Barbara Boxer's latest letter to me

[BigBearJohn]

Thank you for contacting me with your
views on the misuse of intelligence by the Bush
Administration. I appreciate hearing from you.

In May 2005, the Sunday Times of London
cited a previously secret British government
memorandum which disclosed that by the summer of
2002, the United States and Great Britain had
agreed to invade Iraq. Known as the Downing
Street Memo, this memo alleges that because of
President Bush's determination to act militarily
in Iraq, intelligence and facts were fixed
around the policy of military action.

In light of the Downing Street Memo, I
recently joined Senators Kerry, Lautenberg,
Durbin, Johnson, Kennedy, Harkin, Bingaman,
Corzine, and Reid in urging the Senate
Intelligence Committee to examine the use of
intelligence by policy makers. As we stated in
our letter, "the American public must have the
highest confidence that policy makers are using
intelligence judiciously never manipulating it
to justify war, but always to protect the United
States. The contents of the Downing Street Memo
undermine this faith and only rigorous
Congressional oversight can restore it."

The American people want and need accurate
information from our intelligence community and
straight talk from our political leaders. I
voted against granting the President the
authority to wage a unilateral war against Iraq,
and I will continue to push the Bush
Administration to develop foreign policy based
on sound intelligence rather than molding
intelligence to fit a preexisting agenda.

 Once again, thank you for your letter and
for caring deeply about this critical matter.




Sincerely,


Barbara Boxer
United States Senator