"...It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime,..."
"... call upon the United Nations to establish an international criminal tribunal for the purpose of indicting, prosecuting, and imprisoning Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi officials who are responsible for crimes against humanity, genocide, and other criminal violations of international law...."
from The Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338).
Signed into Law by President Clinton on October 31, 1998(passed in the House of Representatives on a 360-38 vote October 5, and the Senate approved H.R. 4655 by unanimous consent on October).
"But if the inspectors are not permitted to visit suspect sites or monitor compliance at known production facilities, they may as well be in Baltimore, not Baghdad,"... "That would open a window of opportunity for Iraq to rebuild its arsenal of weapons and delivery systems in months -- I say again, in months -- not years." ...
..."A failure to respond could embolden Saddam to act recklessly, signaling to him that he can, with impunity, develop these weapons of mass destruction or threaten his neighbors," - 1998, President Clinton arguing for attacking Iraq
"Now, I canceled a military strike when, at the last moment, Saddam
promised to cooperate unconditionally with the inspectors. But this
month, he broke his promises -- again, and again defied the U.N. So we
had to act. Saddam simply must not be allowed to threaten his
neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological
weapons..."
Bill Clinton, Dec 1998 |
