Sununu Urges Passage of Iraq Resolution
By Riley Yates
WASHINGTON, Oct. 09, 2002–Rep. John Sununu, in a Wednesday floor address, reiterated his support of President Bush’s handling of the Iraq situation, urging colleagues to vote for the Iraq resolution authorizing the use of force against that country.
Sununu said the United States has been driven toward war by the belligerency of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
“We are a peaceful nation,” Sununu said, that has been “exceedingly patient” with Saddam Hussein. “But to date we have failed.”
He said the restrictions the Iraqi regime has put on weapons inspectors prevents the United States from effectively discovering Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
The threat of war may change the Iraqi leader’s stance, however, Sununu said.
“Only when military action is imminent does the Iraqi regime even discuss allowing inspectors to return,” he noted.
Sununu said he, like many, hopes to avoid war if possible.
“Neither I, not any member of this body, would like to see renewed conflict in Iraq,” Sununu said.
But America cannot afford to fall prey to Iraq’s delaying tactics, Sununu added, because Iraq soon may have greatly enhanced its weapons programs.
“If we wait until Iraq succeeds in achieving [weapons of mass destruction],” Sununu said, “we will have waited too long.”
He said in the interest of protecting American lives and addressing the threat to global peace, the United States should be willing to fight Iraq even if the United Nations refuses to support it.
The actions of the Iraqi regime more than justify America’s acting alone, Sununu said, reciting the now-familiar litany of abuses of which Bush has accused Saddam Hussein, including the violation of U.N. resolutions signed at the end of the Persian Gulf War and his treatment of ethnic minorities within his own country.
In a floor speech Tuesday, Sen. Judd Gregg also highlighted the harshness of the Iraqi regime, as have most members of both chambers during this week’s debate on the Iraq resolution.
The other members of the all-Republican New Hampshire delegation, Sen. Bob Smith Rep. Charlie Bass, were also planning to speak this week. Jim Martin, Bass’s spokesman, said Bass may have to submit testimony for the record, however, due to the high number of House members still wishing to appear on the floor.
Published in The Manchester Union Leader, in New Hampshire.
