Arlen Specter: “I now offer a resolution that seeks to deal with the international crisis caused by Saddam Hussein's amassing of weapons…”

“I now offer a resolution that seeks to deal with the international crisis caused by Saddam Hussein's amassing of weapons of mass destruction. There are reports as of this morning that Secretary General Kofi Annan has solved the problem after discussions with Saddam Hussein. A diplomatic solution is always preferable to a military solution, even though Saddam Hussein has carried the world to the brink of war. Before we will know whether or not Secretary General Kofi Annan has succeeded, we will have to read the fine print. In the event that the Secretary General's efforts to end the crisis are unsuccessful, I submit that it is a constitutional imperative that Congress consider, debate, deliberate, and vote on a resolution on how to deal with this threat before the President takes unilateral action with air and missile strikes. Air and missile strikes constitute acts of war. Under the U.S. Constitution, only the Congress has the authority to involve our Nation in war. In his constitutional capacity as Commander in Chief, the President may act in emergencies, but there is now time for deliberative action by the Congress. During the week of February 9, when this issue was the talk of the caucuses and the cloakrooms, Congress spoke loudly by not speaking at all because there was no agreement on what should be done. On February 16, I wrote the President urging that no military action be taken until Congress returned from the recess today, February 23.”