1. It grants the President the authority to act, with the approval of the Congress.
2. It lets the tyrant Saddam know that Congress approves, and the President may act without going back to Congress. This means that the President doesn't need to give Saddam advanced warning of his intentions to use force. (AND THIS ... my friends ... is IMPORTANT. The full force and might of the U.S. military can be used effectively and collateral damage can be minimized. BUT the insistant whining that the U.N. allow more inspections, and the President go back and ask Congress to clarify ("Did you really mean what you said ... would you pass another resolution to show the world you really meant what you said the first time....") ... that takes away any tactical advantage, and will eliminate any surprises ... and can cause higher casualties - on both sides.
These whiners about another resolution are willing to sacrifice lives of soldiers and sailors needlessly. It disgusts me. Congress also passed a resolution in 1998 authorizing the President to unilaterally seek a regime change in Iraq. Remember that little number. (The fact that Democrats who voted for it felt (correctly) that Clinton would do NOTHING (they were right) probably felt it gave them cover - they could look strong while actually being gutless wonders.
Of course, in December, it looked like Saddam was considering fleeing Iraq when it appeared that the world would unite behind military action. But the Axis of Weasel, and all the peaceniks world wide have emboldened Saddam with chants of "Give the Madman another Chance"... or "He has only killed 1 million Muslims; He hasn't hurt any Americans" ... etc. etc. etc. These weasels and cowards have actually increased the need to take action - now or in the future. Like the "peace in our time" (Peace at Any Price") crowd of 1938 (Chamberlin - Munich) - the peace crowd allowed a madman to stay in power, and major death and destruction followed. At least if war had started earlier, there would be fewer lives lost overall.
But Congress has acted SEVERAL TIMES - so the President has the authorization he needs. He should use it whenever he feels that the tactical element of surprise would benefit .... and the liberation of Iraq should proceed.
Mike