-Caveat Lector- White House would seem to welcome *any* "gunshot" and the following "green card" to wage wars and to rid people from the rest of their liberties, leading the country happily to a dynasty of military dictatorships...
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/a/w/1151/10-9-2002/20021009094505_40.html Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2002 White House: CIA Advances Iraq Case By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House, pressing for congressional endorsement of its campaign to disarm Iraq, stressed Wednesday that a CIA assessment that a U.S. military strike could trigger a terrorist response confirmed the danger that Saddam Hussein poses to America. CIA Director George Tenet said in a letter to lawmakers released Tuesday that Iraq "for now appears to be drawing a line short of conducting terrorist attacks with conventional or chemical or biological weapons." But he also warned that Saddam might use those weapons for terrorist purposes if provoked by an imminent U.S.-led attack. Tenet "did not say we're OK," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Wednesday. "If Saddam Hussein holds a gun to someone's head, while he denies he even owns a gun, do you really want to take a chance that he'll never use it." But Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., said Tenet's report suggested that an attack on Iraq "could trigger the very things that our president has said that he is trying to prevent, the use of chemical or biological weapons. In view of this report, the policy of a pre-emptive strike is troublesome." Tenet's letter came as Congress prepares to vote on a resolution giving the president broad authority to use military force to dismantle Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. Bush also is seeking a resolution from the United Nations demanding that Saddam disarm or face consequences. France has countered with a rival draft that would give Iraq a chance to cooperate with inspectors, and Bush planned to call French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday. In Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov told reporters that his country could accept a new U.N. resolution if it did not entail an automatic use of force should Baghdad fail to comply. Britain backs the United States on the resolution, but the other three veto-wielding members of the Security Council - Russia, China and France - have been holding out. Secretary of State Colin Powell has found grounds for encouragement on the resolution in the past few days, but two U.S. officials said Wednesday that neither France nor Russia had swung over to the U.S. approach. They are still apart on such key issues as whether Iraqi refusal to disarm should trigger the use of force and whether there should be one or two resolutions, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The U.S., French, Russian, British and Chinese ambassadors to the United Nations met Wednesday night in New York to review the situation. Describing Bush's call to Chirac as critical, the officials said the United States still wanted only one resolution that includes inspection and disarmament demands as well as a threat of consequences, while France would delay any threat at least until after weapons inspectors return to Iraq. The United States is making headway little by little on a resolution, but there is no reason to declare victory yet, one of the officials, speaking on grounds of anonymity, told The Associated Press. Congress stood ready to grant Bush the authority he is seeking, but not before raising questions on the dangers of taking on Iraq militarily without the support of an international coalition. As debate resumed Wednesday, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, said he would vote to extend war-making power to Bush, while urging the president to use that power with discretion. "President Bush, the rule of law matters and so does a decent respect for opinion of the rest of the world. As president of the United States, you are the leader of the free world, not its ruler," Reid said. After a full day of speeches on Tuesday, the House was on course to vote by Thursday on its resolution. Bush urged Congress to give him that authority, telling a Tennessee audience that "the full force and fury of the United States military will be unleashed" should he decide to use force against Iraq. But hopes that the Senate would join the House on Thursday in a dramatic show of unity faded when Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., made clear that he would use parliamentary delaying tactics to push debate into next week. Byrd, an unyielding defender of the Senate's constitutional prerogatives, said the resolution was a "blank check" that "cedes the decision-making power of the Congress under the Constitution to declare war." He suggested the issue be put off until after the November election. While that's unlikely to happen, the opening day of debate made clear that it will be difficult for Bush to win the unanimity he wants from Congress as he tries to persuade the U.N. Security Council to approve a forceful new resolution compelling Iraq to disarm or face the consequences. "We must give the United Nations the backbone it needs to enforce its own resolutions," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. "We must not let evil triumph, we must do something." --- The House bill is H.J. Res. 114; the Senate bill is S.J. Res. 45. Text can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov 2002-10-09 16:39:10 GMT Copyright 2002 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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