Clinton: Defense Secretary Gates Unclear if War Authorization Still Applies

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Asked if 2002 Resolution Still Valid, Responds "I Don't Know"

May 9, 2007 -- Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates today testified that he did not know whether the 2002 resolution allowing the use of force against Iraq is still relevant.

U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., who asked Gates about the 2002 resolution at a Senate hearing Wednesday, was surprised by the answer.

"Secretary Gates, the 2002 resolution authorized the president to use force in Iraq for two purposes. The first was to defend the national security of the United States 'against the continuing threat posed by Iraq.' The second was to 'enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions against Iraq,'" Byrd said. "Since the government of Saddam Hussein no longer exists, and has been replaced by a democratically elected government, do you agree that this authorization no longer applies to the ongoing conflict in Iraq?"

"I think the honest answer, Senator Byrd, is that I don't know the answer to that question," Gates responded.

"While Secretary Gates' candor is refreshing, I'm troubled by his answer. If the Secretary of Defense doesn't know what legislation is guiding his operations in Iraq, perhaps it is time for President Bush to take another look at what is really happening in Iraq. The situation on the ground in Iraq today in no way reflects the sales job that President Bush sold to the American people in 2002," Byrd said after the hearing. "The Secretary's honesty makes the case very clear that the 2002 resolution has run its course, and it is time for a new approach."

Byrd and New York Senator Hillary Clinton, both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have proposed ending the 2002 use of force resolution at its five-year anniversary, on October 11, 2007. Byrd and Clinton would give President Bush the opportunity to return to Congress to make the case for the "new mission" in Iraq, a mission that Congress and the American people would then have to approve.

"Secretary Gates' statement today that he 'doesn't know' if the 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq is still valid is a clear example of the need to sunset the original resolution. The 2002 resolution has run its course, the voices of Congress and the American people should be heeded, and the President should change course in Iraq," Senator Clinton stated.

"The 2002 use of force resolution is seriously outdated. It is time to throw that old resolution away, and give Congress and the American people a chance to debate and decide on the future presence of our military in Iraq," Byrd said.

Source: Senator Hillary Clinton