Washington ? In a day of political drama, Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, questioning intelligence that President Bush used in the run-up to the war in Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.

Democrats accused Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, of not moving forward with an investigation into the handling of that intelligence.

“They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why,” Democratic leader Harry Reid said.

The afternoon halt in Senate business let Democrats steer the spotlight to the war in Iraq, an issue on which the president is doing badly in public opinion polls.

Taken by surprise, Republicans derided the move as a political stunt but agreed two hours later to a bipartisan review of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into prewar intelligence.

“The United States Senate has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership,” said Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee. The Republican leader also said President Bush’s decision to nominate Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court had “set the Democrats back on their heels. … This may just be a reaction to that.”

Roberts action sought

Democrats sought assurances that Roberts would complete the second phase of an investigation of the administration’s prewar intelligence. A six-member task force – three members from each party – was appointed to review the Intelligence Committee’s work and report to their respective leaders by Nov. 14.

• Congressional Briefing: Pre-war intelligence

Roberts’ committee produced a 511-page report in 2004 on flaws in an Iraq intelligence estimate assembled by the country’s top analysts in October 2002, and he promised a second phase would look at issues that couldn’t be finished in the first year of work.

The committee worked on the second phase of the review, Roberts said, but it has not finished. He blamed Democrats for the delays and said his staff had informed Democratic counterparts on Monday that the committee hoped to complete the second phase next week.

“Now we have this … stunt 24 hours after their staff was informed that we were moving to closure next week,” a clearly angry Roberts told reporters. “If that’s not politics, I’m not standing here.”

In mid-afternoon Tuesday, 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.

Rules, not courtesy

Reid’s move refocused attention 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 twisting the intelligence to exaggerate the threat posed by Iraq.

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.

Democrats contend that the unmasking of CIA officer Valerie Plame was retribution for her husband, Joseph Wilson’s 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.

As Reid spoke, Frist met in the back of the chamber with a half-dozen senior GOP senators, including Roberts, who bore the brunt of Reid’s criticism. Reid claimed that Republicans have repeatedly rebuffed Democratic pleas for a thorough investigation.

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., a former majority leader, said a closed session was only appropriate for such overarching matters as impeachment and chemical weapons – the two topics that last sent the senators into such sessions.

In addition, Lott said, Reid’s move violated the Senate’s tradition of courtesy and consent. But there was nothing in Senate rules enabling Republicans to thwart Reid’s effort.

The Senate had been considering a budget bill when it went into closed session.