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The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 ( Public Law 107-243, 116 Stat. 1497-1502) was a law passed by the United States Congress authorizing what was soon to become the Iraq War . The authorization was sought by President George W. Bush . Introduced as ''' H. J.Res. 114''', it passed the House on October 10 by a vote of 296-133, and by the Senate on October 11 by a vote of 77-23. It was signed into law by President Bush on October 16 , 2002 .

The Resolution cited several factors to justify action:
  • Iraq's noncompliance with the conditions of the 1991 cease fire

  • Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and programs to develop such weapons, posed a "threat to the national security of the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf region"

  • Iraq's "brutal repression of its civilian population"

  • Iraq's "capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against other nations and its own people"

  • Iraq's hostility towards the United States as demonstrated by the 1993 assassination attempt of former President George H. W. Bush , and firing on coalition aircraft enforcing the no-fly zones following the 1991 Gulf War

  • Iraq's "continu {Link without Title} to aid and harbor" international terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda

  • Fear that Iraq would provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorists for use against the United States


The Resolution praised President Bush's diplomatic efforts at the UN Security Council to "obtain prompt and decisive action by the Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its strategy of delay, evasion and noncompliance and promptly and strictly complies with all relevant Security Council resolutions." It authorized the United States to use military force to "defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq." Before being permitted to use force, the President determined that further diplomatic efforts alone would not satisfactorily protect the United States or ensure Iraq's compliance with UNSC resolutions.


CRITICISM

Critics of the Iraq War have drawn comparisons between this resolution and the Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution in that Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly voted in favor of this resolution and those who had doubts about the pending invasion were pressured into voting for the resolution anyway.

The vote was held three weeks before the midterm elections at a time when the American public strongly favored possible military action against Iraq. Most Democrats in tight re-election contests yielded to this pressure and voted for the resolution in the hopes that the remainder of the 2002 campaign would then shift to domestic issues.


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