Ed Bryant, September 13, 2002

For over a decade, Saddam Hussein has posed a grave threat to world peace and stability. Since his invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Hussein has consistently ignored the will of the United Nations Security Council and the international community. To date, he has systematically defied 16 UN Security Council resolutions.

The case against Saddam Hussein has been made by Hussein himself. According to a recent White House document, amongst other things, UN Security resolutions called for Iraq to: allow international weapons inspectors to oversee the destruction of his weapons of mass destruction; not develop new weapons of mass destruction; destroy all of his ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometers; stop support for terrorism and prevent terrorist organizations from operating within Iraq; help account for missing Kuwaitis and other individuals; return stolen Kuwaiti property and bear financial liability for damage from the Gulf War; and he was required to end his repression of the Iraqi people. Saddam Hussein has consistently ignored and violated each of those resolutions.

In Washington, Congress will soon be debating a resolution authorizing the use of force to remove Saddam Hussein, which I plan to support. Four years ago, I, along with most of my colleagues, supported a law that declared that it was the policy of the United States to remove the Saddam Hussein regime from power in Iraq and replace it with a democratic government. As the events of a year ago have shown, we can not wait for our enemies to act first and kill thousands of innocent Americans before taking action.

Many people have called on the United States to work with the United Nations to solve this problem. We have worked with the UN in the past, and we will continue to work with the UN in the future to help achieve our goals. However, if a nation continues to defy over a dozen UN Security Council resolutions, it puts the credibility of that body at risk. That is why this time it is important for us to back up our words with actions. Saddam Hussein should know that if he continues to disregard the actions of the Security Council, we will respond with force.

While it is important to have a multinational coalition against Saddam Hussein, I do not believe that we should be putting our citizenry at risk because some nations are opposed to our self-defense. There is a time for words, and there is a time for action. Saddam Hussein has one final chance to act in a positive manner, or he will face the consequences of his defiance.

The possibility of going to war is not being taken lightly by Congress or the President. Through the debates and presentations of evidence against Iraq, it has become evident that we need to remove the Saddam Hussein regime from Iraq before multitudes of innocent civilians are killed by his weapons of mass destruction. The best way to prevent this potential horror is through military intervention.

It is quite possible that troops from Fort Campbell, who showed the world how effective they were in Afghanistan, may be called into service again against Iraq. I know full well that they are among the best troops in the world, and that they will emerge victorious in any battle against Iraq. In order to protect the security and peace of the world, it is essential that Saddam Hussein be removed from power.

Congressman Ed Bryant represents Tennessee's Seventh Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.