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“USE OF U.S. ARMED FORCES AGAINST IRAQ” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S9804-S9805 on Oct. 2, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
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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