Washington -- Two congressional committees are examining U.S. intelligence assessments that supported the contention that a threatening WMD program existed in Iraq in the days leading up to the war and that the regime had connections with international terrorist groups, congressional leaders said June 11.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, said his committee has already begun "a thorough and bipartisan review of the documented intelligence" used to make the assessments about Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's WMD programs, and will also conduct hearings on the matter. Representative Porter Goss, a Florida Republican and chairman of the House intelligence committee, said his staff was also working on intelligence materials and he hoped to have a full report out this summer.

"I believe that we are using the same exact approach in conducting the appropriate oversight on this latest concern," Goss said at a joint news conference on Capitol Hill with Roberts and Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican. "It is a matter that we are routinely charged with. It is a matter that we will handle responsibly."

Hearings by the two congressional committees are customarily conducted in closed sessions because of the highly classified nature of the materials being discussed and presented.

Roberts said that he will handle the Senate committee's investigation "in a responsible manner, untainted by politics, and in a bipartisan manner." Several Democratic leaders in the Congress have voiced concerns about the validity of U.S. intelligence reports that figured prominently in the Bush administration's deliberations on the use of military force against Iraq.

"Let me point out the joint inquiry by an independent staff into the 9/11 tragedy strongly criticized intelligence officials for not connecting the dots and for being risk-averse; for failing to put together a picture that seemed all too obvious after the fact," Roberts said. "Now, there seems to be a campaign afoot by some to criticize the intelligence community and the president for connecting the dots, for putting together a picture that seemed all too obvious before the fact.

"Now, while I believe some of the criticism leveled on the intelligence community has been understandable, certainly, given the circumstances, and at times, constructive, in my view [though], some of the attacks have been simply politics for political gain."

Roberts said he will begin hearings the week of June 16-20 on a number of topics relevant to this review and as part of the congressional committee's mandated oversight of the U.S. intelligence community. He said it will be deliberate and bipartisan, and public statements will be made as necessary.

Warner, who also sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he urged the "American public to give us time and to feel a sense of confidence that those of us here in the Congress are proceeding, as we've done for many years on issues not unlike this one, to assess the facts and then, at such time as we're ready, to let the members of the committee ... express their views on the ultimate findings after we've done our homework."