Authorization For Use Of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution Of 2002

House of Representatives - October 08, 2002

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), a distinguished member of our committee.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time.
Until September 11, we knew what the dangers were, but we chose to ignore them. We knew Saddam was developing nuclear weapons and had biological weapons. We knew that al Qaeda had killed hundreds at our embassies in east Africa. We knew of these dangers, and we did not act.

On September 11, the dangers did not change. America changed. We now look seriously at these threats, and we know that our victory in the Cold War does not immunize us from future danger.

Saddam Hussein has killed hundreds of thousands. He has gassed his own people. He has risked his own life many times, all in an effort to expand his power.

If he had nuclear weapons, he could smuggle one into the United States--after all a nuclear weapon is about the size of a person--hide it in an apartment building in some American city, and prove to us that he had it hidden there. Saddam could then blackmail America into inaction, as he invaded Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, et cetera. We would then never be able to quench Saddam's lust for additional power, and his imitators would be spawned as they, too, would seek nuclear weapons in an effort to become regional viceroys.

There are two approaches for dealing with this threat. One, associated often with the Vice President, is to invade now, no matter what. This approach has a legalistic version that says we must invade Iraq unless it immediately complies with all U.N. resolutions, including the resolutions that say Iraq should stop oppressing its own people. I do not think Saddam Hussein is going to morph into Mother Theresa; and if that is what it would take to prevent an invasion, we might as well invade now.

The other approach is not to focus on every U.N. resolution, but instead to demand robust inspections to make sure Saddam does not develop weapons of mass destruction.

Neither of these approaches is perfect, but I would point out that the invade-now approach has a number of flaws, including the fact that even if we achieve regime change today, 10 years from now we may be faced with another hostile regime in Baghdad, a Ba'thist regime or Ayatollah-led regime. War is not the perfect answer and I must admit that inspections are not perfect either.

I would have preferred a resolution similar to one I put forward in the International Relations Committee that garnered the support of the vast majority of Democrats on that Committee. That resolution would authorize the use of force only if Saddam interferes with a robust inspections program, only if, for example, he continues to try to lock the inspectors out of his presidential palaces.

We will not get the opportunity to vote for such a resolution, but we got the next best thing. Last night the President said he wanted to disarm Iraq without war, if possible. He said he would propose to the United Nations a resolution demanding a robust program of inspections, and effectively promised the world that if we got those inspections, we would not invade.

So this is where we stand today. Only one question is before us now. Will this resolution, when it comes to final passage, pass with 325 votes or 375 votes? That is important to the world because if America looks divided, Saddam may ``call our bluff.'' In 1991, the resolution authorizing the use of force just barely squeaked by each House. Saddam was misled. Saddam defied us and refused to withdraw from Kuwait, and war became necessary.

France, Russia, and China will take America more seriously if we look unified. And that is why I call on all my colleages, because all of us desperately want to avoid war, to vote for this resolution, because if we look unified, Saddam is more likely to capitulate on the issue of inspectors.

We cannot expect foreign tyrants to understand our political system; and in the next month, they will hear the most violent and loud political clashes on pharmaceutical costs and Social Security. Let us help Saddam understand the resolve of America. Let us pass this resolution by an overwhelming margin.