Thursday, June 23, 2005


Message from Senator Barack Obama

Dear Lance:

Thank you for contacting me regarding our policy in Iraq, particularly in regard to the faulty intelligence that was presented to the United Nations and Congress on the eve of war. I agree the contents of the Downing Street memo are very troubling, and you can rest assured that I will be looking into this matter very closely. I suspect this subject will remain a topic of heated public debate for some time, and I certainly understand your concerns.

I share your general disappointment at the Administrations handling of the Iraq war, which has put us in a position where leaving that country risks chaos and staying has immeasurable financial and social costs. An immediate priority for Congress must be to ensure that the American people are getting truthful and accurate information about when and how we will bring our troops home, and that our soldiers, guardsmen and reservists receive all the benefits they are entitled to on their return.

In regard to the faulty intelligence we now know existed before the war, I understand why you and many members of Congress feel as though they were duped by the Administration. I cannot fault anyone -- members of Congress or the American citizen -- for feeling as though this nation was manipulated into war. It is my hope that this experience will serve as a lesson to the intelligence community and future administrations that they will be held accountable for the information they present to the country and should think twice before letting policy bias override hard intelligence. We should hope that the criticism engendered by the Iraq case will prevent similar mistakes in the future.

Thank you again for your message, Lance. Please do not hesitate to keep in touch on this or any issue of concern to you.


Sincerely,

Barack Obama
United States Senator