Intelligence Reform Has Gaping Security Holes

Re “House Passes Bill to Overhaul Intelligence,” Dec. 8: Shame on Reps. Duncan Hunter and David Dreier and all the members of Congress who passed the intelligence reform bill without immigration reforms. The flaws and loopholes in the system that allowed the 19 hijackers to enter the United States illegally, stay in the U.S. illegally, get their 63 valid driver’s licenses and travel America freely and kill 3,000 people are still there.

How can we have any “homeland security” if our border with Mexico is wide open? We are not any safer now than we were yesterday.

David Ferris

Lakewood

*

Is it any wonder that in the wake of one of the most secretive administrations in U.S. history comes legislation that would put the control of all intelligence agencies under one “czar” who will have to answer to only one person: the president. Now it will be even easier to hide the manipulation and fabrication of intelligence from scrutiny for self-serving purposes. Is anyone really surprised? I’m not.

Todd Groves

Santa Monica

*

The headline reporting a “victory” for President Bush in congressional approval of the intelligence reform legislation (Dec. 7) is accurate only if we remember that the president used all his power earlier to defeat creation of the commission that produced the reforms.

The Republican leadership of both the House and Senate is taking some novel steps to facilitate “democratic” processes as they see them. The speaker has, in effect, given each Republican member of the House a virtual veto over pending legislation, which allowed a minority to delay the reform legislation, while the Republicans in the Senate weigh doing away with procedural rules that have historically protected minority rights of the membership.

Louis B. Fleming

Pasadena