With the Iraq War entrenched as a major issue for Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) has said he wants Congress to repeal its 2002 authorization of the president’s use of force.

Biden is preparing a proposal with Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.). Below, Biden explains his intentions in a speech at the Brookings Institution.

He says the original authorization to destroy weapons of mass destruction, bring Iraq into accordance with U.N. resolutions and, if necessary, depose Saddam Hussein “is no longer relevant to the situation in Iraq.�

Biden says Congress should repeal the prior authorization and delineate a “much narrower mission statement for our troops.�

“Leaving Iraq is a necessity, but it is not a plan,� Biden says. “We need a plan for what we are going to leave behind.�

This entry was posted on Friday, February 23rd, 2007 at 4:33 pm and is filed under Politics, Foreign Policy, Homeland Security .