- The drums beat louder and the sabers rattled faster Wednesday
when President Bush pledged he'd ask Congress to give him approval for
whatever it's going to take to get rid of Saddam Hussein.
Meeting with 18 Democratic and Republican congressional leaders in the
White House Cabinet room Wednesday and using his bluntest language yet
about Iraq, the president told the lawmakers, "At an appropriate time,
and after consultations with the leadership, I will seek congressional
support for U.S. action to do whatever is necessary to deal with the threat
posed by Saddam Hussein's regime."
Democrats were lukewarm in backing a possible non-binding Congressional
resolution supporting a war against Iraq. "It would not be my assumption
that the military course is the only action available to him today,"
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. told the Associated Press.
"This is a debate the American people must hear, must understand,"
Bush told reporters after the meeting. "And the world must understand,
as well, that its credibility is at stake."
According to the AP, White House attorneys say the president does not need
congressional approval to wage war, but his political aides say a nonbinding
resolution would probably pass in the heat of the campaign and the vote
is needed to build support.
Asked whether he was giving lawmakers a veto, Bush said: "I'll be
able to work with Congress to deal with this threat."
Capitol Hill Democrats warily accepted Bush's talk of consultations and
his intention to seek a sense-of-the-Congress vote. But they added that
the president has not yet justified going to war against Iraq.
While House Speaker Dennis Hastert has said that Congress would vote before
the Nov. 5 elections on how to deal with Saddam, thus ensuring that Iraq
will be a hot-button issue in the campaign for control of the House and
Senate in the November elections, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who attended
the White House meeting, told the AP he does not think there is time for
such a resolution before the election.
"I think everyone acknowledged this is a good start, but I don't think
anyone walked out of there ready to invade," he said.
In addition to seeking Congressional backing for a strike against Iraq,
Bush will take his case to the United Nations on Sept. 12, one day after
the nation commemorates the 9-11 tragedy.
According to the White House, the president will meet with British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, Saturday at Camp David. He also revealed he will try
to win the support of presidents Jacques Chirac of France, Jiang Zemin
of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia - three world leaders who now oppose
any war with Iraq.
The president plans to argue that Saddam has openly violated U.N. resolutions
and will insist that the U.N. has an obligation to assist the U.S. in punishing
the Iraqi dictator for his noncompliance, administration officials told
the Associated Press.
The officials also told the AP that Bush is strongly considering a U.N.
Security Council resolution that would set a deadline for Iraq to open
its weapons sites to unfettered inspection and to apply punitive action
against him if he refuses.
White House officials predict that Saddam is unlikely to comply with either
a U.S. or U.N. ultimatum. But in the unlikely event that he does give in
to such demands, the official U.S. policy is still that Saddam must go.
Thus, senior Bush advisers told the AP that Bush is obviously setting the
stage for a confrontation with Saddam while knowing the outcome eventually
will lead to the use of military force unless the Iraqi leader is deposed
by other means.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld injected a note of urgency Tuesday
when he said that the administration has secret information that Saddam
is close to developing nuclear weapons.
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