[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 16 (Thursday, February 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E238-E239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ''WHAT NEXT IN IRAQ?''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ROBERT WEXLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 1998

  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, Saddam Hussein is the same brutal dictator 
today that he was when he gassed his own people with chemical weapons, 
starved them to death and machine-gunned them in mass graves. The only 
difference is that today he has been given a new lease on life by the 
United Nations. Don't get me wrong. I respect the negotiation effort by 
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in Iraq. He deserves the 
world's gratitude for avoiding war--for the time being.
  Annan's new agreement with Iraq, however, will not end the long term 
conflict between Iraq and the world community, and may ultimately 
create more problems than it resolves. One element of the agreement 
calls for a ``Special Group'' of senior diplomats and U.N. inspection 
experts to inspect the eight Presidential Sites in Iraq. With the 
inclusion of diplomats and politicians in the inspection effort, 
secrecy and surprise inspections will be compromised, and U.N. efforts 
to discover and eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction will be 
severely handicapped.
  All of a sudden, international politics and the greed of countries 
like France and Russia for big profits in trade with Iraq are paramount 
to a successful U.N. effort to inspect and destroy dangerous weapons.
  By conceding in the U.N.-Iraq Agreement to bring the issue of lifting 
sanctions against Iraq to the Security Council, presumably before all

[[Page E239]]

inspections are completed and weapons destroyed, the world has handed 
Saddam Hussein a significant political victory. In fact, it would be a 
serious mistake to ease economic sanctions against Iraq. President 
Clinton correctly stated in his Pentagon speech that sanctions have 
already cost Hussein $110 billion, and the President aptly wondered how 
much stronger Hussein's armed forces would be today without sanctions.
  Bellyaching about the U.N.-Iraq Agreement, however, does not serve 
American interests well. Equally shortsighted is the effort to gear up 
for some future invasion of Iraq while our stated objective remains 
limited to the ``substantial reduction'' of Iraq's weapons of mass 
destruction capability. What the United States must do is commit 
herself to help the Iraqi people liberate their nation from Hussein's 
dictatorial reign.
  The Clinton Administration has incorrectly concluded that the only 
way to overthrow Hussein is with a massive ground invasion. This 
assessment grossly overestimates Iraq's military strength. The 
weaknesses of Iraq's forces were exposed during the Gulf War in 1991, 
and the Iraqi military is significantly weaker now, in great part 
because of the cumulative effect of years of sanctions. On the other 
hand, American intelligence and military preparedness to successfully 
strike Iraq are significantly stronger.
  Several Middle East experts, including Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz, 
Dean of International Studies at Johns Hopkins, have questioned the 
notion that only a comprehensive ground invasion by the U.S. can bring 
down Saddam Hussein. I am convinced that if we take the following 
steps, in addition to preparing for military action when the next 
inevitable crisis with Saddam Hussein occurs, we will help to 
facilitate democracy in Iraq and rid the world of a rogue dictator:
  1. Challenge the claim of Saddam Hussein as the legitimate ruler of 
Iraq. No doubt this goal was made more difficult by the credibility 
Hussein has garnered through his new international agreement.
  2. Make clear the intention of the United States to recognize a 
provisional government--a Free Iraq--and start with the Iraqi National 
Congress.
  3. Find a mechanism to make the frozen assets of Iraq in the U.S. and 
elsewhere available to the anti-Hussein forces. The U.S. and U.K. alone 
have over $1.6 billion in frozen assets which should be used to finance 
democratic forces in Iraq.
  4. Lift economic sanctions from regions in Iraq that are wrested from 
Saddam Hussein's control, and make oil resources available to the anti-
Hussein forces for humanitarian needs and economic development.
  5. Provide weapons and logistical support to the resistance, as well 
as air cover for liberated areas within the Southern and Northern no-
fly zones.
  Saddam Hussein remains nothing less than an international war 
criminal who should stand trial for his crimes against humanity. He has 
broken every agreement he has made with the United States and the world 
community since the Gulf War. He will no doubt once again subvert this 
agreement, and when he does, we must be prepared to initiate military 
air strikes immediately aimed specifically at destroying Saddam's 
personal power infrastructure, including his communications network and 
the Republican guard.
  Seven years after the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein is still a menace to 
his own people and to world peace. Only by assisting the Iraqi people 
to liberate themselves will we prevent Hussein from becoming an even 
more serious threat seven years from now.

                          ____________________