5 THE CONGRESSIONAL VOTE FOR WAR WITH IRAQ
The essay outlined here will evaluate the policy and political factors that went into the Resolution to Authorize the use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq - in everyday language, the Iraq war vote. The essay will seek to answer three basic questions about this resolution. These are: What policy objectives were the Iraq war resolution intended to support; what political instruments did the Bush Administration employ in its effort to move the measure through Congress, and did the resolution satisfy the desired objectives?
I. Why a Resolution Vote? Administration Objectives:
The administration did not positively need a Congressional resolution in order to go to war, as many earlier military actions have shown. However, a resolution was desireable as a political legitimizing instrument, to identify the war as a national objective rather than only an administration objective. In fact, two distinct types of legitimacy were sought, domestic and diplomatic.
A. Domestic Legitimacy. During the summer of 2002, as the prospect of military action against Iraq emerged as an issue of public debate, it was by no means broadly popular with the American public. Congressional staffers confirmed what polling data at the time indicated, that sentiment against the war was more vigorous than sentiment in its favor. In this environment, a Congressional resolution would go a long way toward putting the public at ease about the venture.
B. Diplomatic Legitimacy. Although the United States would provide the great bulk of forces in any operation against Iraq, support from the international community was highly desirable, and ideally an explicit authorization from the United Nations. US diplomats would be in a much stronger position if they could show national resolve, which a Congressional resolution would demonstrate.
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