Senator Boxer voted against the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2002 and later referred to that vote as the best vote of her career. She challenged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her confirmation hearings in January 2005, confronting alleged mistakes made by the Bush Administration in leading the United States into the 2003 Iraq invasion.

A forceful advocate for families, children, consumers, the environment, Barbara Boxer became a United States Senator in January 1993 after 10 years of service in the House of Representatives. Elected to a third term in 2004, she received more than 6.9 million votes, the highest total for any Senate candidate in American history.

The World Affairs Council was founded in 1947 out of the interest generated by the founding of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945. With over 10,000 members, they are the largest international affairs organization on the west coast.