HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES HEARING ON CHINESE EMBASSY BOMBING

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0001081860
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: June 22, 2015
• Document Release Date: September 17, 2009
• Case Number: F-2000-00007
• Publication Date: June 7, 1999

JUN. 8. 1-999 5:03PM
06/07in~n~..~aiu-~ td.Ja r&& 202
~(~ x~O,L cip.~faq, pMrlw~tl
jr.tS:Ar.c& *
rows K Ci$Rf? DMrw
SWW00000 L .Orr. wrw You
owan r SAlt "W K"Mm N
M 4 my^ *
rw~son -rw r+~
DOOR Cxnoarti
o.+se~o n es~or, ~ oealw
PI mI V. Vr107.N1
M ~OGfae~ MOMM
J. o.mns.wroer, 4U O . a 0000
PW2WM A. 4PMA4W. YIS3 L . IX QW00
b a
U~ ti4ft Ut C.nre4
OW 3.417+
JO-IM A ~t{A,
14 1T4VNM 7M0..-oft
(~J~..~`!'~r~TIMCZ a NU afs cour~R
~~.~. HOUSE yr r-ttrntJEN A I I
PERMANENT SELECT COMMIYTCc
WASHINGTON. OC 2
NS RECTOR GENERAL
House Intelligence Committee Announces Hearing
On Chinese Embassy Bombing
June 7, 1999
Contact: [phone]
C hairluan Porter J. Goss (R -L) announced today that the House Permanent Se,',% ct
Committee on Intcllig :nce has scheduled. at-. open heating on ;the bombing of the Chinese rnbassy
in Belgrade for Thursday, June 17, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM" "?his is a very serious matter, and it
obviously had extraordinary consequences. When there is asIIgence failure of this significance
we must get to the bottom of IG We need to know if this was a o. time problem orrart of a
systemic weakness. Moreover, since we can do some of this without compromising sensitive
sources and methods, maybe we can help the American public becte= understand what went wrong
and why."
The Committee had previously scheduled the hearing for June 10. It was rescheduled at the=
,equcst of the Adnunistratian_ The Administration is uneasy about discussing this issue in a public
:omtn next week and asked that the Committee delay. The one-week delay will also allow the
Intelligence Community and Department of Defense to finalize their examinations of the :incident
and give the Committee more time to review their findings in advarca of the hearing.
Committee Ranking Democrat iu1 an C. Dixon (D-CA) re ccrated his support for au open .
hearing. "The 4merican people have a right to know as much his: possible about the reasons why the
Chinese embassy in Belgrade was misidcnfied. Whether this, was a; failure of intelligeucc, a failure
in the target selection process, or reflective of problems in both.intellgence and operational areas,
the Committee has a responsibility to makk sure that whatever mistakes were made are corrected."
Goss also noted the need for a senior Department of Defense official to explain the
processes that led to the bombing decision. He explained that the ultimate responsibility for
targeting is left specifically to the Joint Staff and the appropriate commander. Decisions to target a
facility go beyond the intelligence input, although intelligence data is a key component. "If the
users of intelligence have a problem with the input, they should;come and tell us. Unfortunately,
thus far, the Department of Defense has not supplied a senior leyc,Yi,witaess who can meet the
Committee's expectations. I presume by extending the hearing date,: the Administration will have
ample opportunity to supply a senior Department of Defense wimess,who can authoritatively and
knowledgeably address this rnsrter. '
-30-
APPROVED FOR
RELEASE^DATE:
15-Jul-2009
a, .2,.J. Tarr'
0-PA