[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S770-S772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 76--ENFORCING THE EMBARGO ON THE EXPORT OF 
                             OIL FROM IRAQ

  Mr. MURKOWSKI submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 76

       Whereas hostilities in Operation Desert Storm ended on 
     February 28, 1991, and the cease fire was codified in United 
     Nations Security Council Resolutions 686 (March 2, 1991) and 
     687 (April 3, 1991);
       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 
     requires that international economic sanctions, including an 
     embargo on the sale of oil from Iraq, remain in place until 
     Iraq discloses and destroys its weapons of mass destruction 
     programs and capabilities and undertakes unconditionally 
     never to resume such activities;
       Whereas Resolution 687 further established the United 
     Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) on Iraq to uncover all 
     aspects of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program;
       Whereas, despite the sustained opposition of the Government 
     of Iraq, UNSCOM has discovered many instances of inaccurate 
     actions by Iraq concerning Iraqi ballistic missile 
     capabilities and chemical and biological programs;
       Whereas Security Council Resolution 986 (April 14, 1995) 
     partially lifted international economic sanctions by allowing 
     Iraq to sell $1 billion in oil every 90 days, the proceeds of 
     which are designed, in part, for humanitarian assistance to 
     the people of Iraq;
       Whereas a report by the Secretary General of the United 
     Nations submitted on February 2, 1998 recommends further 
     easing of economic sanctions by allowing Iraq to sell $5.2 
     billion in oil every six months;
       Whereas the United States has indicated it will support the 
     easing of further economic sanctions proposed by the UN 
     Secretary General;
       Whereas revenues from oil exports have historically 
     represented nearly all (95 percent) of Iraq's foreign 
     exchange earnings;
       Whereas in the year preceding hostilities in Operation 
     Desert Storm, Iraq's export earnings totaled $10.4 billion;
       Whereas Iraq, since the end of Operation Desert Storm, has 
     been steadily increasing exports of oil to Jordan from 60,000 
     to 80,000 barrels per day and in December 1997, agreed to 
     increase such shipments to approximately 96,000 barrels per 
     day;
       Whereas Iraq has been able to circumvent international 
     economic sanctions by exporting oil to Turkey;
       Whereas the Multinational Interdiction Force that conducts 
     maritime searches in the Persian Gulf has reported that 
     exports of contraband Iraqi oil through the Gulf have 
     increased seven-fold in the past year, from $10 million in 
     diesel fuel sales in 1996 to $75 million in 1997;
       Whereas Iraq's military capabilities, including its 
     capacity to produce weapons of mass destruction, are 
     significantly enhanced by its ability to earn foreign 
     exchange primarily from oil exports;
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms the continued 
     threat to international peace and security posed by Iraq's 
     refusal to meet its international obligations and end its 
     weapons of mass destruction programs;
       (2) urges the Administration to oppose any further 
     weakening of economic sanctions including extension of, or 
     expansion of, United Nations Security Council Resolution 986;
       (3) urges the President to propose to the United Nations 
     Security Council measures to significantly tighten the 
     international embargo on the sale of oil from Iraq, including 
     efforts to strengthen the Multi-lateral Interdiction Force 
     and inspection operations near the Port of Basra;
       (4) urges the President to enter into negotiations with oil 
     producing nations in the Gulf to encourage them to make 
     subsidized sales of oil to Jordan;
       (5) urges the President to submit a report to Congress 30 
     days before the UN is authorized to consider renewing Iraq's 
     authority to export oil setting forth a detailed accounting 
     for the disposition of the proceeds of UN authorized sales of 
     oil from Iraq.

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to submit a concurrent 
resolution addressing the international sanctions regime that has been 
in place against Iraq since the end of the Persian Gulf war. As we all 
know, there has been a great deal of deliberation in this Chamber 
relative to potential action that might be initiated by our Government 
against Iraq. And there is a feeling of, I think, growing concern as to 
just what type action we might take and what it will accomplish.
  But, Mr. President, I think I bring a different approach to this 
dilemma. As we acknowledge the risk of the approach to this dilemma. As 
we acknowledge the risk of the approaching confrontation with Iraq that 
has been brought about by Saddam Hussein's continuing unwillingness to 
allow the U.N. inspectors the right to inspect the facilities in Iraq, 
what we also know is that Saddam Hussein is very likely continuing to 
manufacture and develop weapons of mass destruction, probably of a 
biological nature.

[[Page S771]]

  I was in Iraq in the early 1980s with a number of Senators and had an 
opportunity to visit with Saddam Hussein before the Persian Gulf war. 
It was clear from that meeting that we had a very unusual personality, 
one who is dangerous and clearly unpredictable.
  As a consequence, we find ourselves in the position that until the 
U.N. inspectors are allowed unfettered access to the facilities in 
Iraq, the world will continue to be held hostage to the destructive and 
threatening tendencies of Saddam Hussein.
  With the world's economy so heavily dependent on the free flow of oil 
from the Mideast, so long as these weapons of mass destruction exist, 
the economic stability of every nation in the world is somewhat at 
risk. Make no mistake about it, Mr. President, the Persian Gulf war was 
a war to ensure that Saddam did not take over the oil fields of Kuwait. 
That was Saddam's objective. It was a war about oil and the necessity 
of keeping oil flowing to the free markets of the world.
  So, Mr. President, one question that seems to be lost in the debate 
is, how--how--has Saddam been able to obtain the technology and the 
resources to construct facilities capable of producing poison gas and 
biological weapons? The U.N. economic embargo has been in place for 7 
years, but somehow--somehow--he appears to have been able to maintain a 
cash flow to purchase the necessary technology for building these 
laboratories of death.
  Just this morning, the Washington Post is reporting that U.N. 
inspectors have uncovered evidence that in 1995 the Russian Government 
may have entered into a multimillion dollar deal to sell Iraq 
specialized fermentation equipment that could be used to develop 
biological weapons. If this story turns out to be true, Russia's 
credibility in its alleged efforts to broker a diplomatic solution to 
the current crisis could be seriously called into question.
  More importantly, the question remains, how could Iraq have financed 
this deal? Well, surely the Russians were not going to sell such 
equipment in exchange for worthless Iraqi dinars. The deal had to be 
financed with dollars, had to be financed with hard currency. But how 
could Iraq amass millions in hard currency in the face of 7 years of 
U.N. sanctions?
  Well, Mr. President, there is only one answer. It is an obvious one. 
The only mechanism that Iraq has to enable it to gain hard currency is 
to export its oil. There is virtually nothing else, besides dates and 
some agriculture products, that Iraq has to export.
  Prior to the U.N. sanctions in 1990, Iraq had exports of $10.4 
billion. Of that amount, more than 95 percent--or almost $10 billion--
was derived from oil exports. Clearly, Iraq's capacity to purchase 
equipment in the world market to develop weapons of mass destruction is 
directly linked to its ability to sell oil, and only oil.
  Ever since the gulf war ended, Iraq has been shipping oil into 
Jordan. Initially, Jordan received about 60,000 barrels of Iraqi oil a 
day. That figure has recently climbed to over 80,000 barrels a day, and 
in an agreement reached in December, the oil trade between Iraq and 
Jordan is scheduled to climb to 96,000 barrels a day.

  Although the Jordanians claim that the oil is traded for food and 
medicine, I personally find it hard to believe that, with millions of 
dollars worth of oil and products daily crossing the Iraq/Jordanian 
border, that some of that oil is not leaking into the world market or 
that hard currency and sophisticated machinery are not flowing back 
into Iraq. As a matter of fact, we know that oil is leaking out.
  Moreover, there is a great deal of evidence that Iraqi oil is being 
shipped across the border into Turkey. Dollars are surely being traded 
in exchange for the oil, and those dollars are likely to be used to 
finance Saddam's factories of death.
  In addition, Mr. President, the Multinational Interdiction Force, the 
MIF, that conducts maritime searches in the Persian Gulf reported 
factually last fall that exports of contraband Iraqi oil through the 
gulf and jumped sevenfold in the past year, from $10 million in diesel 
fuel sales in 1996 to $75 million in 1997. Much of that oil is believed 
to be transshipped through Iran and the United Arab Emirates and on to 
the world market.
  What does Saddam do with the revenues from those contraband sales? 
Well, he keeps his weapons factories running, keeps the Republican 
Guards well armed and fed.
  Mr. President, the United States has been concerned about the 
hardships, of course, that the economic sanctions have imposed on the 
people of Iraq. Our conflict is not with the Iraqi people; it is with 
the dictator who has run that country for some 19 years while depriving 
the people of the basic dignities of life and slaughtering some tens of 
thousands of minority citizens of Iraq.
  In 1995, the United States supported a fundamental weakening of the 
economic sanctions against Iraq. We supported a resolution permitting 
Iraq to sell $1 billion worth of oil every 90 days under the oil-for-
food program. I believe this was a weakening of the sanctions, and as a 
consequence was a mistake.
  What this has done is it has allowed Saddam to import food and 
medicine for the Iraqi people, which is true and certainly worthy, but 
it has also made it far easier for Saddam to divert some of the 
investment billions that he has hidden in accounts around the world. 
Prior to the oil-for-food program, Saddam had to use these investment 
profits to import food and medicine. The oil-for-food program frees up 
his investment profits to purchase equipment that can enhance all of 
his weapons capabilities, including his capacity to manufacture weapons 
of mass destruction.
  Mr. President, I believe that the United States must make every 
effort now to ensure that Saddam cannot use his oil assets to obtain 
more hard currency for weapons programs. That is why I am introducing 
the resolution today. The resolution specifically urges the President 
to oppose any measure that weakens the international sanctions that 
permit Iraq to export oil.

  Recently, the Secretary-General of the United Nations recommended a 
significant easing of the Iraq sanctions and proposed that Iraq be 
permitted to sell more than twice as much oil as is currently 
permitted. Under this proposal, Iraq could conceivably sell $10.4 
billion worth of oil in a single year. I was shocked to learn that this 
administration has indicated it would support this unwarranted 
expansion of Iraqi oil exports. Mr. President, if this U.N. proposal is 
adopted we might just as well end all sanctions on Iraq. Mr. President, 
$10.4 billion dollars was the amount of oil that Iraq exported before 
her invasion of Kuwait. Are we going to allow Iraq to to return to that 
level of exports and still retain a public stance in support of 
sanctions? That proposal makes a mockery of the sanctions.
  My concurrent resolution would also urge the President to develop 
measures that will tighten the oil embargo on Iraq and prevent the 
leakage into the would marketplace that we have seen over the past few 
years. It also urges the President to try and convince both the 
Governments of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to end their boycott of Jordan 
and begin making subsidized oil sales to Jordan to replace the Iraqi 
oil. The Jordanian border is one of the most porous in the Middle East 
and the Jordanians are forced to trade with Iraq primarily because the 
Saudis and Kuwaitis will not sell Jordan oil. That policy may have made 
sense immediately after the gulf war but today it must be reconsidered. 
If we can replace 96,000 barrels of oil that Jordan imports from Iraq, 
we will have made a significant step toward tightening the flow of 
dollars to Iraq.
  Mr. President, oil is the key to controlling the future military 
capacity and capabilities of Iraq, and we must move more vigilantly in 
our efforts to stop the leakage of Iraqi oil onto the would market if 
we are going to contain Saddam Hussein.
  Mr. President, let me again highlight the specifics of the resolution 
I just introduced. The resolution urges the administration to oppose 
any further weakening of economic sanctions against Iraq. The 
resolution urges the President to propose to the United Nations 
measures to significantly tighten the international embargo on the sale 
of oil from Iraq, including efforts to strengthen the multilateral 
interdiction force so that these illegal shipments can be stopped. And 
finally, the resolution urges the President to enter into negotiations 
with oil producing

[[Page S772]]

nations in the gulf to encourage these nations to make subsidized sales 
of oil to Jordan.
  Mr. President, recognizing the concern that we all share over 
developments in Iraq since the Persian Gulf war, we are faced with the 
necessity to take a hard look at our options. One option is the 
strategic bombing of the sites where we believe we have enough 
information to satisfy ourselves that a strike will have a meaningful 
impact. On the other hand, strategic bombing is likely to result in 
television shots of injured children and women that undoubtedly will be 
placed as human shields around strategic sites in Iraq.
  Another option is the use of ground forces to back up an air campaign 
to try and take out Saddam Hussein himself. Although the United States 
has significant resources, there is a recognition that a ground strike 
under current circumstances is unlikely given the increasing likelihood 
that American solders would lose their lives. Of course there is also 
the unanswered question of what we would do if Saddam survived such an 
attack?
  With either of these options we must address the reality that we do 
not have the multilateral coalition which included our Arab neighbors 
that we had when the Bush administration initiated Desert Storm. I 
think it is unfortunate that this administration has not maintained 
that coalition. So now we are pretty much alone. Great Britain, Canada 
and Australia are with us, and for that we are grateful, but from there 
on it gets pretty lonesome.
  Going it alone or going it with others, we still must talk about the 
end game. If Saddam Hussein survives, do we continue these same efforts 
in another few years? Are we going to give Saddam Hussein carte blanche 
in his ability to recover? Because he will recover by selling oil. That 
is what he has.

  Saddam Hussein has been able to generate roughly $1 billion per 
quarter from the sale of oil. There is information--and unfortunately I 
can't reveal some of the information because it is classified--
concerning the large amount of illegal oil that is flowing out of Iraq. 
And we are not able to stop this flow both because there are not enough 
multilateral intervention force (MIF) vessels in the area and because 
the rules of engagement under which the MIF forces operate don't allow 
them to stop such illegal movement.
  It is these illegal sales that are primarily fueling Iraq's economy. 
Mr. President, it simply makes sense to this Senator to recognize that 
oil is the lifeblood of Iraq. We need to shut off this lifeblood, maybe 
through a combination of increased enforcement of the embargo and 
jawboning some of our allies who are purchasing Iraq's oil. Perhaps we 
need to go further, and consider the merits of a maritime blockade of 
some sort. A blockade certainly is not an unreasonable alternative when 
you consider that we might initiate a military action against Saddam. 
Stop Saddam Hussein's oil and you shut down his ability to funnel 
resources into his war machine and the economy, and ultimately, I think 
his regime will collapse.
  As a Congress, we must address the issue of oil sales and we must do 
it in a prompt manner. I believe we must terminate these illegal sales 
of oil and we must be more vigilant in our oversight to ensure that the 
oil that is allowed to be sold under the sanctions and the dollars 
generated are really going for the benefit of the people and their 
social needs. That is the basis of my resolution. We must stop Saddam 
Hussein's ability to fund his war machine by cutting off his ability to 
supply the markets with Iraqi oil. That is an action that we should 
have taken some time ago.
  I urge my colleagues to consider the merits of my concurrent 
resolution. It is certainly appropriate to consider this action as we 
address the merits of any further military action that might be 
contemplated to stop Saddam from whatever his ultimate objective is. 
Cut off his oil and you are going to get his attention.

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