Eva M. Clayton: “I am concerned about the threat that Saddam Hussein poses to the world at large, and I am concerned about Saddam…”

“I am concerned about the threat that Saddam Hussein poses to the world at large, and I am concerned about Saddam Hussein's willingness to thumb his nose at rest of the world. However, these are not my only concerns. I am also deeply concerned about the way in which the administration is approaching this state of affairs. President Bush has said that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction, but he has not made a convincing and compelling case that Saddam Hussein poses such a dangerous, verifiable and immediate threat that the President should be granted the authority to attack Iraq preemptively or unilaterally. We have known for years that Iraq possesses chemical and biological weapons and, sadly, that he has used these weapons on people from his own country. We know factually that Iraq has refused to obey the resolutions of the United Nations. Two troubling questions remain, Mr. Speaker. First, why, after so many years, do the actions of Saddam Hussein become so immediate and so pressing that they cloud the consideration of any other matter of similar importance, especially on the domestic agenda? The second question, Mr. Speaker, is who should enforce international law?”