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A top Republican congressman has broken from his party in the final days of his House career, saying he believes the U.S. military assault on Iraq was unjustified and the situation there has deteriorated into "a dangerous, costly mess." "I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action," Rep. Doug Bereuter wrote in a letter to his constituents. "Left unresolved for now is whether intelligence was intentionally misconstrued to justify military action," he said. Bereuter is a senior member of the House International Relations Committee and vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He is stepping down after 13 terms to become the president of the Asia Foundation effective Sept. 1. In 2002, Bereuter had spoken out in support of a House resolution authorizing the president to go to war. President Bush has continued to argue the war was justified because Saddam represented a threat to the United States, his neighbors and the people of Iraq. [more

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