WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- Bush administration officials have signaled they do not want to participate in Senate hearings next week on a possible attack of Iraq, because administration plans for Iraq are still in flux.
A Senate panel next week is set to weigh the costs and benefits of acting against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the first time the United States might preemptively invade a country to topple a problematic regime.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee spokeswoman Lynne Weil said Monday that national security adviser Condoleezza Rice has informed Chairman Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., the administration will not send witnesses to the hearings next week.
"The administration is not yet prepared to have people testify," Weil said. "Whatever plans the administration has for Iraq are not ready for prime time."
Weil said Biden did not object to the administration's decision and that Biden and Rice have met often in the weeks leading up to the hearings. She said the goal of the hearings was to provide the "opportunity to inform the public on the risks of action against Iraq or inaction."
Biden said on Fox News Sunday that Hussein should be removed from power. "I do support the goal of removing him from power," Biden said Sunday.
Sources on the committee indicated there was disagreement among members on what, if any, approval from Congress President Bush needs prior to an attack. Some members have considered a resolution concurring in such force. Biden said Sunday the president should ask for one before he acts.
Committee sources said they are considering a host of issues for discussion among experts next week, including the timing of an invasion, tactical military options and plans for handling the country after an attack.
Biden said Sunday these were important issues, because "this will be the first time ever in the history of the United States of America that we have essentially invaded another country preemptively to take out a leadership."
