WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon says the political uproar over the disclosure of a secret military intelligence group is overblown and based on misinformation about the group's makeup and mission.

Stephen A. Cambone, the Pentagon's top intelligence official, rushed to Capitol Hill on Monday after some members of Congress reacted strongly to a Washington Post report that revealed the existence of the group, which is managed by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency.

"According to The Washington Post, the Department of Defense is changing the guidelines with respect to oversight and notification of Congress by military intelligence. Is this true or false?" Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Feinstein and others appeared puzzled by the report that the Pentagon had created a new intelligence group - "strategic support teams"- to perform clandestine missions that had been largely the province of the CIA.

Some suggested Rumsfeld had skirted congressional oversight to expand his domain.

Pentagon officials told reporters, however, that the arrangement had been worked out in close coordination with the CIA and that appropriate congressional committees had been fully informed.

A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said CIA director Porter Goss told him Monday that he had "no issue or questions or concerns" about the Pentagon arrangement.