Tom Harkin: “So, Mr. President, we almost have before us another Maddox and Turner Joy: a claim that Iraq has reconstituted nuclear…”

“So, Mr. President, we almost have before us another Maddox and Turner Joy: a claim that Iraq has reconstituted nuclear weapons, but the evidence is not there. The President himself said, last October: Iraq possesses ballistic missiles with a likely range of hundreds of miles--far enough to strike Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey and other nations--in a region where more than 135,000 American civilians and service members live and work. Those are the President's words. But: Inspectors have found that the al-Samoud 2 missiles can travel much less than 200 miles--not far enough to hit the targets Bush named. The constant beating on the drums of war, along with the shifting goals--last night for the first time I heard that it is not just Hussein who has to leave but also his sons; the goal was regime change, then it was disarmament, and now it is regime change and a family thing, to get the family out--the dubious allegations, the lack of support for inspections, make it look as though this administration has been set on war from the beginning and has just been casting about looking for support for their war all along. Is war justified? I have absolute confidence in the men and women of our Armed Forces. Faced with war, they will win, and will do so with courage, discipline, and skill. But even with our overwhelming strength, even assured of victory, war is a terrible prospect. Thousands of innocent people will die. Iraq will be left in chaos.”