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Harman Puts on a Happy Face

December 01, 2006 5:20 PM

ABC News' Mona Raphael reports: At a luncheon sponsored by the American Bar Assn., Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) blended wit and warmth this afternoon to answer questions on some very heated issues: Iraq, Bob Gates, and, of course, the snub from Rep. Pelosi.

On the appointment of Bob Gates, Harman said: "I am very encouraged that Bob Gates is likely to be confirmed as the new [Secretary of Defense]," describing him as a "very balanced fellow" and someone that she has worked with for years. She feels he will bring "some fresh air" to the Pentagon, speculating that he will change the role that the Pentagon plays in national security and intelligence issues.

Harman described the Pentagon under Donald Rumsfeld as a "competitor" rather than a "partner" within the "intelligence architecture."

It will be up to Gates and the Iraq Study Group to figure out "the least bad option" for ending the war in Iraq.

She added that the urgency of Iraq will not allow for a Republicans-versus-Democrats mentality. But what about the highly publicized Democrats-versus-Democrats bickering over who would be appointed the head of the Intelligence Committee?

Harman remained calm throughout the Q & A period, saying that she was "pleased" with the announcement that Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) would head the intelligence committee. The audience of about 150 people was allowed a peak inside how she really felt when she said, "Terms on the committee should be permanent. My term under the rules was a permanent one but [Pelosi] had the right to make the change and so she did."

Harman was speaking at the ABA's 16th Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law. She will return to the Energy and Commerce Committee and continue her work on the Homeland Security Committee. 

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