"If any member of this Senate . . . questions this White House policy, raises any questions about the gathering of intelligence information or the use of it, be prepared for the worst," said Durbin, a Democrat. "The White House is going to turn to you and attack you. They are going to question your patriotism."

The senator's 45-minute denunciation comes as President Bush is under fire for a claim in his State of the Union address that Iraq had sought to obtain uranium from Africa. On Tuesday, the White House acknowledged that the CIA had sent two memos months before the speech warning that the information was not credible.