By CAROLYN SKORNECK
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - President Bush's decision to severely limit the members of Congress who get top security briefings on the war against terrorism got a mixed review from lawmakers who returned to work Tuesday after the Columbus Day holiday.

"Leaks will not only cause people to get killed, they will destroy a lot of our ability to engage ourselves militarily, diplomatically and doing even intelligence gathering," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who will still get briefed because he is the Senate Intelligence Committee's top Republican.

A leak during the summer regarding the electronic tracking of Osama bin Laden led to the loss of contact with him for awhile, Shelby said. "so the policy to keep the very sensitive information close is probably a good one now."

The restriction of top-secret briefings to the House speaker, House minority leader, Senate majority and minority leaders and the chairmen and ranking minority members on the intelligence committees came in a Bush memo Friday to some Cabinet officers and the CIA and FBI directors.

The president and White House officials were upset after details from Oct. 2 intelligence briefings on Capitol Hill found their way into news articles.

"I think it's an overreaction," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a member of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee. "If there's something the administration didn't like, they ought to say what it is."

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., the Armed Services Committee's top Republican, who was briefed by Pentagon officials Monday, said he is concern if some lawmakers failed to heed the World War II Navy adage, "Loose lips sink ships."

"Balanced against that is the need to have Congress ... to share as a partner the responsibility of sending these men and women into harm's way," Warner said.