The Sit-Room Waiting List

By DOUGLAS WALLER

Homeland Security czar Tom Ridge may have George Bush's ear, but he's having trouble getting access to something almost as sought after: the White House Situation Room. Ridge and his staff at the Office of Homeland Security want to use the Sit Room, located in the basement of the White House, for high-level meetings. But the National Security Council considers the facility its own preserve, for monitoring the counterterrorism war in Afghanistan and elsewhere overseas, and is balking at sharing. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice has already given up some of her turf; she ceded control over the counterterrorism fight inside the U.S. to Ridge (while retaining oversight of the battle abroad). But prime real estate in the West Wing is another matter.

--By Douglas Waller