2 GOP Chairmen at Odds Over Hill Abuse Hearings
Rep. Hunter Worried About Absences From Iraq

By Bradley Graham and Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, May 19, 2004; Page A18

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee lashed out at his Senate counterpart yesterday for summoning senior U.S. commanders from the field to testify at hearings into the prisoner-abuse scandal, saying the move threatens to disrupt military operations in Iraq.

"I think the Senate has become mesmerized by cameras, and I think that's sad," said Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.).

Hunter's remarks represented a rare public attack by one leading Republican lawmaker on another. They reflected the growing strains in senior GOP circles over how to manage the scandal that has tarnished perceptions of the United States abroad, undercut U.S. efforts in Iraq and thrown the Bush administration on the defensive.

House Republican leaders have argued for doing as little as possible in response to the scandal, complaining that administration critics are exploiting it for political ends. But the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by John W. Warner (R-Va.), has made clear its intention to hold a series of hearings aimed at flushing out responsibility for the scandal.

In contrast to Hunter's panel, which has limited itself to one public and one closed-door hearing on the scandal, Warner's committee has convened two public hearings and has scheduled a third today with three senior commanders as witnesses, including Gen. John P. Abizaid, the top U.S. officer in the Persian Gulf region; Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, head of U.S. forces in Iraq; and Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, the new chief of detention facilities in Iraq.