Bill Lee: “I need to make a few points, and I say these with great respect for my distinguished colleagues on the other side of…”

“I need to make a few points, and I say these with great respect for my distinguished colleagues on the other side of this issue, with great respect for my colleagues, the Senator from Alaska and the Senator from Idaho, from whom we just heard. I must nonetheless insist on a couple of points being made. No. 1, this tortured definition of the word ``hostilities'' that we have heard over and over and over again is itself, No. 1, ridiculous and, No. 2, utterly at odds with and irrelevant under the War Powers Act. The War Powers Act itself, in title 50 of the United States Code, section 1547(c), states in pertinent part that ``For purposes of this chapter, the term `introduction of United States Armed Forces' includes the assignment of members of such armed forces to command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany the regular or irregular military forces of any foreign country or government when such military forces are engaged, or there exists an imminent threat that such forces will be engaged, in hostilities.'' There is absolutely no question here that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-led coalition is involved in hostilities. No one doubts that. No one tries to dress it up in ridiculous language amounting to anything other than what it is, which is a war. It is also beyond dispute that our U.S.…”