Burgess Owens: “I urge all Members to vote ``no'' on this resolution which seeks to stampede the Congress into granting the powers for…”

“I urge all Members to vote ``no'' on this resolution which seeks to stampede the Congress into granting the powers for unilateral declaration of war on Iraq. Aggressive action against terrorists is needed, but we should not damage our own capability to wage the broader war against terrorism by succumbing to an all-consuming tunnel vision action on Iraq. Certainly, all Members of Congress recognize that we are living in a time of new dangers and new kinds of unique risk. The Cold War era, with its possibilities of nuclear annihilation restrained only by threats of mutual destruction, was also a time of great danger. We did not succumb to panic and hysteria during the Cold War; we should not succumb now. Our present recognition, our new awakening to the possible lethal potency of terrorist tactics perpetrated by hidden worldwide terrorist organizations is the new national defense reality. The massacre at the World Trade Center on September 11 has seared the reality of this new danger into our minds. This is a debate about how our great democracy will coexist with this new set of challenging dangers. It is about how we will cope with a new set of recognized risks. I contend that this administration has made the wrong analysis and has set the wrong priorities. President Bush mistakenly proposes that the obliteration of the capacity of Iraq to deliver biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons must be at the center of our strategy for national security and safety.”