Washington, D.C. Joining a chorus of Congressional voices yesterday afternoon in front of the U.S. Capitol, Congressman José E. Serrano (D-NY) opposed the draft war resolution currently before the Congress.  If passed, the resolution would allow President Bush to use military force in an unprovoked first strike against Iraq.

“I oppose the first strike use of force against Iraq because I do not think that President Bush has adequately made his case for such an action.  I am worried about where this open-ended strategy of preemptive strikes may take us,” Serrano said.

“One year ago, when President Bush came to us asking for our support to help hunt down the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks, I supported him, and I still do because that action was clear and justified.  We need to bring Osama bin Laden and his cohorts to justice.  But now I find it highly questionable, as we continue our drawn out hunt for al Qaida, that we are asked to shift our focus to a new conflict without adequately completing the first job.  Why now?  And what kind of reasoning are we using as a nation to justify the action?

“Using the first strike attitude smacks too much of an overly macho response when we need to use cooler, more diplomatic tactics.  To claim the right for a preemptive strike establishes a very troubling precedent that could unleash terrible unforseen results.  This is a doctrine better left unused.  To say to other nations that they should ‘do as we say and not as we do’ is simply not going to cut it.  What happens if India or Pakistan, both nations with nuclear weapons and an antagonistic history with each other, decide that they should use the first strike policy?

“The United States is the leader of the free world, a nation founded on the principles of justice and due process.  Our strength as a superpower has not come from the abuse of our powers, but instead from our efforts to adhere to our founding principles of openness and fairness.  If we disregard these principles and adopt such a unilateral, macho and aggressive stance, then we lose a lot of our moral ground.  I cannot support that,” Serrano concluded.