Senators Rap Administration on Iraq Policies

Senators from both parties on Tuesday assailed the Bush administration for not spelling out the costs of rebuilding Iraq, and for focusing on Iraq's role in terrorism to the exclusion of other threats.

In sometimes testy exchanges with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also accused the administration of glossing over the problems of stabilizing Iraq and the long-term need for a major military presence.

"We just haven't seen any proof of linkages between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda," said Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a Rhode Island Republican who said Liberia had much clearer ties to terrorists.

Sen. Russell Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, said the administration should deal honestly with the situation in Iraq "instead of constantly trying to pretend that Sept. 11 and Iraq are the same issue."