Larson Iraq Resolution Fails
By Marty Toohey
WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2002–The Iraq resolution introduced by Rep. John Larson (D-1) failed Thursday, but the disappointed Congressman said the number of House members who voted for his version shows that the American public is “deeply” concerned about granting President Bush broad authority to wage war and about the strategy of pre-emptive action against Iraq.
Larson’s version of the resolution failed by a vote of 155-270, while a compromise version blessed by both parties’ leaders and the White House, granting Bush the authority to wage war without international support, if need be, passed 296-133.
“Let us hope the margins get the attention of the president,” Larson said. “You can hope he’ll act accordingly.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3), who on Monday came out in support of Larson’s amendment and voted for it on Thursday, said the outcome wasn’t surprising. “I think the vote was very reflective of the attitudes of the public and sends a strong message to the president,” said DeLauro, who opposed the White House-approved version.
Larson was one of five sponsors of the so-called two-step amendment, whose principal sponsor was Democratic Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina. The amendment would have required Bush to come back to Congress to request war-waging authority if he could not gain approval from the U.N. Security Council. The approved version authorizes Bush to attack Iraq alone if he cannot form an international coalition.
Larson called the president’s strategy of pre-emption a “radical departure from current foreign policy, and one that needed a longer and deeper thought process.” He said his own resolution “struck the appropriate compromise.”
Larson also praised the “courageous” vote by Rep. Jim Maloney (D-5) for Larson’s amendment.
“Last week it seemed like I was the only one back home who thought this way,” Larson said.
For Maloney, the key issue was the “second look” Larson’s version required.
Maloney acknowledged it may not be possible to form a coalition, but said he worried that proceeding without one may jeopardize the support of Middle-Eastern countries like Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for U.S. action against terrorism.
“I believe [Larson’s] amendment is more prudent and would provide the chance, should it become necessary, for more discussion about the impact of acting unilaterally,” Maloney said.
He also agreed with Larson that the strategy of pre-emption hasn’t been discussed thoroughly enough, but said, “It doesn’t need to be for the resolutions before us.”
Before the final vote House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephart (D-Mo.), who along with the White House and Republican House leaders drafted the approved resolution, said on the House floor that discussions about pre-emption would continue.
Larson and Maloney, despite their objections to the final resolution, said Bush’s softened rhetoric over the past weeks means it’s likely he will pursue a multilateral solution before moving against Iraq alone.
“Three months ago the administration said they wouldn’t reach out to the international community, and they did,” Maloney said. “A month ago they said they wouldn’t reach out to Congress, and they did. So I’m encouraged, and I hope very much they succeed” in creating a coalition.
Larson cautioned, though, that “the law is the law, and this law makes it clear what he’ll be able to do.”
House Republicans also said they trust the president not to rush into war with the authority granted him.
“I absolutely believe he will” exhaust every avenue of international cooperation before going to war, said Nancy Johnson (R-6), who voted against Larson’s amendment and for the White House version.
“A two-step process doesn’t send the message that our future is at stake,” Johnson said. “The international community will act if we make it clear that we will if it doesn’t. They want to act, and a one-step resolution puts the greatest pressure on them to.”
Johnson wasn’t the only Republican to trust the president to form an international coalition and do everything possible to protect American lives. A tearful House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) said to a packed House floor before the final vote: “Mr. President, we are about to give you a great trust. We’re about to trust to you the best we have. Treat them well, so they can come home.”
The Senate was expected to vote on the Iraq resolution Thursday night or Friday. Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman has long made clear he would vote for the resolution endorsed by the White House, and Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd said he would also vote for it, although with misgivings about “the dangers that could result from granting the authority contained in this resolution.”
Published in The New Britain Herald, in Connecticut.
