http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/02/05/sprj.irq.powell.us.reax/index.html
Lawmakers hope presentation will sway skeptics
Biden stresses long-term commitment in Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) --Leading lawmakers expressed hope Wednesday that Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation to the United Nations will convince skeptical nations that Iraq is defying disarmament resolutions and that they must be willing to confront Saddam Hussein by military force, if necessary.
Powell's presentation won praise from Democrats and Republicans, but some lawmakers stressed that the Bush administration needs to better prepare the American public for the sacrifices and commitment that a war with Iraq would likely involve.
"I think Secretary Powell made a very powerful and, I think, irrefutable case today before the Security Council," Sen. Joseph Biden, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters after the 90-minute-long presentation.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Powell's presentation had unveiled "the true nature" of Saddam's regime.
"The evidence proves that Saddam Hussein has a loaded gun pointed at the civilized world," Hastert said in a statement. "It is time to take that loaded gun away from this evil tyrant."
Biden, D-Delaware, said the evidence confirms what he already knew and believed "for some time now" -- that Saddam is harboring and trying to get more weapons of mass destruction. The senator called on the Security Council now to "live up to its responsibilities" and said that the choice of war or peace was Saddam's.
Biden stressed that President Bush needs to do a better job of preparing the American public for a long-term commitment of U.S. armed forces in Iraq. Many people, Biden said, believe a military strike against Iraq would be "bloodless" and that U.S. troops would return home quickly.
"Johnny will not come marching home. We will be required to stay in-country with tens of
thousands of forces for an extended period of time," Biden said, adding that such an endeavor would cost billions of dollars.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, said the administration had made a "very powerful case" against Iraq and expressed optimism that it would sway world opinion against the regime of Saddam.
"Yup, it should," Lugar said, speaking before Powell's presentation but after a breakfast meeting at the White House, where Bush briefed leading lawmakers.
Talking about European nations, Biden said he hoped Powell's presentation would "embolden leaders who have been reluctant to risk any political capital" to make the case for military action against Iraq.
The White House breakfast meeting, which lasted about an hour and a half, was opened by the president, who then turned the floor over to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who summarized the case Powell will make at the United Nations.
Many members of Congress, particularly Democrats, have been calling on the administration to make a clearer case that Saddam poses a threat to the United States and the world before the president sends troops in to topple him.
Rep. Jane Harman, D-California, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said she is pleased the administration will get "beyond the rhetoric." She said Rice's summary made clear that Powell will "finally give some facts" in the form of a "legal brief."
The members of Congress attending the White House meeting included House and Senate leadership from both parties and chairmen and ranking members of Foreign Relations, Intelligence and Armed Services committees.