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Lawmakers Want Notice Before Iraq War
AP via Yahoo news ^ | 4 AUG 2002 | CALVIN WOODWARD

Posted on 08/05/2002 7:32:37 AM PDT by bat-boy

WASHINGTON (AP) - War against Iraq is likely, said a senator exploring U.S. options, and other lawmakers joined him Sunday in pressing the Bush administration to make the case to Congress before any attack.

Sen. Joseph Biden ( news, bio, voting record), D-Del., led hearings last week that highlighted both the gravity of the threat posed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites) and the difficulty of replacing him with stable leadership.

"I believe there probably will be a war with Iraq," said Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "The only question is, is it alone, is it with others and how long and how costly will it be?"

Similar sentiment was expressed by other lawmakers appearing on the talk shows. Like Biden, they said the administration must do far more to sell Americans, allies and Iraq's neighbors on the need for force.

They also said Bush must seek congressional approval if he decides on war and heal splits among his own advisers over how best to meet his goal of replacing Saddam.

Administration officials were absent from the airwaves, letting lawmakers drive the debate.

Democratic Sen. Carl Levin ( news, bio, voting record) of Michigan, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Saddam is not likely to launch an attack with biological or chemical weapons unless he is provoked by a U.S. move against him.

"Does he love himself more than he hates us?" he asked on CBS' "Face the Nation." "And I think the answer is probably yes.

"And if that's true, then it would be unlikely that he would initiate an attack with a weapon of mass destruction because it would be certain that he would be destroyed in response."

But Biden said divining the Iraqi leader's plans "is like reading the entrails of goats." What matters is his capacity to unleash the weapons, whatever his intentions, Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Congress must weigh in before America goes to war. "I don't think the president has the authority to launch a full-force effort" without congressional approval, said Daschle, D-S.D.

"We all support strongly a regime change," Daschle said on ABC's "This Week." "But I think we have to get our ducks in order. Do we have the support of our allies? Do we have an appropriate plan?"

The administration has invited Iraqi opposition groups to Washington, possibly this month, to explore what they might be able to do to unseat Saddam. So far, they have not been considered an effective force.

Ahmed Chalabi, head of a London-based umbrella organization representing the fractious opposition figures, said thousands of lightly armed Iraqis in the north, south and Baghdad want to move against Saddam but need training and equipment.

Congress authorized Bush in the fall to use all necessary force against nations or groups that aided the Sept. 11 hijackers or harbored such terrorists.

Few if any solid leads have come out linking Saddam to the al-Qaida terrorist network and the debate remains unsettled over whether Bush must come to Congress specifically to get approval to attack Iraq.

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said earlier it would be ridiculous for Bush to lay out a war plan in public view. And he recalled the bitterness of some of the congressional debate that preceded the last war against Iraq.

But on Sunday he acknowledged, too, the need to engage the public. Lott said he would probably support a resolution urging the administration to bring the matter to Congress.

"While you may not have to come to Congress, America needs to be united," he said. "We need to understand what our problem is, what our goals are. We need to try to bring the world in."

Biden, citing expert testimony in his hearings, said it is clear Iraq has chemical and biological weapons of some sort. Less certain is whether Saddam has the means yet to use them effectively, he said.

"We have no choice but to eliminate the threat," he said. "This is a guy who's an extreme danger to the world."

Does that mean war? "I think that's where we end up," Biden said.

He said the United States, acting alone if necessary, probably could oust Saddam but America would then face a long rebuilding job in Iraq.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman ( news, bio, voting record), who favors a hard line on Saddam, said leaks from the administration have betrayed splits among Bush's advisers over his tough policy.

"I think we're at a point where it's critically important for the president, as commander in chief, to take hold here," said Lieberman, D-Conn. "He's got obvious disagreement within his administration."

Lieberman told "Fox News Sunday" that "every day Saddam remains in power with chemical weapons, biological weapons, and the development of nuclear weapons is a day of danger for the United States."

Like Bush, Biden brushed off an Iraqi offer to negotiate over the return of weapons inspectors. "I think it's important we push for real inspections," he said, and not negotiate over a faint offer.


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To: AmericanInTokyo
There is already a long precedent that presidents can launch offensives without notifying Congress, though the War Powers Resolution does require notification within 48 hours after explaining why. Dubya going to Congress first won't stop a future Dem president from wagging the dog. Furthermore, notifying Congress will put our troops in danger. I hope Bush won't do it.
21 posted on 08/05/2002 11:08:07 AM PDT by rwfromkansas
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To: bat-boy
Maybe they should read the Constitution once in a while. Declarations of war are a Congressional power, not an executive one. They are the elected representatives who are supposed to give notice of war, not the President. It's amazing that we've gone so far towards making that document irrelevant that conservatives here rabidly defend the president's power to use the military at his own whim (whether for noble goals or not), while happily disregarding the word of Congress and intentionally keeping them in the dark.

I'm all for taking Iraq even deeper into the Stone Age (while keeping an eye on China in the Taiwan Straits), but I wish we would do things Constitutionally once in a while. Instead, political maneuvering has taken precedence over proper governance. It's terribly sad, and a very bad sign for the future. Just imagine what the next Clinton-clone in office (Hillary?) will get away with simply because we now expect the President to act with the same unopposable conviction as any monarch.

22 posted on 08/05/2002 11:11:05 AM PDT by Teacher317
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To: bat-boy
Biden says he doesn't know. "It's like reading the entrails of goats", he lamely tells Russert.

I'd send him the entrails, but I haven't figured out how to print "Saddam has WMD out the yinyang" on them. Also after getting the printing done, would they be readable after they arrived?

I'd probably be jailed for a Te**orist act.

23 posted on 08/05/2002 11:45:50 AM PDT by listenhillary
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To: Teacher317
Congress already gave Bush permission to do whatever necessary to protect the United States and to attack those that would use terrorism against us. Bush can prove that Saddam is helping the terrorists, so therefore he already has congressional approval.

Already DONE!!!

Let's JUST DO IT!!!
24 posted on 08/05/2002 12:24:47 PM PDT by Aric2000
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To: bat-boy
I think this is a reasonable request. I see no problem with asking President Bush to make sure that the letter to Congress notifying them of action in Iraq is post-marked by midnight on the day the full scale offensive begins.
25 posted on 08/05/2002 1:09:18 PM PDT by B-bone
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To: bat-boy
AP is a little slow...I posted the info about it here on 07/30/02 (Source link is there):

S.J.RES.41

Sponsor: Sen Specter, Arlen(introduced 7/18/2002)

Latest Major Action: 7/18/2002 Referred to Senate committee.

Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Title: A joint resolution calling for Congress to consider and vote on a resolution for the use of force by the United States Armed Forces against Iraq before such force is deployed.

See also:

H.J.RES.109

Sponsor: Rep DeFazio, Peter A.(introduced 7/26/2002)

Latest Major Action: 7/26/2002 Referred to House committee.

Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.

Title: Calling for Congress to consider and vote on a resolution for the use of force by the United States Armed Forces against Iraq before such force is deployed.

And especially...

H.CON.RES.286

Sponsor: Rep Issa, Darrell E.(introduced 12/11/2001)

Latest Major Action: 12/11/2001 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.

Title: Expressing support for the President in using all means at his disposal to encourage the establishment of a democratically elected government in Iraq.

26 posted on 08/05/2002 1:58:15 PM PDT by ravingnutter
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To: rockprof
They want advance notice so they can leak it to the press.

Yes, so they can get the reporters there first and get the cameras set up ;-)

27 posted on 08/05/2002 2:17:40 PM PDT by varon
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To: Aric2000
Then what is this "tell Congress first" whining all about?
28 posted on 08/05/2002 3:18:31 PM PDT by Teacher317
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To: Teacher317
You tell a lie often enough.....
29 posted on 08/05/2002 3:20:05 PM PDT by Aric2000
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To: bat-boy
Notice: Congress, you cannot be trusted... Therefore you will not be informed.

Congress your duty is to go home and tell it strait to the American people, that we are about to engage the enemy, and they are to begin preparations for any and all possibilities- Effective Immediately!!!

Citizenry: Your duty is to begin disaster preparations and the stocking of amunition and non perishable items.

The serious level and nature of the threat in this instance is real and not, I repeat "NOT A DRILL".

Recent indications of serious environmental health outbreaks in England and in parts of the states suggest organized foul play to the degree to perceive these outbreaks as acts of warfare.
30 posted on 08/05/2002 4:23:38 PM PDT by Soul Citizen
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To: AmericanInTokyo
Maxwell Smart: Chief! Isn't what we are about to discuss top secret?

Chief: resignedly...Yes Max.

Smart: Then I demand we use the cone of silence.

Chief: Oh no Max...we've been having some technical trouble with the cone of silence this week. Can't we use another method?

Smart: We could use the cough code I suppose.

Chief: Ok I'll start...cough cough cough cough cough cough.

Smart: Very Interesting...cough cough cough cough cough cough cough.

Chief: Yes and furthermore...cough cough cough cough cough cough

Smart:Chief was that last cough a real one or code?

:)From memory so it isn't verbatim. I always found the cone of silence the funniest bit of comedy on tv. I was usually ROFL.

31 posted on 08/05/2002 5:23:50 PM PDT by xp38
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To: Northpaw
I was thinking along the lines of "Quick Joe! Turn on CNN!"
32 posted on 08/05/2002 5:27:34 PM PDT by StriperSniper
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To: bat-boy
I think it quite likely that August 5 will be remembered as the opening gun of the Iraq campaign, and that in turn as the beginning of WWIII.

You heard it here first.

33 posted on 08/05/2002 5:31:44 PM PDT by crystalk
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To: bat-boy
Joe, Duck, Quick!! Oh, bummer, man, that must really hurt. Joe, er, Joe you there?
34 posted on 08/05/2002 5:33:25 PM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets
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To: Aric2000
"Congress already gave Bush permission to do whatever necessary to protect the United States and to attack those that would use terrorism against us. Bush can prove that Saddam is helping the terrorists, so therefore he already has congressional approval. "

If the Bush administration already has solid evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 act of terrorism, then why hasn't he briefed Congress on it? Do you honestly think it would be such a matter of close national security that such evidence be kept away from our elected representatives? The power to declare war rests SOLELY in Congress, and they granted Bush the power to act with the restriction being he provide evidence of their links to 9/11.

35 posted on 08/05/2002 5:33:34 PM PDT by fogarty
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To: Soul Citizen
"Notice: Congress, you cannot be trusted... Therefore you will not be informed."

Well all due respect, but this comment is utter BS. It reeks of an imperial presidency, above the law, and above the people. It has the makings of a tyranny, and the destruction of the US Constitution. When the US went to war in 1941, we had the FULL SUPPORT of congress and the American people. We didn't shut congress down, and we didn't bypass the Constitution.

36 posted on 08/05/2002 5:36:34 PM PDT by fogarty
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To: crystalk
The bombing at al-Nuqaib today was the largest attack upon Iraq by the US/UK forces since the Gulf War of 1991.

It took place just one day short of the Hiroshima anniversary tomorrow.

Remember, Nostradamus said WWII and WWIII would be 57 years apart.

37 posted on 08/05/2002 5:39:00 PM PDT by crystalk
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To: bat-boy
People in Hell want ice water.
38 posted on 08/05/2002 6:29:10 PM PDT by Bogey78O
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To: bat-boy
Lawmakers Want Notice Before Iraq War

Their first notice should be the arrest of Biden and Dashole.

Long range dittos

39 posted on 08/05/2002 6:36:43 PM PDT by MileHi
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To: dvwjr
Every day that passes gives Saddam another day to implement his plan against us. One of these days he will get it all together and I suspect very soon. Secondly one starts wars in the desert in the fall. Every day of delay puts Saddsm one day closer to his plan. We should have already started. We are tempting the fates.

Godspeed, The Dilg

40 posted on 08/05/2002 6:48:01 PM PDT by thedilg
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