Editorial: Leaders in Congress have need to know

Wednesday, March 6, 2002 | 8:40 a.m.

With news reports filtering out that portable nuclear weapons the size of suitcases may be in the hands of terrorists, the Sept. 11 decision by President Bush to activate secure worksites out of Washington for key government officials appears even more justified. The devastation at the World Trade Center was reason enough for the president's decision, notwithstanding the Boeing 757 that crashed into the Pentagon and the Boeing 757 apparently headed for Washington until passengers brought it down. The label that now defines the remote and secret federal offices -- shadow government -- has an ominous tone but the president acted correctly in ensuring that there would be no leadership gap in the event of another attack on Washington that might be even more devastating.

The secure offices have been in place since the Cold War days, when the prospects of a third world war were thought to be high. For the past six months the government has been quietly staffing them once again. While it was legitimate for the government to treat the operation as classified, it wasn't right that key members of Congress were not informed.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, second in line to succeed Bush, was briefed. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who as Senate president pro tempore follows Hastert in the line of succession, says he was not briefed. Neither was Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, although the Bush administration had briefed the secretary of the Senate, and the Senate sergeant at arms had been briefed on the contingency plans last September. So far President Bush has enjoyed public support for his post-Sept. 11 leadership. One way to see that support erode is to boot leaders of the public's representatives out of the loop. When that happens, "shadow government" takes on an ominous tone for real.