{
  "id": "RL31756",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31756",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101525,
      "date": "2003-02-27",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:51:57.733544",
      "title": "Iraq: The Debate Over U.S. Policy",
      "summary": "The passage of  H.J.Res. 114  ( P.L. 107-243 ) in both the House and Senate on October \n11, 2002, appeared to reflect a consensus on giving the President the authority, subject to several\nimportant conditions, to use United States' Armed Forces to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass\ndestruction (WMD). At the same time, the debate over the Iraq war resolution also reflected\ncontinuing divisions in Congress regarding how to deal with the challenge posed by Saddam\nHussein's WMD programs and capabilities, and the Administration's handling of this issue. These\ndivisions continue and in some ways have sharpened as the President decides how much time to\ngive the United Nations Security Council to agree to a resolution supporting the use of military force,\nor for other diplomatic initiatives to bear fruit, while retaining the option to launch a preemptive\nattack with a \"coalition of the willing.\" \n  \n  This report provides information and analysis concerning a number of basic issues in the debate\nover whether and under what conditions, the United States should launch a preemptive attack on\nIraq. These include: (1) how serious and urgent is the threat; (2) whether the threat could be\naddressed by containment; (3) the possible effects of a conflict with Iraq on the war on terrorism;\n(4) the appropriate role for the United Nations; (4) the potential human and material cost of a war;\n(5) the prospects for containing ethnic and religious-based separatism and reconstructing a stable and\ndemocratic government; (6) the possible effects on Middle East stability; (7) the implications for\nbroader U.S. foreign policy interests and global leadership; (8) issues concerning international law;\nand (9) moral issues pertaining to the use of preemptive warfare. Some of these issues are\npotentially resolvable by the introduction of new and persuasive evidence; others tend to involve\nfundamental differences in perspective. The focus of debate is likely to shift, over time, especially\nin response to how the U.S.-Iraq confrontation plays out in during the late winter and early spring\nof 2003. \n  Related CRS products can be accessed under the Current Legislative Issues (CLI) section of the\nCongressional Research Service Home Page\n http://www.congress.gov/erp/legissues/html/isfar12.html . The most comprehensive products are\n CRS Report RL31715 ,  Iraq War? Current Situation and Issues for Congress , by\nKenneth Katzman;\nCRS Issue Brief IB92117,  Iraq: Weapons Threat, Compliance, Sanctions, and U.S.\nPolicy ,\ncoordinated by Raymond Copson; and  CRS Report RL31339 ,  Iraq: U.S. Efforts to Change\nthe\nRegime , by Kenneth Katzman. This report will not be updated.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Asian Affairs",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}