Date: 2002-10-09
Speaker: DAN MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. a little over a year ago. this country saw evil demonstrated as we had never imagined possible. Last years attacks on our Nation showed us all too well the immorality of evil persons who are determined to attack us. our way of life and the freedom we cherish. We must act to ensure that no such attack ever occurs again. and it is today more imperative than ever that Iraqs weapons programs be brought to light. halted and terminated. The con-. sequences of not acting to prevent Iraq from continuing its weapons development are simply too great to be ignored. For over a decade. Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime has defied and deceived the international community. In its blatant and deliberate violation of international will and its development of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq has continued to pose a real and significant threat to the security of its neighbors and the entire Persian Gulf region. the national security of the -United States and. indeed. the security of the civilized world. Saddam Hussein is a ruthless and evil dictator of a regime that has again and again showed no respect for international norms and the rule of law or respect for human life. just like the terrorists responsible for the murder of 3.000 innocent Americans last year. As such. Saddam Hussein is as much a terrorist and a threat to our Nation as those directly responsible for last Septembers heinous acts. What we know about Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime is unquestionably troubling. and. as President Bush said. what we do not know is even more so. His continued research and development of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. the extent of which is unknown due to his flagrant violation of international mandates. is a tremendous threat to the security of this Nation and must be stopped. The power to declare war and authorize the use of military force is one of the. most significant powers the Constitution gives this body. It is a responsibility that every Member of Congress takes seriously. and there is no more difficult decision that we can make than to choose to send our military into action. Ensuring the security of this Nation and the safety of the citizens is a responsibility that we all take seriously. and I provide my support to President Bush as he makes the tough decisions ahead. Mr. Speaker. I rise .today in support of this resolution to provide the President authorization to use the United States Armed Forces against Iraq. A little over a year ago. this country saw evil demonstrated as we had never before imagined. Last years attacks on our nation showed us all too well the immorality of evil persons who are determined to attack us. our way of life. and the freedom that we cherish. We must act to ensure that no such attack ever occurs again. and it is today more imperative than ever that Iraqs weapons programs be .brought to light. halted. and terminated. The consequences of not acting to prevent Iraq from continuing its weapons development are simply too great to be ignored. For over a decade now. Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime has defied and deceived the international. community. In its blatant and deliberate violation of international will and its development of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq has continued to pose a real and significant threat to the security of its neighbors and the entire Persian Gulf region. the national security of the United States. and indeed the security of the civilized world. When Iraq accepted the provisions of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 in 1991. it unconditionally accepted the inspection. destruction. and removal of its weapons of mass destruction and missile programs under international supervision. Unfortunately. however. the United Nations Special Commissions (UNSCOM) inspectors were repeatedly impeded and prevented from carrying out their mission. and were ultimately banned from Iraq in October 1998. Since then. Iraq has indisputably been in breach of its obligations. and its weapons of mass destruction programs have gone completely unchecked. Saddam Hussein is an evil person who cannot be trusted. Under his leadership. the Iraqi regime has had a repeated history of aggression against its neighbors. repression of its people. and hostility toward the international community and the United States of America. The facts speak for themselves: When Iraq invaded its neighbor Iran in 1980. the ensuing eight year war saw over one million casualties. Just ten years later. Iraqs.brutal invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 was followed by the detention and use of foreign nationals as human shields. the torture of Kuwaiti citizens and coalition servicemen including Americans. A year after the close of the Persian Gulf War. the Iraqi regime plotted a foiled assassination attempt on President George H. W. Bush during his visit to Kuwait in 1993. and International coalition warplanes patrolling and enforcing the UN designated "nofly zones" over Iraqzones agreed to by the Iraqi regimehave continuously and repeatedly come under attack from Iraqi antiaircraft installations. But most troubling is Iraqs capability and capacity to use weapons of mass destruction: 45.000 Iranians were killed when Iraq used chemical weapons during the IranIraq War. 5.000 Kurdish civilians were killed and another 7.000 injured when Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons on his own people in 1988. and Iraq again threatened to use chemical weapons against international coalition forces during the Persian Gulf War. Saddam Hussein is a ruthless and evil dictator of a regime that has again and again shown no respect for international norms and the rule of law. or respect for human lifejust like those terrorists responsible for the murder of 3.000 innocent Americans last year. As such. Suddam Hussein is as much a terrorist and a threat to our nation as those directly responsible for last Septembers heinous acts. What we know about Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime is unquestionably troubling. and as President Bush said. what we dont know is even more so. His continued research and development of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destructionthe extent of which is unknown due to his flagrant violation of international mandatesis a tremendous threat to the security of this nation and must be stopped. The power to declare war and authorize the use of military force is one of the most significant powers the Constitution gives this body. It is a responsibility that every Member of Congress takes very seriously. and there is no more difficult decision that we can make than to choose to send our military into action. Ensuing the security of this nation and the safety of her citizens is also a responsibility that I and the other members of this body take very seriously. and that is why I will vote in support of this resolution. I know that President Bush shares this concern for the security of this nation. and I have the utmost confidence that he will continue to demonstrate the leadership necessary to protect this nation. just as he has in our war on terrorism. I urge passage of this resolution. to give the President the necessary flexibility to provide for the security of this great nation by authorizing the use of force against Iraq.