[House Document 105-9]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-9


 
                             STATUS ON IRAQ

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

A REPORT ON THE STATUS OF EFFORTS TO OBTAIN IRAQ'S COMPLIANCE WITH THE 
   RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL--RECEIVED IN THE 
 UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 6, 1996, PURSUANT TO 
                 PUBLIC LAW 102-1, SEC. 3 (105 STAT. 4)





January 7, 1997.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed


                                           The White House,
                                      Washington, November 4, 1996.
Hon. Newt Gingrich,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: Consistent with the Authorization for Use 
of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1) 
and as part of my effort to keep the Congress fully informed, I 
am reporting on the status of efforts to obtain Iraqi 
compliance with the resolutions adopted by the UN Security 
Council. This report covers the period from September 5 to the 
present.
    Saddam Hussein's attack on Irbil in late August and his 
continuing efforts to manipulate local rivalries in northern 
Iraq to his advantage, provide new evidence that he remains a 
threat to his own people, to his neighbors, and to the peace of 
the region. As I detailed in my last report, the United States 
responded to Saddam's military action in the north by expanding 
the Southern no-fly zone from 32 degrees to 33 degrees north 
latitude. The U.S. response included strikes against surface-
to-air missile sites, command and control centers, and air 
defense control facilities south of the 33rd parallel in order 
to help ensure the safety of our forces enforcing the expanded 
no-fly zone.
    Since my last report, we have further strengthened the U.S. 
presence in the region in order to deter Saddam. In September, 
we deployed two heavy battalions of the Third Brigade of the 
First Cavalry, one Patriot battery and eight F-117 stealth 
fighter aircraft to Kuwait. We also deployed 23 advanced F-16 
aircraft to Bahrain and one Patriot battery to Saudi Arabia. 
These forces were sent to the area, in addition to the forces 
that were already deployed to the region, as a tangible 
deterrent to any Iraqi aggression. In early September, the USS 
Enterprise Carrier Battle Group was deployed to the Gulf, 
joining the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Battle Group already there; 
the USS Carl Vinson Battle Group redeployed from the Gulf on 
October 8.
    The no-fly zones over northern Iraq (Operation Provide 
Comfort) and southern Iraq (Southern Watch) continue to be 
enforced by U.S. and coalition forces. The Turkish parliament 
must consider renewal of Operation Provide Comfort before the 
end of December.
    We issued strong warnings to Iraq on September 6 and 16, 
via our UN mission in New York, not to challenge our aircraft 
enforcing the extended no-fly zone or to restore damaged Iraqi 
earlier violent rhetoric. We will continue to monitor Iraqi 
action carefully and are well-positioned to respond to any 
future challenges.
    United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 949, 
adopted in October 1994, demands that Iraq not threaten its 
neighbors or UN operations in Iraq and that it not redeploy or 
enhance its military capacity in southern Iraq. In view of 
Saddam's reinforced record of unreliability, it is prudent to 
retain a significant U.S. force presence in the region in order 
to maintain the capability to respond rapidly to possible Iraqi 
aggression or threats against its neighbors.
    The situation in northern Iraq remains volatile. This 
Administration has continued efforts to bring about and 
maintain a cease-fire and reconciliation between the two major 
Kurdish groups involved in that fighting, including maintaining 
an active dialogue with both. Assistant Secretary of State for 
Near Eastern Affairs Robert Pelletreau met with Massoud 
Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), in 
Turkey on September 18 and October 21. Assistant Secretary 
Pelletreau also met with Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) 
leader Jalal Talabani on October 22, and follow-on meetings 
with representatives of the KDP and the PUK took place on 
October 30 and 31 in Ankara. In these and other high-level 
meetings, this Administration has consistently warned both 
groups that internecine warfare in the north can only work to 
the advantage of Saddam Hussein.
    In response to the increased uncertainty in northern Iraq, 
we temporarily withdrew the United States Government presence 
(the office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the Military 
Coordination Center). In September and October, with the 
assistance of Turkey, we conducted a humanitarian evacuation of 
approximately 2,700 residents of northern Iraq whose lives were 
directly threatened by the Iraqi regime because of close ties 
to the United States Government or the Iraqi opposition. The 
first 2,100 of these individuals, evacuated in mid-September 
under Operation Quick Transit, were employees of United States 
Government agencies with offices in northern Iraq and their 
families. A second group of approximately 600 Iraqi opposition 
members was evacuated October 19-21. All of the evacuees are 
being processed on Guam under the U.S. refugee resettlement 
program.
    We remain concerned about the safety of local employees of 
U.S.-funded and U.S-based nongovernmental organizations that 
remain in northern Iraq. We have sought and received assurances 
from the KDP and PUK about their safety. We are keeping their 
security situation under active review and are continuing to 
consider all options to ensure the safety of these employees 
and their families.
    The United States, working through the United Nations and 
humanitarian relief organizations, continues to provide 
humanitarian assistance to the people of northern Iraq. 
Security conditions in northern Iraq remain tenuous at best, 
with Iranian and PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) activity adding 
to the ever-present threat from Baghdad. We see no role for 
Iran in the area and continue to advise all concerned not to 
involve themselves with Tehran.
    We also continue to support the United Nations Secretary 
General's decision, in light of the changed circumstances on 
the ground, to review carefully the procedures for implementing 
United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 986, which 
provides that Iraq may sell a certain amount of oil in order 
that they may use part of the proceeds to purchase food, 
medicine and other materials and supplies for essential 
civilian needs and that allocates proceeds to be used to fund 
vital UN activities regarding Iraq. We want to see the 
resolution implemented, as written and intended, in a way that 
ensures that humanitarian supplies to be purchased under the 
auspices of UNSCR 986 will actually be received by the people 
who need them.
    On October 9, United Nations Undersecretary Gharekhan 
reported to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that the 
Government of Iraq is now seeking to negotiate aspects of the 
plan to implement UNSCR 986 related to the number of monitors 
and restrictions on the movement of UN personnel within Iraq. 
This action to renegotiate the plan--a plan that was agreed to 
by the Iraqis and that was memorialized in a Memorandum of 
Understanding between the Iraqis and the United Nations on May 
20--is likely to delay implementation of UNSCR 986 even 
further.
    The Government of Iraq has, since my last report, continued 
to flout its obligations under a number of Security Council 
resolutions in other ways. Under the terms of the Gulf War 
cease-fire with Iraq--outlined in UNSCR 687--Iraq must grant 
the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) 
inspectors immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access to 
any location in Iraq they wish to examine and access to any 
Iraqi official whom they wish to interview, so that UNSCOM may 
fully discharge its mandate. Iraq continues, as it has for the 
past 5 years, to fail to live up either to the letter or the 
spirit of this commitment.
    UNSCOM Executive Chairman Rolf Ekeus briefed the UNSC on 
his most recent, semiannual report on October 17. The 
Chairman's report outlined in comprehensive detail Iraq's past 
and ongoing efforts to conceal evidence of its Weapons of Mass 
Destruction (WMD) programs and otherwise obstruct the work of 
the Commission. As long as Saddam refuses to cooperate fully 
with UN weapons inspectors, UNSCOM will be impeded in its 
efforts to fulfill its mandate to ensure that Iraq's WMD 
program has been eliminated. We will continue to fully support 
the mandate and the efforts of the Special Commission to obtain 
Iraqi compliance with all relevant UN resolutions. We will not 
consider any modification of UNSC resolutions.
    On October 1, implementation of the export/import 
monitoring mechanism approved by the Security Council in 
Resolution 1051 started. Resolution 1051 approved a mechanism 
to monitor Iraq's undertaking to reacquire proscribed weapons 
capabilities; it requires that countries provide timely 
notification of the export to Iraq of dual-use items.
    Iraq also continues to stall and obfuscate rather than work 
in good faith toward accounting for the hundreds of Kuwaitis 
and third-country nationals who disappeared at the hands of 
Iraqi authorities during the occupation or toward the return of 
all of the Kuwaiti military equipment stolen during the 
occupation, as well as priceless Kuwaiti cultural and 
historical artifacts looted on instructions from Baghdad. 
Additionally, Iraq continues to provide refuge for known 
terrorists.
    Iraq's repression of its Shi'a population continues with 
policies aimed at destroying the Marsh Arabs' way of life in 
southern Iraq as well as the ecology of the southern marshes. 
The human rights situation throughout Iraq remains unchanged. 
Saddam Hussein shows no signs of complying with UNSCR 688, 
which demands that Iraq cease the repression of its own people.
    The Multinational Interception Force (MIF) continues to 
enforce the sanctions regime against Iraq. In September and the 
first half of October, four north-bound and five south-bound 
vessels were diverted to various ports in the Gulf for 
sanctions violations. Several of these vessels contained 
illegal cargo hidden beneath humanitarian shipments and over 3 
million gallons of illegally exported Iraqi petroleum products 
were intercepted.
    The expeditious acceptance of these recent sanctions-
violating vessels by Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates 
greatly contributed to our strong deterrent posture and 
provides further evidence that the MIF is a valuable resource 
in sanctions enforcement.
    We continue to meet one of our key foreign policy 
objectives by maintaining the multinational composition of the 
MIF. New Zealand recently sent a ship back to operate with the 
MIF; the United Kingdom maintains a nearly continuous presence 
with our forces in the northern Gulf; and we are hopeful that 
in early 1997, Canada, Belgium, and The Netherlands will all 
send ships to rejoin the MIF. We are continuing our efforts to 
engage the international community in maritime sanctions.
    Most of the ships engaged in sanctions violations during 
this period were flagged in the United Arab Emirates. At our 
urging, the Government of the United Arab Emirates recently 
announced stricter penalties for sanctions violators. We remain 
hopeful that these actions will discourage operations from the 
United Arab Emirates that violate UN sanctions against Iraq.
    Iran continues to contribute to sanctions violations by 
allowing vessels leaving Iraq to transit territorial waters in 
order to avoid the MIF in the northern Gulf. We have presented 
evidence of Iranian complicity in sanctions violations to the 
UN Sanctions Committee and have urged the Committee to formally 
denounce these actions.
    Our policy with respect to sanctions enforcement remains 
firm; sanctions continue to send a clear message to the 
Government of Iraq and those who would defy UN resolutions for 
profit that there will be no modification or relaxation of 
sanctions until Iraq has fully established its peaceful 
intentions by complying with all UNSC resolutions.
    The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), 
established pursuant to UNSCR 687, continues to resolve claims 
against Iraq arising from Iraq's unlawful invasion and 
occupation of Kuwait. The UNCC has issued over 980,000 awards 
worth approximately $4.0 billion. The UNCC has authorized only 
limited payments for fixed awards for serious personal injury 
or death because Iraq refuses to comply with all relevant UN 
Security Council resolutions, and UN economic sanctions remain 
in force.
    Currently, the UNCC faces a serious financial crisis in 
funding awards and daily operations. If Iraq eventually sells 
the full amount of oil authorized under the provisions of UNSCR 
986, the proceeds of the sale will be transferred to the UN 
escrow account opened for that purpose, with 30 percent 
allocated to the Compensation Fund to finance awards and 
operations of the UNCC.
    To conclude, Iraq remains a serious threat to regional 
peace and stability. I remain determined to see Iraq comply 
fully with all of its obligations under UN Security Council 
resolutions.
    My Administration will continue to oppose any relaxation of 
sanctions until Iraq demonstrates its peaceful intentions 
through such compliance.
    I appreciate the support of the Congress for our efforts 
and will continue to keep the Congress informed about this 
important matter.
            Sincerely,
                                                William J. Clinton.

                                
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