Iraq: Debate over U.S. Policy (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Feb. 27, 2003 |
| Report Number |
RL31756 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Richard P. Cronin, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The passage of H.J.Res. 114 ( P.L. 107-243 ) in both the House and Senate on October
11, 2002, appeared to reflect a consensus on giving the President the authority, subject to several
important conditions, to use United States' Armed Forces to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction (WMD). At the same time, the debate over the Iraq war resolution also reflected
continuing divisions in Congress regarding how to deal with the challenge posed by Saddam
Hussein's WMD programs and capabilities, and the Administration's handling of this issue. These
divisions continue and in some ways have sharpened as the President decides how much time to
give the United Nations Security Council to agree to a resolution supporting the use of military force,
or for other diplomatic initiatives to bear fruit, while retaining the option to launch a preemptive
attack with a "coalition of the willing."
This report provides information and analysis concerning a number of basic issues in the debate
over whether and under what conditions, the United States should launch a preemptive attack on
Iraq. These include: (1) how serious and urgent is the threat; (2) whether the threat could be
addressed by containment; (3) the possible effects of a conflict with Iraq on the war on terrorism;
(4) the appropriate role for the United Nations; (4) the potential human and material cost of a war;
(5) the prospects for containing ethnic and religious-based separatism and reconstructing a stable and
democratic government; (6) the possible effects on Middle East stability; (7) the implications for
broader U.S. foreign policy interests and global leadership; (8) issues concerning international law;
and (9) moral issues pertaining to the use of preemptive warfare. Some of these issues are
potentially resolvable by the introduction of new and persuasive evidence; others tend to involve
fundamental differences in perspective. The focus of debate is likely to shift, over time, especially
in response to how the U.S.-Iraq confrontation plays out in during the late winter and early spring
of 2003.
Related CRS products can be accessed under the Current Legislative Issues (CLI) section of the
Congressional Research Service Home Page
http://www.congress.gov/erp/legissues/html/isfar12.html . The most comprehensive products are
CRS Report RL31715 , Iraq War? Current Situation and Issues for Congress , by
Kenneth Katzman;
CRS Issue Brief IB92117, Iraq: Weapons Threat, Compliance, Sanctions, and U.S.
Policy ,
coordinated by Raymond Copson; and CRS Report RL31339 , Iraq: U.S. Efforts to Change
the
Regime , by Kenneth Katzman. This report will not be updated.
