(Washington Post) - The U.S. Senate voted 77-23 and the House of Representatives 296-133 to authorize the president to "use the armed forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq." The president needs no further congressional approval to deploy troops, order airstrikes, and wage a ground war with Iraq. The bipartisan endorsement of Bush's Iraq strategy shows how dramatically the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, have changed U.S. foreign policy and altered views about preemptive military action to disarm hostile regimes.
2002-10-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive