Robert Torricelli: “almost 10 years ago I had an opportunity in visiting Baghdad to meet with Saddam Hussein and members of his cabinet. I…”

“almost 10 years ago I had an opportunity in visiting Baghdad to meet with Saddam Hussein and members of his cabinet. I went to Iraq because of a brutal and seemingly endless conflict between the armies of Iran and Iraq that were consuming hundreds of thousands of lives. Like many people in our Government, I was concerned about how this would impact the region, and whether, indeed, it threatened world peace. I left Baghdad with unmistakable impressions of Saddam Hussein who continued to influence my own judgment, and which I revisit now--that we are on the verge of yet another conflict with the army of Iraq. President Hussein knew little of the Western World, and profoundly misunderstood the United States. Because we are a good and a decent people willing to engage in dialog, it was interpreted as a lack of resolve; a failure of will. It was for these reasons when President Bush sent American forces to the Persian Gulf that I was proud as a Member of the House of Representatives to be the Democratic sponsor of the war resolution.”