A recent survey indicates that "only a handful" of U.S. Senators actually read the National Intelligence Estimate before voting on the Iraq war (The Hill). Before the vote, they had 10 days to read the 92-report, enough time to finish at least two John Grisham novels, which tend to run 300+ pages.
As well as a heckuva benefits package, we taxpayers paid $150,000+ a year in salaries to 100 senators back in 2002 (Senate Salary History). Did we get our money's worth?...
A former New Hampshire Senator said, “You have to understand that the briefings are so thorough that it’s common for members not to read entire reports.”
Common? We pay legislators 1) to make informed national decisions, and 2) to act as a check on the executive branch. That's how the Founding Fathers envisioned it, anyway.
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said, “After all the briefings, I simply was not convinced that the Iraqi weapons program posed an imminent threat to our country.” Levin read a draft of the report and heard the briefings.
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Ignored Pre-War Intelligence Reports
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