- A noted Texas congressman says he fears the Bush
administration
is set to expand the war on terrorism to Iraq, a move he calls
"dangerous
in the extreme."
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, in a letter sent to the president last week, said
the "volume of those voices demanding a massive ground invasion of
Iraq has been on the increase," even though "there is no evidence
that Iraq had any part in the Sept. 11 attacks against the United
States."
-
- "These voices demand that the U.S. government move
American troops from Afghanistan to Iraq, to overthrow Saddam Hussein and
install a new government there," Paul said in his letter. "It
would be unwise and dangerous in the extreme, however, to heed these calls
to widen American military action. --"
-
- Urging Bush to "stay the course" by responding
only "to those who attacked the United States," Paul pointed
out that the joint congressional resolution authorizing military action
in response to the 9-11 attacks doesn't include an assault against
countries
not identified as having played a role in the terrorism.
-
- Paul noted the congressional resolution said: "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 Sept. 11, 2001,
or harbored such organizations or persons. ..."
-
- "An attack on Iraq, or any other nation not involved
in the 9-11 attacks, would therefore exceed the authority given by Congress
in the joint resolution of Sept. 14," Paul said.
-
- Also, Kent Snyder, executive director of The Liberty
Committee, a Virginia-based political action committee co-founded by Paul,
said an additional Iraq resolution introduced Dec. 4 was equally
troubling.
-
- The resolution--called HJR 75, which has eight
co-sponsors--states:
-
- (1) the president and the United Nations should insist
on monitoring weapons development in Iraq, as required by United Nations
Security Council Resolution 687 (April 3, 1991);
-
- (2) Iraq should allow United Nations weapons inspectors
into Iraq, as required by Security Council Resolution 687;
-
- (3) Iraq remains in material and unacceptable breach
of its international obligations; and
-
- (4) the refusal by Iraq to admit United Nations weapons
inspectors into any facility covered by the provisions of Security Council
Resolution 687 should be considered an act of aggression against the United
States and its allies.
-
- "It's No. 4 we have a problem with," Snyder
told WorldNetDaily.
-
- Sponsored by Reps. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Porter Goss,
R-Fla., and Henry Hyde, R-Ill., the bill is "scheduled for
markup"
tomorrow--a process whereby changes to the measure are made--said Snyder.
Once finished, members will send it to the Rules Committee, then out to
the full House for a vote.
-
- Snyder said Paul would attend the meeting to voice his
opposition.
-
- The measure "is already scheduled for markup--by
the full House Committee on International Relations--not even a
subcommittee
first," Snyder said. "That makes this bill a high priority for
someone."
-
- Hyde is chairman of the International Relations
committee.
-
- Other lawmakers, especially the resolution's sponsors,
appear convinced Iraq should be next on the administration's hit
list.
-
- "There is overwhelming evidence that Saddam Hussein
continues full speed ahead in his quest to obtain weapons of mass
destruction,"
Graham said earlier this month, when HJR 75 was introduced. "Without
inspections and oversight from the United States and international
community,
I think he will eventually acquire the capability. For the security of
the United States and our allies, we must not allow that to
happen."
-
- "Iraq has been operating its weapons program in
the shadows," Graham continued. "If that continues, it should
be viewed as a direct threat and considered an act of aggression against
the United States and our allies."
-
- Other sources on Capitol Hill who spoke on background
with WND say U.S. and British bombing of Iraq has negated Saddam's ability
to build his weapons of mass destruction programs. Furthermore, Paul says
he believes renewed attacks on Iraq could subject the U.S. to increased
risks.
-
- "Invading Iraq, with the massive loss of life on
both sides, would only forward bin Laden's twisted and hateful plan,"
he wrote in his letter to Bush. He said he was "concerned that far
from punishing terrorists who threaten the United States, an invasion of
Iraq would undermine our security and open the door to an exponential
increase
in threats to our survival."
-
- "It would be both tragic and ironic if U.S. policy
actually helped terrorists advance their ultimate goal of a world war
between
Islam and the West," he said.
-
- Jeff Deist, a spokesman for Paul, said the committee
is scheduled to convene at 2 p.m. Eastern tomorrow.
-
- Kevin Bishop, a spokesman for Graham, told WND that HJR
75 was "directly related" to the administration's ongoing
terrorist
war and was to be used "in addition to" existing congressional
authorization.
-
- Asked how U.S. officials know that Saddam is attempting
to revitalize his weapons program--since weapons inspectors have been
banned
from Iraq since 1997 --Bishop said "Iraqi defectors and American
intelligence
agencies" have evidence pointing in that direction.
-
- "I don't think there is anyone who disputes that
Iraq is trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction," he
added.
-
- Still, others are opposed to expanding the current terror
war to Iraq. In fact, entire governments remain opposed.
-
- Germany has expressed reservations about widening the
terror war to Iraq, and Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said last
week, "We don't want an American operation concerning
Iraq."
-
- And yesterday, WND reported that "official
sources"
in Russia say Moscow is "vehemently opposed" to expanding the
war to Baghdad.
-
- "Moscow is convinced that Washington has no proof
of Iraq's connection with the events of Sept. 11--or Iraq's involvement
in terrorism," while any assault on Iraq would split the
anti-terrorism
coalition, said the Russian government's official broadcasting service,
the Voice of Russia World Service.
-
- "For a number of historical, geographical, military,
political and economic reasons, Moscow is interested in good relations
with Baghdad," said an earlier broadcast.
-
- In an interview Sunday in Business Week, Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld left open the possibility that the war could be
expanded to a number of different nations suspected of harboring terrorist
factions.
-
- Asked how long the U.S. could tolerate Baghdad's pursuit
of weapons of mass destruction, Rumsfeld said that question was "above
his pay grade."
-
- "We've got six to 10 countries on the terrorist
list. [Some] already have chemical and biological weapons programs. A
number
have been pursuing nuclear capabilities," he told Business Week.
"When
weapons were less lethal and [casualties] involved thousands instead of
hundreds of thousands, or millions, of people, you could make a mistake
and it wasn't terminal. [Now,] when you're dealing with that many countries
and with the close linkages [among] terrorist networks ... it forces you
to make different calculations."
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