As part of congressional debate on the authorization for war in the Persian Gulf, Wisconsin Republican Congressman Steve Gunderson speaks on his view of authorizing resolution.
Read the Text Transcription of the Audio.
(00:00:00) What message will we send to the Troops and (00:00:02) their families? And what message will we send to Saddam Hussein? To answer the first question. I can only read to you today a letter from a father of a son in the Desert Shield. He says now I ask of you a favor. Our son is a soldier in Operation Desert Shield. (00:00:23) He understands he is in the Persian Gulf area because he's a soldier and a subject to the (00:00:27) orders of his commander-in-chief. He is doing the best he (00:00:31) can On his behalf and that of the other men and women in our Armed Forces, please use your influence in Congress to either fully support the administration or to withdraw all US forces from this area. To ask our sons and daughters to risk their real (00:00:50) lives not their political lives while (00:00:53) some in Congress posture and Confused Saddam (00:00:56) Hussein is unforgivable. I urge you and your colleagues in Congress to promptly support the mission of our armed services or get them out now (00:01:08) and second what message four days before the 15th. Do we send Saddam Hussein? We are not committing ourselves to force. We are authorizing the potential of force. We are endorsing the United Nations resolution and we are telling the madman of Iraq that he who only understands Force must understand the world in the international resolved (00:01:34) that he must withdraw from Kuwait or he will face the risk has expired.