Jeff Duncan: “I have always tried to support our men and women in the military, and I support this Resolution. I supported the…”

“I have always tried to support our men and women in the military, and I support this Resolution. I supported the original Gulf War, but I must say that I think the situation is very different today. Eight years ago, Saddam Hussein had what some described then as the largest, most-powerful military in the Middle East. He was moving into Kuwait, and most analysts felt that if he was not stopped, he would try to take over the entire Middle East. Today, after major losses in the Gulf War and 8 years of sanctions, Iraq essentially is a defenseless nation in comparison to the U.S. We have not been told of any overt military action by Iraq, or even of any threatened action, against us on anyone else. Several nations, including us and some of our strongest allies, have weapons of mass destruction and chemical and biological weapons. We cannot bomb every nation that has such weapons. We have always prided ourselves as being a peace-loving nation. War should be our most reluctant action. We should go to war only as a last resort--only if there is no reasonable alternative. And we should go to war only if there is a serious threat to our national security or there is a vital U.S. interest at stake. In this instance, as in the bombing a few weeks ago of Sudan and Afghanistan, we have been far too eager to go to war.”