ABSTRACT
Given the popular hatred of Saddam in America, it was no surprise that the 435strong US House of Representatives adopted the Iraq Liberation Bill by 360 votes to 38 on October 6, 1998, followed by a larger plurality in the Senate. It authorized the president to spend up to $97 million for military aid to train, equip and finance an Iraqi opposition army, and authorized the Pentagon to train insurgents. A fortnight later Clinton signed it – turning it into the Iraq Liberation Act (ILA) – after ignoring the objection of the Iraqi National Assembly that “Such behavior contradicts the UN Charter, international law and the right of people to choose their own political system without foreign influence.”1
