Jerry Nadler: “I take the threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of a hostile and aggressive Iraq very seriously. On September 11 when…”

“I take the threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of a hostile and aggressive Iraq very seriously. On September 11 when my district was attacked, I thanked God the terrorists did not have nuclear weapons. We all want to protect this Nation. The question before us today is not whether to protect America, but how best to do so. Saddam Hussein unquestionably poses a real danger. He has consistently shown a virulent hostility to the United States and to Israel, a willingness to invade other countries without provocation, a willingness to use chemical and biological weapons against civilian populations, a relentless drive to obtain weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, and a reckless aggressiveness. The conclusion is inescapable that the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iraq would pose an intolerable threat to the United States and to world peace. That threat must be met, if at all possible, through the United Nations and in accordance with international law, but war must be the last resort, not the first option. The resolution before us is not a compromise. It is in all important respects still very much the original draft: a blank check, like the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. We must not grant the President a blank check.”