23 Reasons Deconstructed

The following is a text of the Joint Resolution authorizing the use of American military force to depose Saddam Hussein. It is an escalation of a hot conflict in which Iraq was shooting at American planes enforcing the No Fly Zone and maintaining sanctions on the sale of oil from Iraq. We should examine the extent to which these reasons seem reasonable in hindsight and whether or not the placement of American armed forces in Iraq was necessary. The point of all this is to analyze, independent of GWBush and the US Congress, America itself made an error in refusing to merely contain Saddam Hussein rather than to depose his regime by force.

Each of the reasons is numbered for clarity.

                                                                                           

1	Whereas in 1990 in response to Iraq's war of aggression against and   illegal occupation of Kuwait, the United States forged a coalition of nations   to liberate Kuwait and its people in order to defend the national security of   the United States and enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions   relating to Iraq;
2	Whereas after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, Iraq entered into a United   Nations sponsored cease-fire agreement pursuant to which Iraq unequivocally   agreed, among other things, to eliminate its nuclear, biological, and   chemical weapons programs and the means to deliver and develop them, and to   end its support for international terrorism;
3	Whereas the efforts of international weapons inspectors, United States   intelligence agencies, and Iraqi defectors led to the discovery that Iraq had   large stockpiles of chemical weapons and a large scale biological weapons   program, and that Iraq had an advanced nuclear weapons development program   that was much closer to producing a nuclear weapon than intelligence   reporting had previously indicated;
4	Whereas Iraq, in direct and flagrant violation of the cease-fire,   attempted to thwart the efforts of weapons inspectors to identify and destroy   Iraq's weapons of mass destruction stockpiles and development capabilities,   which finally resulted in the withdrawal of inspectors from Iraq on October   31, 1998;
5	Whereas in 1998 Congress concluded that Iraq's continuing weapons of mass   destruction programs threatened vital United States interests and   international peace and security, declared Iraq to be in `material and   unacceptable breach of its international obligations' and urged the President   `to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant   laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into compliance with its   international obligations' (Public Law 105-235);
6	Whereas Iraq both poses a continuing threat to the national security of   the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf   region and remains in material and unacceptable breach of its international   obligations by, among other things, continuing to possess and develop a   significant chemical and biological weapons capability, actively seeking a   nuclear weapons capability, and supporting and harboring terrorist   organizations;
7	Whereas Iraq persists in violating resolutions of the United Nations   Security Council by continuing to engage in brutal repression of its civilian   population thereby threatening international peace and security in the   region, by refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi citizens   wrongfully detained by Iraq, including an American serviceman, and by failing   to return property wrongfully seized by Iraq from Kuwait;
8	Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its capability and   willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against other nations and its   own people;
9	Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its continuing hostility   toward, and willingness to attack, the United States, including by attempting   in 1993 to assassinate former President Bush and by firing on many thousands   of occasions on United States and Coalition Armed Forces engaged in enforcing   the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council;
10	Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for   attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the   attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq;
11	Whereas Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international terrorist   organizations, including organizations that threaten the lives and safety of   American citizens;
12	Whereas the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001,   underscored the gravity of the threat posed by the acquisition of weapons of   mass destruction by international terrorist organizations;
13	Whereas Iraq's demonstrated capability and willingness to use weapons of   mass destruction, the risk that the current Iraqi regime will either employ   those weapons to launch a surprise attack against the United States or its   Armed Forces or provide them to international terrorists who would do so, and   the extreme magnitude of harm that would result to the United States and its   citizens from such an attack, combine to justify action by the United States   to defend itself;
14	Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 authorizes the use   of all necessary means to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution   660 and subsequent relevant resolutions and to compel Iraq to cease certain   activities that threaten international peace and security, including the   development of weapons of mass destruction and refusal or obstruction of   United Nations weapons inspections in violation of United Nations Security   Council Resolution 687, repression of its civilian population in violation of   United Nations Security Council Resolution 688, and threatening its neighbors   or United Nations operations in Iraq in violation of United Nations Security   Council Resolution 949;
15	Whereas Congress in the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against   Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1) has authorized the President `to use   United States Armed Forces pursuant to United Nations Security Council   Resolution 678 (1990) in order to achieve implementation of Security Council   Resolutions 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, and 677';
16	Whereas in December 1991, Congress expressed its sense that it `supports   the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United Nations   Security Council Resolution 687 as being consistent with the Authorization of   Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1),' that   Iraq's repression of its civilian population violates United Nations Security   Council Resolution 688 and `constitutes a continuing threat to the peace,   security, and stability of the Persian Gulf region,' and that Congress,   `supports the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United   Nations Security Council Resolution 688';
17	Whereas the Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338) expressed the sense   of Congress that it should be the policy of the United States to support   efforts to remove from power the current Iraqi regime and promote the   emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime;
18	Whereas on September 12, 2002, President Bush committed the United States   to `work with the United Nations Security Council to meet our common   challenge' posed by Iraq and to `work for the necessary resolutions,' while   also making clear that `the Security Council resolutions will be enforced,   and the just demands of peace and security will be met, or action will be   unavoidable';
19	Whereas the United States is determined to prosecute the war on terrorism   and Iraq's ongoing support for international terrorist groups combined with   its development of weapons of mass destruction in direct violation of its obligations   under the 1991 cease-fire and other United Nations Security Council   resolutions make clear that it is in the national security interests of the   United States and in furtherance of the war on terrorism that all relevant   United Nations Security Council resolutions be enforced, including through   the use of force if necessary;
20	Whereas Congress has taken steps to pursue vigorously the war on terrorism   through the provision of authorities and funding requested by the President   to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist   organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned,   authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on   September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations;
21	Whereas the President and Congress are determined to continue to take all   appropriate actions against international terrorists and terrorist   organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned,   authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on   September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations;
22	Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution to take action   in order to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United   States, as Congress recognized in the joint resolution on Authorization for   Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40); and
23	Whereas it is in the national security of the United States to restore   international peace and security to the Persian Gulf region: