Declaring War on Iraq

``The Congress shall have Power ... to declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.'' - United States Constitution.

In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks that destroyed the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center and demolished a wing of the Pentagon, the moral authority to take military action to stop those responsible from future attacks was clear. Sure, there were a few of the "Blame America First" temperament, who wanted to know what the US did to make these terrorists hate us. Fortunately, the voices of those who habitually make excuses for mass murders were few and isolated. The moral authority to respond to the terrorists was quickly followed by the legal authority to do so.

On September 18, 2002 only seven days after the attack, Congress passed the joint "Authorization for Use of Military Force" resolution. The resolution gave direct authority for the president to act militarily. Specifically, Congress resolved:

"That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons."

The Al Queda organization hosted by the Taliban in Afghanistan was quickly identified as the proximate group responsible for seizing the planes and turning them into weapons. The US government requested that the Taliban hand over the Al Queda leaders. When the Taliban refused to cooperate, it demonstrated its complicity with attacks on the US. The original "Authorization for Use of Military Force" resolution clearly sanctioned the subsequent US military defeat of the Taliban.

Nine months after September 11, the case for attacking Iraq is not nearly so clear. For a while, there was the suspicion that Iraq may have cooperated and directly helped the Al Queda. While this may indeed be the case, the public evidence for this is not clear. As a consequence, the authorization given by Congress for action may not be sufficient to cover efforts to militarily overthrow the Baghdad regime.

It is very possible and perhaps probable that Iraq is providing critical aid and funding to a loose-network of anti-US terrorist groups. It is very conceivable that Iraq, who has used weapons of mass destruction against its own people, is sufficiently malicious to provide some of these weapons to terrorist groups willing to use them against the American homeland. The case to attack Iraq as a necessary measure to preempt a future attacks on the US may be strong and compelling, but it has not been made publicly.

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