Ed Markey: “the President has asked this Congress to support action that foresees the possibility of sending our loved ones--our…”

“the President has asked this Congress to support action that foresees the possibility of sending our loved ones--our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors--into combat in a foreign land. No more serious a decision ever faces Congress. The threat that we confront is Saddam Hussein. Saddam is in a category of his own. No other head-of-state has been the subject of an 11-year international campaign to disarm and sanction him. He has invaded two of his neighbors, assassinated 16 of his own family members, tried to assassinate former President Bush, lied about his weapons buildup, fired missiles at Israel, and gassed his own people. The prospect that such a despot has biological and chemical weapons--anthrax, sarin gas, smallpox--and is nearing nuclear capability is a looming threat to millions. We as a nation have the responsibility to stop him. I would have preferred that we proceed in the manner outlined in the Spratt substitute, which would have given the President all the authority needed at this time to disarm Saddam.”