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Congress Wants McChrystal in Hot Seat
Members of both parties want testimony, but Pentagon is not forthcoming
By Harry Kimball
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Posted Sep 23, 09 11:28 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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With the White House beset by classified leaks and agonizing over a new Afghan strategy, lawmakers from both parties in both Houses of Congress are calling for a sitdown with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the Wall Street Journal reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has refused requests for testimony from McChrystal until the administration completes a review, but that hasn’t stopped Congress from pushing for it. “You hear it from the horse's mouth,” says Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
Pressure has also come from the other side in the Senate. “The American people are due a full and public accounting of the challenges and commitments that lay before us,” wrote John McCain in a request. The Pentagon is firm in its position, saying “McChrystal's focus right now should be on managing the war in Afghanistan rather than wading into the debate about it back here in Washington,” but legislators do have a hole card. “They don't get a penny without us,” Skelton notes.