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the United States and enforce United Nations Security
Council resolutions relating to Iraq;
Whereas after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, Iraq entered
into a United Nations sponsored cease-fire agreement
pursuant to which Iraq unequivocally agreed, among
other things, to eliminate its nuclear, biological, and
chemical weapons programs and the means to deliver and
develop them, and to end its support for international
terrorism;
Whereas the efforts of international weapons inspectors,
United States intelligence agencies, and Iraqi defectors
led to the discovery that Iraq had large stockpiles of
chemical weapons and a large scale biological weapons
program, and that Iraq had an advanced nuclear weap-
ons development program that was much closer to pro-
ducing a nuclear weapon than intelligence reporting had
previously indicated;
Whereas Iraq, in direct and flagrant violation of the cease-
fire, attempted to thwart the efforts of weapons inspec-
tors to identify and destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass de-
struction stockpiles and development capabilities, which
finally resulted in the withdrawal of inspectors from Iraq
on October 31, 1998;
Whereas in Public Law 105–235 (August 14, 1998), Con-
gress concluded that Iraq’s continuing weapons of mass
destruction programs threatened vital United States in-
terests and international peace and security, declared
Iraq to be in ‘‘material and unacceptable breach of its
international obligations’’ and urged the President ‘‘to
take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitu-
tion and relevant laws of the United States, to bring Iraq
into compliance with its international obligations’’;
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Whereas Iraq both poses a continuing threat to the national
security of the United States and international peace and
security in the Persian Gulf region and remains in mate-
rial and unacceptable breach of its international obliga-
tions by, among other things, continuing to possess and
develop a significant chemical and biological weapons ca-
pability, actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability,
and supporting and harboring terrorist organizations;
Whereas Iraq persists in violating resolution of the United
Nations Security Council by continuing to engage in bru-
tal repression of its civilian population thereby threat-
ening international peace and security in the region, by
refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi
citizens wrongfully detained by Iraq, including an Amer-
ican serviceman, and by failing to return property wrong-
fully seized by Iraq from Kuwait;
Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its capa-
bility and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction
against other nations and its own people;
Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its con-
tinuing hostility toward, and willingness to attack, the
United States, including by attempting in 1993 to assas-
sinate former President Bush and by firing on many
thousands of occasions on United States and Coalition
Armed Forces engaged in enforcing the resolutions of the
United Nations Security Council;
Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing re-
sponsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens,
and interests, including the attacks that occurred on Sep-
tember 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq;
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Whereas Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international
terrorist organizations, including organizations that
threaten the lives and safety of United States citizens;
Whereas the attacks on the United States of September 11,
2001, underscored the gravity of the threat posed by the
acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by inter-
national terrorist organizations;
Whereas Iraq’s demonstrated capability and willingness to
use weapons of mass destruction, the risk that the cur-
rent Iraqi regime will either employ those weapons to
launch a surprise attack against the United States or its
Armed Forces or provide them to international terrorists
who would do so, and the extreme magnitude of harm
that would result to the United States and its citizens
from such an attack, combine to justify action by the
United States to defend itself;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 678
(1990) authorizes the use of all necessary means to en-
force United Nations Security Council Resolution 660
(1990) and subsequent relevant resolutions and to compel
Iraq to cease certain activities that threaten international
peace and security, including the development of weapons
of mass destruction and refusal or obstruction of United
Nations weapons inspections in violation of United Na-
tions Security Council Resolution 687 (1991), repression
of its civilian population in violation of United Nations
Security Council Resolution 688 (1991), and threatening
its neighbors or United Nations operations in Iraq in vio-
lation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 949
(1994);
Whereas in the Authorization for Use of Military Force
Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102–1), Congress
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has authorized the President ‘‘to use United States
Armed Forces pursuant to United Nations Security
Council Resolution 678 (1990) in order to achieve imple-
mentation of Security Council Resolution 660, 661, 662,
664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, and 677’’;
Whereas in December 1991, Congress expressed its sense
that it ‘‘supports the use of all necessary means to
achieve the goals of United Nations Security Council
Resolution 687 as being consistent with the Authoriza-
tion of Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution
(Public Law 102–1),’’ that Iraq’s repression of its civilian
population violates United Nations Security Council Res-
olution 688 and ‘‘constitutes a continuing threat to the
peace, security, and stability of the Persian Gulf region,’’
and that Congress, ‘‘supports the use of all necessary
means to achieve the goals of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 688’’;
Whereas the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–
338) expressed the sense of Congress that it should be
the policy of the United States to support efforts to re-
move from power the current Iraqi regime and promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime;
Whereas on September 12, 2002, President Bush committed
the United States to ‘‘work with the United Nations Se-
curity Council to meet our common challenge’’ posed by
Iraq and to ‘‘work for the necessary resolutions,’’ while
also making clear that ‘‘the Security Council resolutions
will be enforced, and the just demands of peace and secu-
rity will be met, or action will be unavoidable’’;
Whereas the United States is determined to prosecute the
war on terrorism and Iraq’s ongoing support for inter-
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national terrorist groups combined with its development
of weapons of mass destruction in direct violation of its
obligations under the 1991 cease-fire and other United
Nations Security Council resolutions make clear that it is
in the national security interests of the United States
and in furtherance of the war on terrorism that all rel-
evant United Nations Security Council resolutions be en-
forced, including through the use of force if necessary;
Whereas Congress has taken steps to pursue vigorously the
war on terrorism through the provision of authorities and
funding requested by the President to take the necessary
actions against international terrorists and terrorist orga-
nizations, including those nations, organizations, or per-
sons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the
terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or
harbored such persons or organizations;
Whereas the President and Congress are determined to con-
tinue to take all appropriate actions against international
terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those na-
tions, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized,
committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred
on September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or or-
ganizations;
Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution
to take action in order to deter and prevent acts of inter-
national terrorism against the United States, as Congress
recognized in the joint resolution on Authorization for
Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40); and
Whereas it is in the national security interests of the United
States to restore international peace and security to the
Persian Gulf region: Now, therefore, be it
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Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This joint resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Authoriza-
tion for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of
2002’’.
SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC EF-
FORTS.
The Congress of the United States supports the ef-
forts by the President to—
(1) strictly enforce through the United Nations
Security Council all relevant Security Council resolu-
tions regarding Iraq and encourages him in those ef-
forts; and
(2) obtain prompt and decisive action by the
Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its
strategy of delay, evasion and noncompliance and
promptly and strictly complies with all relevant Se-
curity Council resolutions regarding Iraq.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES
ARMED FORCES.
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The President is authorized to
use the Armed Forces of the United States as he deter-
mines to be necessary and appropriate in order to—