[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 18848]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 USE OF U.S. ARMED FORCES AGAINST IRAQ

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Madam President, along with my dear friends and 
colleagues, Senators Warner, Bayh, and McCain, I am proud to introduce 
this bipartisan resolution which would authorize the President of the 
United States to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he 
determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to defend the 
national security of the United States against the continuing threat 
posed by Iraq, and to enforce all relevant United Nations Security 
Council resolutions regarding Iraq.
  There is no more fateful or difficult decision that we as Senators 
are ever called upon to make than a decision as to whether and when and 
how to authorize the President as Commander in Chief to put the men and 
women of the U.S. military into battle.
  Each Member of the Senate must make this decision at this hour 
according to their personal conscience and their sense of what is best 
for the security of the people of the United States of America.
  For my part, and that of my colleagues, I have made that decision. 
For more than a decade now, Saddam Hussein has threatened the peace and 
security of his region and the wider world. We went to war in 1991 to 
roll back his aggression--an invasion of Kuwait--because we determined 
across party lines that Saddam Hussein had ambitions that were hostile 
to America's security and the peace of the world to become the dominant 
power in the Arab world which, if ever realized, would be bad for the 
Arab world, bad for the peace and security of the broader region, and 
very bad for the people of the United States. We won that war in 
Kuwait--Operation Desert Storm--but Saddam Hussein has continued for 
the decade since then, notwithstanding documents that Iraq signed to 
conclude the gulf war, to thwart the rule of law internationally, to 
deceive and deny all that he had promised to do at the end of the gulf 
war, and all that the United Nations called on him to do in the years 
since then. He has continued, without question, to develop weapons of 
mass destruction and the means to deliver them on distant targets. He 
has continued to earn a dubious place on that small list of countries 
that the State Department considers state sponsors of terrorism.
  Even today, Iraq has provided shelter for significant figures within 
al-Qaida who struck us on September 11, as they have fled from American 
military forces in Afghanistan.
  President Bush has said that the hour of truth has arrived. We can no 
longer tolerate the intransigence and danger posed by Saddam Hussein. 
He has gone to the U.N. and sought support from the international 
community.
  This resolution is our attempt to express our support of the 
President as Commander in Chief in seeking international backing for 
action against Saddam Hussein. It is also a way to strengthen the 
President's hand as Commander in Chief. If Saddam Hussein does not 
comply, or if the United Nations is not willing to take action to 
enforce its orders, in my opinion, this is the last chance for Saddam 
Hussein but also the best chance for the international community to 
come together to prove that resolutions of the United Nations mean more 
and have more weight than the paper on which they are written.
  It is also the hour for Members of Congress to draw together across 
party lines to support the national security of the United States. A 
debate will follow in the days ahead. It is an important debate that 
should not be rushed. It should be reflective. Ultimately, I am 
confident the resolution that Senators Warner, Bayh, McCain, and I are 
introducing will enjoy the broad, bipartisan support that our national 
security demands at this time.
  I thank the Chair and yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia is recognized.
  Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I commend our distinguished colleagues, 
Senator Lieberman and Senator Bayh, for joining my good friend, Senator 
McCain, and myself as we introduce this resolution on behalf of the 
leadership in the Senate. Certainly, those leaders will join us on 
this.
  I remember in 1991, Senator Dole, Senator McCain, and I led the 
effort on this side of the aisle, and my good friend and colleague of 
these many years joined us. There was a historic debate. We will now 
embark this great body of deliberation on a similar debate on this 
extremely important resolution.
  I commend our President for the leadership he has shown. This issue 
would not be in the forefront worldwide, the forefront in the U.N., and 
now in the forefront of the U.S. Congress had not this very bold and 
courageous President undertaken the difficult task of pointing out the 
perilous times in which we live with regard to terrorism and, most 
particularly, the threats posed not by the people of Iraq, but by 
Saddam Hussein and his regime.
  Madam President, I wish to commend Leader Lott. We met with him this 
morning. We have been meeting with him through the day. Senator McCain 
and I and others have been a part of his working group to achieve the 
maximum bipartisan support obtainable on this resolution. I am 
confident that will be achieved. I am very confident, given the 
leadership of our two distinguished colleagues joining us here today, 
because it is important there be a solid phalanx of the House of 
Representatives, which will have an identical resolution, and the 
Senate joining together behind our President and speaking with one 
voice, as our President and the Secretary of State, working through the 
United Nations, achieving, hopefully, a resolution which will comport 
with the President's historic address to the United Nations, and also a 
resolution that will reflect the United Nations is going to stand up as 
an organization and live up to its charter and take on the 
responsibility of bringing this question of weapons of mass destruction 
in Iraq to a conclusion so this world can be more peaceful.
  I thank my colleagues, most particularly the four of us who are here 
today.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.

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