As part of the Tate Student Forum, students asked questions tothe guest lecturers prior to
Wednesday’s Tate lecture.
Q: Who really has the power to declare war?
Mitchell: The Constitution clearly states that only theCongress can declare war, but it does not define what a war is.Also, a President is given the powers of Commander-in-Chief by theConstitution so that he can see to the nation’s defense intimes of duress, but the Constitution does not state what thepowers of the Commander-in-Chief are. These are the controversiescome in among the people and the media.
Q: Were we justified in our invasion of Iraq?
Mitchell: Although there has not been any public record orevidence of weapons of mass destruction mentioned in the media,there are past records of the existence of these weapons with noevidence of their destruction. It is therefore, justifiable toassume that the weapons still exist and based on Saddam’shistory, that he would not hesitate to use them. Under thosepremises, I believe we were justified. Evidence was presented tothe U.S. as far back as 1998 by Saddam’s own son-in-law ofthe existence of these weapons, where they were built, how, andwhere they were stored.
Cohen: The U.N. required Iraq to present evidence to theinspectors in act 1441, but Saddam refused. Saddam was contained ina satisfactory manner during the time that I served as Secretary ofDefense, but he was not stopped from building up his arsenal,despite the embargo. Clinton was encouraged to slow down the buildup that was occurring because of loop-holes in legislation. He didso briefly with Operation Desert Fox. The burden is on Saddam toprove that the weapons no longer exist, not on us to prove thatthey do. That has already been proven .
Q: What chance does the Democratic candidate have to beelected in the upcoming presidential elections?
Mitchell: There is no such thing as a candidate who cannotwin or equally cannot loose. Look at these volatile times in thepolls. When I was first elected, I only had less than 36 percentchance of winning. The papers declared there was no way that Iwould win. I am living proof that the polls are not to betrusted.
Cohen: Any one can win, but critics can really have an impact onthe outcome.
Gergen: The real test of politics is yet to come. Some ofthe personal friends of that Democrat contender say that he wouldmake a “great first date”, if you know what I mean.
