Joe Lieberman: “The whereas clauses, the preamble, speak for themselves. It suggests a totality of circumstances that lead the sponsors…”

“The whereas clauses, the preamble, speak for themselves. It suggests a totality of circumstances that lead the sponsors of the resolution to want to authorize the President, if all else fails, to take military action against Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Clearly--and what the President has said and what the sponsors of the resolution have said--the focus of our concern is the weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. As we said yesterday, this resolution is intended to send a message to Saddam: Disarm, as you promised to do 11 years ago at the end of the gulf war, or we will use force to disarm you with our allies and the international community. Nonetheless, the other conditions describing the totality of Saddam's brutality--violation of international law, invasion of his neighbors, et cetera--are stated in the preamble and consistent with what I said in response to the earlier question. The President, as Commander in Chief, is given the authority, the responsibility, and accountability to enforce all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.”