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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, when the Constitution was written, there were some fundamental principles which were included, and one of them said that any declaration of war in the United States had to have the approval of the American people through their elected representatives in Congress. It was an awesome responsibility and an important one. I think it was the right responsibility given to the people through their elected representatives.

After World War II, there were several engagements by the American military without such declaration of war. Those were, of course, controversial and debated, but I am sure you recall and I do, too, October of the year 2002, when this Senate was called on, with the House of Representatives, to consider the invasion of Iraq and the authorization of use of military force for that purpose.

We may have forgotten by now, 20 years later, but I remember very vividly the fearsome national debate over whether this Nation, having been hit by 9/11, needed to invade Iraq.

The rationale was weapons of mass destruction were present in Iraq, threatening not only nations in the Middle East, which were our friends and allies, but even threatening the United States of America.

That threat, weapons of mass destruction, was beaten into our heads day after day. But many of us were skeptical, and the vote came on the floor of the Senate, I recall, in October of 2002. It happened late at night. And at the end of the day, there were 23 of us--1 Republican and 22 Democrats--who voted against that authorization for the use of military force in Iraq.

I look back on it, as I am sure others do, as one of the most important votes that I ever cast. It was not only a decision about going to war, but it was a false argument that weapons of mass destruction were threatening anyone.

After invading and after making the commitment of the American military force, along with our allies, no weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq. It was a lie perpetrated by those who wanted to drag the United States into the Middle East for a long-term commitment and a dubious threat to our country.

The repeal of this authorization of use of military force does not mean the United States has become a pacifist nation. It means that the United States is going to be a constitutional nation, and the premise of our Founding Fathers will be respected.

If there is cause for us to use military force in the future, we should properly follow that Constitution and let the American people have their own voice in this process through their elected representatives in Congress. I am cosponsoring and fully support removal of this authorization of use of military force and believe it is consistent with the vote many of us cast in 2002 against that premise.

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