[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1921]]
AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. VITO FOSSELLA

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 10, 2002

  Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, every so often, a people is forced to 
choose between fighting oppression and hoping to survive at the whim of 
evil.
  Against all odds, facing down the world's only superpower, our 
forefathers fought and died to establish a nation conceived in liberty 
and freedom. Some years later, our nation turned upon itself so that 
all could bask in the glow of those freedoms. The ``greatest'' 
generation chose to go to war, and their sons and daughters endured a 
frosty confrontation so that people around the world would have the 
same opportunity to enjoy those freedoms.
  Today, we are asked that very same question.
  Do we have the same commitment, as did our ancestors, to beat down 
the forces of evil and give future generations the opportunity to live 
in freedom?
  Over the years, Saddam Hussein has ruled Iraq as an absolute 
dictator. He has shackled the Iraqi people to an existence of 
oppression and poverty. Free speech has been banished, elections held 
as a sham, opposition terrorized and ethnic and religious minorities 
brutally and mercilessly oppressed. Hussein's tools of governance 
include torture, murder, rape, and poison gas.
  Saddam Hussein has acted as a destabilizing force in the Middle East, 
often with violent and tragic results. He has used violence to repress 
the Kurdish minority, invaded Iran and Kuwait, and attacked Saudi 
Arabia and Israel. He has even attempted to assassinate current and 
former Heads of State including former President George Bush. In his 
mad blood lust, Hussein has used chemical weapons, biological weapons 
and ballistic missiles. By his own admission, Hussein has funded 
weapons programs to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
  Over the years, in violation of numerous United Nations Security 
Council Resolutions it had agreed to abide by, Saddam Hussein has 
continued to develop weapons of mass destruction, refused to account 
for and return prisoners captured during the Persian Gulf war, refused 
to return property stolen during the Persian Gulf war and continued to 
repress its people and harbor terrorists.
  Unfortunately, Saddam Hussein has intensified his efforts to develop 
nuclear weapons. Iraq has also sought to build and enhance delivery 
systems that can be used to deliver chemical, biological or nuclear 
weapons. The development of these weapons and systems will not only 
affect the Middle East, but it will give Saddam Hussein the ability to 
extend his influence around the world. Because the United Nations 
abdicated its role to enforce the various Security Council resolutions, 
we do not know the status of these weapons programs or how close they 
may be to completion and no one has been able to act as a restraint 
against the wishes of this dictator.
  Over the past century, only two world leaders have used poison gas 
against their own people and launched ballistic missiles to attack 
other nations. When confronted with the choice of stopping Adolf Hitler 
or appeasing him, the civilized world chose appeasement. Tens of 
millions of people paid a terrible price for that inaction.
  We face a similar choice today. If we choose not to stop Saddam 
Hussein, history will consign on us a price for our appeasement, the 
cost of which will only be known with the passage of time. That price 
will not only be borne by us, but others as well, and we have no idea 
when that bill will become due. If nothing else, the tragic events of 
September 11, 2001, reinforced the lessons so painfully learned years 
ago.
  If we can topple this madman through peaceful means, we shall. 
However, if military means are necessary, so be it. We must be open to 
all options to provide for the common defense of our nation and to 
ensure that future generations, here and abroad, have the same 
opportunities to live in freedom without the looming specter of fear 
and tyranny.
  This resolution must be passed so that future generations can state--
yes they were challenged, and they met the challenge--for the 
betterment of mankind.
  Thank you Mr. Speaker and I yield the balance of my time.

                          ____________________