Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Eugene decried a congressional resolution that gives President Bush the authority to use force against Iraq.
Bradbury, who is running against Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., for the U.S. Senate, expressed his disappointment in what he perceived as an unnecessary push for war during a press conference Saturday at the Eugene Water & Electric Board headquarters in Eugene.
“There is really no more important or sacred obligation bestowed upon members of Congress than the decision to send the American military — which is, after all, our sons and our daughters — into harm’s way,” he said. “I have not yet heard clear and convincing evidence to justify the authorization of immediate preemptive, unilateral action against Iraq.”
But Smith defended his vote for presidential war authority in Iraq in a statement on the Senate floor last week.
“If Saddam Hussein does not comply with United Nations resolutions and if he continues to build and stockpile weapons of mass destruction, then America can no longer sit on the bench,” he said. “We must take the heavy mantle of leadership to seek a peaceful regime change.”
Congress voted overwhelmingly last week to grant President Bush the power to remove Saddam Hussein from power and abolish Iraq’s nuclear chemical and biological weaponry.
While Bradbury said he agrees that Hussein should be dealt with, he doesn’t support the resolution.
“Now I want to be real clear: Saddam Hussein is a ruthless dictator who has brutally repressed his own people; he’s attacked other countries in the region, and he remains openly hostile to the United States and the rest of the world,” he said. “The United States must unite the international community against Hussein and not pursue strategies that allow him to unite people against us.”
DeFazio, who voted against the resolution last week when it was overwhelmingly approved in the U.S. House of Representatives, joined Bradbury to make a statement against the legislation.
DeFazio said there is no evidence to prove Hussein is an immediate threat, citing a partially declassified CIA letter. The letter allegedly states that Hussein does not have nuclear weapons and has no relationship with terrorists who pose a threat to America.
He added that working with allies and reinstating weapons inspectors in Iraq is his preferred alternative to war.
Bradbury said a war with Iraq would only lead to greater
world instability.
“A preemptive, unilateral invasion of Iraq, without United Nations support, would set an exceptionally dangerous precedent for the conduct of international affairs in the 21st century,” he said.
“Any nation could justify attacking its neighbors.”