Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Glendale, spoke to a full auditorium Thursday about the war on terrorism and his vote for the War Resolution Act authorizing the president to use military force against Iraq.
Schiff has come under fire locally for voting to support the Iraq resolution. Schiff was very emphatic about what role he thought the Congress should play in the war on terrorism and threat of war against Iraq.
“Being on the both House Judiciary and International Relations committees, I have gained great knowledge on what Iraq is planning to do,” he said. “They might not have weapons of mass destruction right now, but we must send in a new U.N. regime of weapon inspectors to make sure that they do not break the agreement.
“The main reason that I supported the issue was the fact that if the U.N. does not resolve the issue with Iraq President Bush must come before Congress to get approval for military action. The rebuilding of both Afghanistan and Iraq is important to everyone involved. We must make sure that the rebuilding for a democratic state is a well thought out process that does not short change anyone.”
The holding of prisoners under suspicion of committing terrorist acts also came up during the lecture. Schiff introduced the Military Tribunal Act of 2002 that allows the U.S. to hold military tribunals. “The government has to be able to differentiate who should be given due process, and who should be held as an unlawful enemy combatant.”
As for the controversy over North Korea’s nuclear weapons, Schiff said “I see it as a positive for us. It seems now that they want to come clean with what they have done and they want to talk to us about changes.”