"That was not part of the U.N. resolution; it was not part of the mandate to go on to Baghdad and, frankly, if we had gone into Baghdad and pushed Saddam Hussein off, we would have inherited an even bigger mess than the mess we inherited with the refugee problem"

This quote by Les Aspin is describing the United Nations resolution that was passed in the very early 1990s. The resolution did not include a mandate to enter into Baghdad and get rid of Saddam Hussein from power. Aspin is suggesting that if the U.S. had entered into Baghdad and also removed Saddam Hussein, the U.S. would have acquired an even bigger mess than the refugee issue that they currently had. Aspin is implying that the U.S. would certainly have been accountable for the after-effects of the removal of Saddam Hussein, which can have been a much bigger problem than the evacuee dilemma. Aspin is recommending that the U.S. made the right decision by not entering into Baghdad and also removing Saddam Hussein, as it would certainly have created an even larger mess than the one they already had.