[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 134 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002

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                               speech of

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachsetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 10, 2002

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, now that the House and Senate have both 
authorized the President to use military force against Iraq, it is more 
important than ever to listen to voices of wisdom about the costs of 
waging war and the challenges of keeping the peace. With that in mind, 
I commend to my colleagues the admonitions of a dozen older 
constituents--retired bankers, diplomats, journalists and college 
presidents--published recently in the Cape Cod Times:

     Twelve Old Men (on Cape Cod) Say ``No'' to a Unilateral Strike

       ``Older men,'' Herbert Hoover told the 1944 Republican 
     National Convention, ``declare war. But it is youth that must 
     fight and die.''
       Our nation was, when Mr. Hoover made that statement, 
     defending itself against fascists and militarists who had 
     unleashed the dogs of war on us and our allies.
       Most of us served in that war, and we have vivid memories 
     of it. Many of our friends--youth at the time--fought and 
     died in defense of their country. But we and our allies 
     prevailed, and freedom survived.
       Then, with the Marshall Plan, our nation waged peace, 
     helping rebuild and democratize the countries we had 
     defeated. In time, those countries became staunch allies.
       Today we are on edge of a different sort of war. Our 
     President, under pressure from our allies and a few members 
     of his own party, has with apparent reluctance asked the U.N. 
     to pressure Saddam Hussein to live up to a number of Security 
     Council resolutions. But Mr. Bush's vice-president, his 
     national security adviser, his secretary of defense, and 
     others, have made it clear that even though Iraq has agreed 
     to let arms inspectors do their work, the White House 
     objective still is a so-called ``pre-emptive strike'' 
     intended to bring about the Iraqi regime change we failed to 
     accomplish when we went to the defense of Kuwait, when the 
     first President Bush was in the White House.
       Now--before more young men and women are ordered into 
     battle by those older men who see war as a solution to the 
     world's problems--is a time for the other older men, such as 
     ourselves, to raise our hands and say to those who lead our 
     nation: ``No!''
       ``No'' to the pre-emptive war Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney are, 
     for whatever reasons, seeking to justify.
       ``No'' to those in Washington who would rain death and 
     destruction on the Iraqi people in order to rid them of their 
     leader.
       ``No'' to the notion that the immediate rewards such a war 
     might accomplish will outweigh the furies it surely would 
     incite, and the long-term chasm it would create between the 
     West and the Muslim world.
       ``No'' to plunging into a new war and taking on the 
     responsibility of occupying a conquered Iraq, while we still 
     have not rolled up the Al Qaeda terrorist network, while 
     Afghanistan shows signs of slipping into a bloody anarchy, 
     and while there still is no real progress toward calming the 
     violence in Israel/Palestine.
       We believe that as a member of the family of nations, the 
     United States of America must, rather than rushing headlong 
     into war, help establish an international consensus on 
     dealing with whatever threat Iraq poses.
       We agree with our President that the U.N. resolutions 
     against Iraq need to be respected and enforced. But such 
     resolutions must be enforced by the U.N., or by U.N. approval 
     of action by its member nations.
       We have seen too many wars. One Vietnam experience was 
     enough. We believe that now, as always, war should be our 
     nation's last option, not our first. And we believe that 
     waging war on violence must begin at home, by raising our 
     voices against a unilateral ``pre-emptive strike.''

     

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