A report from the Senate Republican Policy Committee is calling on the Bush administration to reconsider financial support for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), alleging that the group is using American funds to lobby against U.S. interests, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The report, Are American Interests Being Disserved by the International Committee of the Red Cross?, charges that the Geneva-based organization has exceeded the bounds of its mission by trying to "reinterpret and expand international law" in favor of terrorists and insurgents; lobbying for arms-control issues that are not within its mandate, such as a ban on the use of land mines; and "inaccurately and unfairly" accusing U.S. officials of not adhering to the Geneva Convention. In addition, it calls on the administration to ask the Government Accountability Office to review ICRC operations, noting that the U.S. funds 28 percent of ICRC's budget and has contributed $1.5 billion since 1990. An ICRC spokeswoman said the organization was reviewing the report and would not comment, in accordance with its policy of keeping its dealings with governments confidential.

A Bush administration official declined in interviews to endorse the findings of the report but said the administration had had "concerns" about some positions taken by the organization since the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. "We need the ICRC," he said. "They've got people in conflict zones all over the world doing heroic things on a daily basis. Are we concerned about some of the comments? Yes. Do we deal with those in our confidential relationship? Yes. But we think the relationship works best when these things are kept confidential."

To download the complete report (10 pages, PDF), visit: http://rpc.senate.gov/_files/Jun1305ICRCDF.pdf.