roberts doing his best to keep the committee on track rather than turning its work into a finger-pointing exercise.

It is understandable that the public is concerned about our intelligence-gathering capability. It is hoped many positive improvements have been called for and initiated in the past six years. The public has no way of knowing how many terrorist actions against the United States may have been thwarted – maybe many, maybe none – but the fact is there haven’t been any, and this probably doesn’t mean our enemies have ended their efforts.

It’s hoped our national security is far better today than it was seven years ago. If it is, chances are the Senate Intelligence Committee has played a role in that effort.

The nation has been fortunate to have Roberts chairing the committee. He is honest and doesn’t pull punches. He is a strong Republican, but this would not keep him from identifying any wrongs he might discover that would place GOP senators or appointees in a bad light. Roberts can be, and often is, blunt. There is no double-talk, and the former marine is a patriot in every sense of the word.

In the Washington environment of super egos and power grabbers, Roberts has played it straight. He doesn’t play games; what you see is what you get. He loves his country and is committed to doing whatever he can to protect and strengthen this nation.

Some of the committee members – primarily some Democrats – have voiced their puzzlement that Roberts seems to attract so much media attention. They wonder why this “country bumpkin,” a hayseed from Kansas, is sought out by the media to explain committee actions while other, supposedly far more sophisticated, better educated and better traveled, members are left to cool their heels.

How will West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller handle the chairmanship? Will he be able to hold political partisanship to a minimum, or will the committee reflect the desire by many in the Democratic-controlled Senate to try to assign blame for past U.S. intelligence failures on Bush and Republican officeholders and appointees?

There are bound to be some tense times in the Senate and House in the coming months, with some Democrats talking about getting even rather than following a policy of bipartisanship in dealing with today’s problems.

Even though Roberts likely will be the ranking minority member of the committee, he can be expected to speak out in a loud voice if he sees ugly political maneuvering going on within the committee. It is interesting to note that Roberts sought the advice and knowledge of Kansas University anthropology professor Felix Moos in creating a program to train young men and women to become better international analysts for this country. The program calls for these men and women to become highly competent in the languages and customs in various parts of the world and gain a good understanding of their history, culture, politics, religion and economy structures.

This program – called PRISP, the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program – received quick approval in Congress and now is in operation. This is a winner for the United States and for Roberts and Moos.

For far too long, this country has relied on aerial surveillance to provide information about what is happening in other parts of the world. This was made apparent by our lack of sound intelligence about what had been going on for years in the Middle East. PRISP will play a major role in correcting this dangerous weakness.

Roberts will be missed as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but it is fortunate the straight-shooting Kansas senator will continue as a powerful member of the committee that plays such a significant role in the nation’s security.