I always knew that Hillary had it in her

[BlueStateLib]

74. Some will never understand it because they don't get it and don't want too

Their were only 2 options on the table and the third option of doing nothing was not one of them

Liberal Magazine The Nation: "Antiwar forces in the United States and around the world can claim the recent UN resolution (1441) as a partial victory. The resolution does not endorse the use of force; it redefines the Iraq crisis, at least in the international arena, as one of disarmament, not regime change; and it will at least delay a US attack"
http://www.thenation.com/article/half-victory-un/

In 1992 the Gulf War had 52-47 senate votes and in 2002 the Iraq War Resolution had 76-23. Don't you find it curious (in your view) why so many democrats would vote for war. But they did not vote for WAR, the Democrats traded a YES vote on A.U.M.F. for a Bush promise to go to U.N. which he kept. Bush got the U.N. to pass Res 1441 and Saddam gave in and allow weapons inspectors with unlimited inspection.

If Bush stopped and didn't invade Iraq and let and allowed the u.n. weapons inspectors to do their job, it would looked like a brilliant foreign policy move. Bush got greedy and lust for war overwhelmed him, he did not follow through on 2nd U.N. vote abandoning any hope for a large U.N. sponsored coalition. Bush also failed to get a promised 2nd vote from congress before invading Iraq.

30,000 US Troops Already In Iraq
September 16, 2002

Around 100 US/UK jet fighters 10 days ago bombed and destroyed airbases H-3 and al-Baghdadi in western Iraq, close to the Jordanian border. Earlier, on 5 August, the allied forces destroyed an air defense base in southwest Iraq, near the Saudi border. Reports indicate that the Iraqi forces have withdrawn from the air bases and the command and control centers that were bombed, and have been replaced by US forces which have started repairing the bases to use them later. Before that, US forces, supported by Turkish troops, penetrated northern Iraq and reached a distance of around 30km from Mosul and Kirkuk. The reports also indicate that the US and allied forces are a few kilometers away from Basra, and US and allied forces now occupy more than 15% of Iraqi territory.

Does Bush Need Congressional Okay to Invade Iraq?
Aug. 26 2002

On Aug. 26, White House lawyers issued an opinion that President Bush could order a preemptive attack against Iraq without a vote of approval from Congress. The lawyers based their opinion on two factors:

1) The president's constitutional authority as commander in chief of the military (Article II, Sec. 2

2) Terms of the 1991 Gulf War resolution they content remains in effect today

3) Terms of the Sept. 14, 2001 congressional resolution approving military action against terrorism (S.J. Res 23)·

Senate A.U.M.F. Debate 10/10/2002

Mrs. BOXER: This administration did not want to bring the debate on this war to Congress. We have many quotes I have already put in the RECORD on that subject. They did not want the President to go to the United Nations. Indeed, they said he did not have to go there; he did not have to come here; he did not have to do anything.

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I suppose this resolution is something of an improvement. Back in August the President's advisors insisted that there was not even any need for authorization from Congress to go to war. They said past resolutions sufficed.

Others in the administration argued that the United States should attack Iraq preemptively and unilaterally, without bothering to seek the support of the United Nations, even though it is Iraq's violations of U.N. resolutions which is used to justify military action.

Eventually, the President listened to those who urged him to change course and he went to the United Nations. He has since come to the Congress. I commended President Bush for doing that.

I fully support the efforts of Secretary Powell to negotiate a strong, new Security Council resolution for the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq, backed up with force, if necessary, to overcome Iraqi resistance.

Mr. BIDEN. As late as August 29 of this year, the White House counsel--the White House counsel--reportedly told the President that he had all the authority he needs to wage war against Iraq--there was a big deal about leaking a memorandum from the White House counsel to the world that Congress need not be involved, Mr. President. I had two private meetings with the President myself, where I made clear that I thought that was dead wrong and he would be--to use the slang on the east side of my city--``in a world of hurt'' if he attempted to do that.

Mr. DURBIN. Initially the White House said: We don't need congressional approval. We can move forward. They went on to say: We can do it unilaterally. We don't need any allies. We can attack Iraq if necessary by ourselves. And the President said our goal is regime change. We want Saddam Hussein gone.

Mr. SPECTER. I commend President Bush for coming to Congress. Originally he said he did not need to do so and would not do so. Later, he modified that, saying that while he might not have to, he was coming to Congress. He initially talked about unilateral action, and since has worked very hard in the United Nations