Ed Whitfield: “tonight we discuss giving the President the authority to use military force against Iraq. As the Congressman from the…”

“tonight we discuss giving the President the authority to use military force against Iraq. As the Congressman from the first district of Kentucky, I have the privilege of representing the fine men and women of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, home of the 101st Airborne, Air Assault Division, the 5th Special Forces Group, and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, better known as the Night Stalkers. These soldiers were among the first to engage the Taliban in Afghanistan and, unfortunately, the first to suffer casualties. If we go to war with Iraq, they will again be the tip of the spear thrusting at our enemies, and they will again, sadly, be among the first to suffer casualties. Hopefully, that will not occur. When I vote later this week, I may be putting my friends and neighbors on the frontline of combat. It is not a decision that any of us takes lightly. Therefore, after much deliberation, I have reluctantly concluded that Saddam Hussein has proven himself to be a threat that we cannot ignore. For 11 years Saddam Hussein has defied U.N. resolution after resolution, while continuing his drive to acquire weapons of mass destruction. For years, he hindered and toyed with U.N. weapons inspectors in defiance of the cease-fire that ended the Gulf War. He has consorted with terrorists who are willing and eager to target innocent civilians in their war of hatred against the civilized world.”