- Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said President Bush's plans
to invade Iraq are a conscious effort to distract public attention from
growing problems at home.
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- "This administration, all of a sudden, wants to
go to war with Iraq," Byrd said. "The [political] polls are dropping,
the domestic situation has problems.... So all of a sudden we have this
war talk, war fervor, the bugles of war, drums of war, clouds of war.
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- "Don't tell me that things suddenly went wrong.
Back in August, the president had no plans.... Then all of a sudden this
country is going to war," Byrd told the Senate on Friday.
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- "Are politicians talking about the domestic situation,
the stock market, weaknesses in the economy, jobs that are being lost,
housing problems? No."
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- Byrd warned of another Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Passed
on Aug. 7, 1964, that resolution handed President Lyndon Johnson broad
powers to escalate the war in Vietnam, a conflict that cost 58,202 American
lives and millions of Asian lives.
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- "Congress will be putting itself on the sidelines,"
Byrd told the Senate. "Nothing would please this president more than
having such a blank check handed to him."
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- Byrd said his belief in the Constitution will prevent
him from voting for Bush's war resolution. "But I am finding that
the Constitution is irrelevant to people of this administration."
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- Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.,
both praised Byrd after he spoke.
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- "It is the height of patriotism to ask such hard
questions," Clinton said. "No one exemplifies that more than
the senior senator from West Virginia."
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- Byrd said, "Before the nation is committed to war,
before we send our sons and daughters to battle in faraway lands, there
are critical questions that must be asked. To date, the answers from the
administration have been less than satisfying."
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- Byrd repeatedly said Bush has failed to give members
of Congress any evidence about any immediate danger from Iraq. Byrd also
criticized his speech to the United Nations.
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- "Instead of offering compelling evidence that the
Iraqi regime had taken steps to advance its weapons program, the president
offered the U.N. more of a warning than an appeal for support.
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- "Instead of using the forum of the U.N. General
Assembly to offer evidence and proof of his claims, the president basically
told the nations of the world that you are either with me, or against me,"
Byrd said.
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- "We must not be hell-bent on an invasion until we
have exhausted every other possible option to assess and eliminate Iraq's
supposed weapons of mass destruction program. We must not act alone. We
must have the support of the world."
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- Byrd said Congress needs solid evidence and answers to
several specific questions, including:
- * Does Saddam Hussein pose an imminent threat to the
U.S.?
- * Should the United States act alone?
- * What would be the repercussions in the Middle East
and around the globe?
- * How many civilians would die in Iraq?
- * How many American forces would be involved?
- * How do we afford this war?
- * Will the U.S. respond with nuclear weapons if Saddam
Hussein uses chemical or biological weapons against U.S. soldiers?
- * Does the U.S. have enough military and intelligence
resources to fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while mobilizing resources
to prevent attacks on our own shores?
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- Byrd said the proposed resolution Bush sent Congress
on Thursday would be the "broadest possible grant of war powers to
any president in the history of our Republic. The resolution is a direct
insult and an affront to the powers given to Congress."
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- Byrd also criticized Bush's request for power to carry
out "pre-emptive attacks" and send troops to Iraq, Iran, Syria,
Lebanon, Yemen, the West Bank and anywhere else in the Middle East.
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- "I cannot believe the gall and the arrogance of
the White House in requesting such a broad grant of war powers," Byrd
said. "This is the worst kind of election-year politics."
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- To contact staff writer Paul J. Nyden, use e-mail or
call 348-5164.
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- http://www.wvgazette.com/display_story.php3?sid=200209213
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