Sean Patrick Maloney: “I have received thousands of letters against the resolution, and just this past weekend over 15,000 gathered in Central…”

“I have received thousands of letters against the resolution, and just this past weekend over 15,000 gathered in Central Park in my district to protest. But what is at stake are not our political careers or an election, but the future of our country and our way of life. I believe there is a more compelling case now against Saddam than 12 years ago. Then the threat was of a geopolitical nature, a move to change the map of the Middle East. But I never saw it as a direct threat to our Nation. The main question before us today is whether Saddam is a threat to the United States and our allies. No one doubts that he has chemical and biological weapons. No one doubts that he is trying to stockpile weapons of mass destruction. No one doubts that he has thwarted inspections in the past and has developed UAVs. No one doubts that he has consistently worked to develop nuclear power. No one doubts that he has twice invaded his neighbors. The question is, Will he use these weapons against the United States and our allies, and can we deter him without using force? As Lincoln said in the beginning days of the Civil War: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.”