Who Says Bush Has the Right to Go to War With Iraq? The Washington Post was amused by the spectacle of a British reporter who tried valiantly to get President Bush to reveal his plans for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The exchange featured Bush saying that Trevor McDonald was "one of those clever reporters that keeps trying to put words in my mouth." But his grilling of the president was absolutely necessary. Bush is talking about war against Iraq and yet he has not gone to Congress for a declaration of war. The Constitution authorizes Congress to declare war. But when the Congress voted to support the war on terrorism, it didn't pass a declaration of war. Instead, it passed an "Authorization for Use of Military Force." Osama bin Laden had issued his own Declaration of War against the U.S. back in 1996. Rep. Lindsey Graham, who is running for the Senate, got the House of Representatives to go on record in support of a resolution for Iraq to readmit U.N. weapons inspectors. It passed 392 to 12. The resolution said Iraq was in noncompliance with U.N. resolutions passed after the Gulf War that required the regime to destroy its weapons of mass destruction. Then, "The State," the Columbia, South Carolina newspaper, reported that Graham claimed he had inside information about a secret Bush plan to attack Iraq. "Before the end of summer or fall we'll be in a major engagement with Iraq," the story quoted Graham as saying. "We're looking at going after Saddam Hussein -- not to contain him, but to replace him." The article said Graham based his prediction on "intelligence briefings, contact with the Bush administration and his attendance at a recent international conference in Germany." Later, Graham said his comments were only conjecture. Congress is authorized to declare war under our Constitution. That's why the questions asked by Trevor McDonald are so critical. Although Bush told him that the United States had "no immediate plans to conduct military operations," he also said, "I made up my mind that Saddam needs to go." Bush added, "That's about all I'm willing to share with you." So is the president going to take action to bring that about? "That's what I just said," replied Bush. "The policy of my government is that he goes." "So you're going to go after him?" asked McDonald. "As I told you," said the president, " the policy of my government is that Saddam Hussein not be in power." McDonald continued, "How do you plan to achieve this, Mr. President?" "Just wait and see" was the reply. Bush said he wanted the inspectors back in Iraq, but that alone wouldn't be enough to save the Iraqi regime. "This is not an issue of inspectors," replied Bush. "This is an issue of him not upholding his word that he would not develop weapons of mass destruction." Therefore, McDonald concluded, "whether he allows the inspectors in or not, he is on the list to be attacked." That's when Bush accused McDonald of being "clever" and "trying to put words in my mouth." This isn't being clever. It's tough journalism - the kind we should get from the American media. The president is the commander-in-chief but he is not authorized to declare war on his own. We need some tough questions for Congress as well.              Printer-friendly version Click here to be added to our mailing list.