[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 14, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S283-S286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MEETING OF THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, tomorrow morning the Senate Armed Services 
Committee will conduct a closed hearing with the Secretary of Defense 
and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs as our witnesses. This came about 
in a routine way as a consequence of a letter that Senator Levin, the 
chairman of the committee, and I as ranking member, sent to the 
Secretary on January 8.
  Senator Levin and I have worked closely in the joint management of 
this committee, and I expressed to him, following the Christmas recess, 
the need that I perceived for Members to get a current briefing with 
regard to those issues relating to the Department of Defense, obviously 
one being the deployment to Iraq, the situation in Iraq, the situation 
in Korea, and other matters--generally speaking, the continuing war 
that the President is engaging against terrorist.
  I am about to read the letter we sent. I have been very much involved 
in these issues as a member of this committee. Senator Levin and I 
start our 25th year as Senators, and we have been together on that 
committee now this quarter of a century. We have worked together very 
closely in a trusting relationship, and that continues.
  We have had our strong differences, particularly when we manage the 
annual Defense authorization bill. We have taken the two desks of our 
respective leaders here and debated issues during those 25 years. We 
have our differences with regard to certain issues as they relate to 
Iraq.
  Interestingly enough, we planned a joint trip to Korea some 18 months 
ago, but that trip just could not be developed.
  I bring that background only to say this letter reflects a perfectly 
routine meeting that we have had through the years and the joint desire 
on behalf of the committee to have these two very important witnesses 
appear to bring us up to their current knowledge with regard to these 
issues. It is a routine matter.

  There is some concern that we have summoned the Secretary of Defense 
to be here tomorrow morning as a consequence of some publicity that has 
been put forward of recent regarding the relationships between the 
Congress and the administration and, most specifically, the Department 
of Defense. Some of that publicity relates to a conference Republican 
Senators held last week. I have always followed the rule--

[[Page S284]]

and will continue to do so--that those are private matters between the 
respective conferences of this side of the aisle and that side of the 
aisle, and what transpires is simply our business.
  Nevertheless, certain facts have emanated from the one held by the 
Republicans.
  Coincidentally, the morning after that conference, Senator Levin and 
I--just the two of us from the Senate--had a breakfast meeting with the 
Secretary of Defense and about, I would say, eight of his senior 
members to discuss a wide range of issues. At that meeting, we brought 
up the subject of this letter, and the Secretary said: Of course, let's 
schedule whatever time you want. I have the letter. I am ready to come.
  In fact, he had just briefed the House Armed Services Committee in a 
similar way.
  This letter is straightforward.
  I ask unanimous consent that this letter be printed in the Record at 
the conclusion of my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. WARNER. It states in part:

       Dear Mr. Secretary, we are writing to request that you or 
     your Deputy, together with Joint Chiefs . . . testify before 
     the Armed Services Committee next week, in both open and 
     closed session--

  We have now decided it will be just in closed session--

     on current and potential U.S. military operations. . . .

  And the letter flows thereafter. It will be part of the Record.
  In no way is this to be construed as a summons to the Secretary by 
myself or Senator Levin with respect to our concerns about the 
consultation process between the Department of Defense and the 
Congress.
  To amplify on my concern about certain inquiries that have been 
received in my office in the last roughly 36 hours, I do feel very 
strongly about the situation in Iraq; likewise, the situation in Korea. 
I believe every Member of this body feels very strongly about it.
  Frankly, candidly, and proudly, I say that our President has 
exhibited the extraordinary leadership with regard to particularly the 
situation in Iraq and the manner in which he has taken steps in the 
international arena--the United Nations, the Security Council--working 
with the heads of state and governments of nations which are now and 
have been close friends and allies in trying to bring about peace in 
this world.
  I have said in this Chamber, and I will continue to say, that in my 
humble career, almost a quarter of a century in this body and some 5 
years I spent in the Pentagon where I was exposed to international 
situations, foremost among them the war in Vietnam, Mr. President, the 
situation in Iraq is one of the most complex and serious situations I 
have ever witnessed in my professional career as a public servant. I 
think it requires the highest degree of attention that it is receiving 
by our President, that it has, is, and will be received by this august 
body, the Senate, and working with the House as a Congress as a whole. 
I think our President has received strong support with regard to the 
steps he has taken.

  I was proud with Senator McCain, Senator Bayh, and Senator Lieberman 
to draw up a resolution which was passed by this body on which, for the 
record--and it is in the Record--Senator Levin and I had disagreements, 
but there was a strong endorsement of the actions being taken by our 
President.
  In that context, I think the consultation process between the 
President and his principal Cabinet officers and others in the Congress 
has to be stronger than it has ever been because of the complexity of 
this situation. That is why I urged Senator Levin to have this hearing 
tomorrow. That is why I am taking other steps to see that our 
committee, the Senate Armed Services Committee, which presumably in the 
not too distant future I will be named chairman, receives the maximum 
amount of information, not only that it desires but that it needs to 
properly perform our oversight process, that it needs to properly not 
only relate to our constituents but to members of the administration to 
convey our feelings and views which indeed could be contrary in some 
respects to actions taken or that are about to be taken by the 
President and others as it relates to this situation.

  North Korea is a very special and complex situation. Again, I think 
our President is following the correct steps.
  Had I had the opportunity, I probably would have advised a greater 
relationship in terms of visitations and otherwise with the regime in 
North Korea, assuming the opportunity had been provided, but that 
government completely abandoned the commitments they had made earlier, 
and indeed the commitments which presumably they were continuing with 
this administration of President George Bush.
  I will not get involved in the various details there, but I am 
gravely concerned about the some 37,000 men and women in the Armed 
Forces who are essential on that border to show the resolve of this 
country to protect South Korea and to try to promote first the 
deterrence of any combat and then perhaps promote closer relationships 
between the North and the South. Those forces, together with other 
associated forces on standby, are in the area of North and South Korea 
for peaceful purposes.
  I do not know what will evolve from the efforts by the 
administration, which I think are very positive. The administration has 
sent a high-ranking official over there to see whether, in working with 
our principal allies on this matter--Japan, China, Russia--we can work 
together as a group of nations to once again bring back a course of 
action which will involve the cessation of the manufacture of weapons 
of mass destruction by North Korea and to foster a closer and more 
peaceful relationship with those two countries and North Korea as it 
relates to the neighboring countries in that area of the world, and 
hopefully to curtail the continued export by North Korea of weapons of 
mass destruction to other nations.
  I return to this whole subject of the consultation and its importance 
at this particular time because of the complexity and the difficulty of 
the American people to really fully grasp the seriousness of this 
situation in Iraq and the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.
  I saw where there is being planned what has been termed a peaceful 
march, a protest march, protesting the possibility of military 
engagement with Iraq at some point in time. I underscore that our 
President has made no decision about that and repeatedly says he has 
made no decision about it.
  For over 5 years during the war in Vietnam, I was privileged to serve 
in the Navy Secretariat. I remember so many times coming up to the Hill 
to testify. I remember the widening gap between the Congress of the 
United States and the administration in that period of time because of 
the different views with regard to that conflict. Who suffered the 
most? It was really the men and women of the Armed Forces who were 
courageously fighting in that war.
  I suppose at no time in the long public career which I have been 
privileged to have in this country have I had such heartfelt compassion 
for the men and women in the Armed Forces than in that period. They 
would come home on leave or come home wounded or tragically, in many 
cases, not come home as a consequence of being a casualty on the 
battlefields, battlefields which I visited on occasion, and the ships, 
and they would come home to a nation that did not understand what they 
were doing, a nation that was hostile to them individually and 
collectively, as well as to the families of those service persons.

  Strengthening the consultation between the Congress and the executive 
branch at this time is essential to see that that chapter in American 
history is never repeated.
  Today we have an all-volunteer force, and I think it is magnificent. 
I do not think we have to return to the draft--but I will save that for 
another day--because I experienced the draft periods. I was privileged 
to serve briefly in a very modest way in the Navy in the concluding 
months of World War II when the draft was on. I happened to volunteer 
at 17. Most of my age group at that time did volunteer for selective 
service. I served again in the Korean war, briefly again in Korea. 
Again, it was a draft situation. I do not want to return to those 
periods where men and

[[Page S285]]

women--well, in those days men were drafted. Any future draft would 
have to involve both sexes, but that is a subject for another time.
  I harken back to those periods of Vietnam, and I will watch very 
carefully what transpires in the next few days during this hopefully 
peaceful protest of the policies of the Government as they relate to 
the possible use of our troops in the war.
  I want to recount one other chapter which I will never forget. My 
recollection is it was Saturday afternoon and I was in my office and my 
beloved, dear friend John Chafee, who used to sit right at that desk, 
was Secretary of the Navy and I was Under Secretary, and Secretary 
Laird telephoned me and said: I would like to have you and John Chafee 
go down to The Mall and take a look at another demonstration--by the 
young men and women of that era--in protest to Vietnam and come back 
and have a talk with me.
  I remember so well that in those days we were all dressed up in our 
business suits even though it was a Saturday. We used to work pretty 
much 6 days a week during that war. We dispensed with our chauffeur-
driven cars. We got in an old car and drove down to The Mall in some 
sort of cobbled together set of gym clothes, or whatever we had on. We 
blended right into that crowd. I can see it as clearly this moment as I 
did then.
  Estimates were there were close to a million--I want to repeat that--
close to a million young men and women. There was no particular anger, 
but they were protesting the war in Vietnam and the impact that war was 
having on their lives, their future, and their loved ones or friends or 
otherwise who had suffered the consequences of serving in uniform in 
that period. I do not want to see a return to that.
  I remember we went back and talked to Secretary of Defense Laird 
about what we had seen, and I can see him now. He was very concerned 
because we did not have in place then a clear policy by which at some 
point in time we as a nation had to come to the conclusion that we had 
to basically make an honorable and dignified exit in that situation. 
That is for another day for historians to examine. It is emblazoned in 
my mind. I do not see nor do I sense among our people across the Nation 
today any feeling that such magnitude of a problem exists at this point 
in time with regard to Iraq.

  Nevertheless, those situations come about sometimes quickly. That is 
why I will always be an advocate--whether it is the Bush 
administration, whether it is the Clinton administration, the Carter 
administration, or the previous Bush administration; I have worked with 
them all; I have been privileged to work in this body a quarter of a 
century--why I have been a steadfast proponent for consultation. I will 
continue. I hope it is not misconstrued by way of criticism. It is 
constructive thinking and drawing upon my own, you might say limited, 
experiences in previous military conflicts in this country.
  I recall at the conclusion of World War II when those in uniform came 
home. They were welcomed with open arms. It is impossible in these few 
minutes to describe the gratitude of the Nation, of the world, for the 
participation of those upward 16 million who served in that conflict 
and how all doors were open when they came home.
  That was not present in Korea. It is why it is called the forgotten 
war. When they came back, there was no warm reception. We read 
something about it, but we were not entirely sure what it was they were 
fighting for over there. It is called the forgotten war. Over 50,000 
men, and some women, from the United States of America gave their lives 
in that conflict. That is why it is called the forgotten war. 
Fortunately, today there are a number of things that have taken place 
to properly put in perspective the enormous sacrifice this country gave 
to secure for South Korea the freedoms they have enjoyed, the freedoms 
that have flourished. It is with a certain sense of sadness I read from 
time to time now that certain elements of the South Korean people 
resent our presence there.
  The principle focus of these remarks is to reflect in the quiet 
moments at the end of a long day in the Senate a subject I feel 
strongly about, the consultation between the executive branch--whatever 
President it would be--and his principal Cabinet and other officers 
with this body, particularly in times as stressful and as complex as we 
are now facing here with the Iraqi situation or with the Korean 
situation.
  I encourage the Department of Defense at the earliest point to 
release such statistics they keep with regard to the consulting 
process, the number of times that the Secretary of Defense has been up 
to brief the Congress--as they are going to do tomorrow. To the extent 
I can reflect on those brief remarks that I make to our conference, 
they were done in a constructive tone, a noncritical tone, and against 
the background that I briefly described of what I have experienced in 
my years as a public servant in times that are parallel, in many 
respects, to what we have now with the extraordinary tensions in this 
world as a consequence of terrorists, as a consequence of a despot such 
as Saddam Hussein.
  Much is unknown about the Government of North Korea and its principal 
leaders. That is, in itself, very difficult. We have so little insight 
into that regime and particularly the leader of that nation at this 
time.
  I conclude by saying I will continue to speak out. If I feel strongly 
enough I will criticize. I have been known to do it. At this time I am 
trying to provide an element of constructive leadership as it relates 
to my good friend and longtime friend. When I was in the Navy, 
Secretary Rumsfeld was on President Nixon's staff in the White House, 
and we have known each other from that period of time. We formed a 
friendship then and have seen each other in the intervening years. We 
remain trusting and good, close working colleagues. Now and then he has 
a few choice words about me about some of the things I have done over 
here. He was not entirely pleased with my efforts on TRICARE For Life 
and current receipts, but those are honest differences between public 
servants.
  In this instance, what I said at that conference was done in a 
heartfelt, constructive manner and it was not in any way directed it as 
a personal criticism against any of the President's Cabinet or the 
President himself. It was done simply to lay down a format for 
consultation with this body in the weeks and months to come, as we are 
continuing to lead as a nation to secure freedom in this world and a 
greater degree of peace for others.
  Tomorrow's hearing will be very important before the Senate Armed 
Services Committee. I am confident the Secretary will share such 
information that is essential for us to perform our functions.
  I yield the floor.

                               Exhibit 1

                                                      U.S. Senate,


                                  Committee on Armed Services,

                                  Washington, DC, January 8, 2003.
     Hon. Donald H. Rumsfeld,
     Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, Washington, DC
       Dear Mr. Secretary: We are writing to request that you or 
     your Deputy, together with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman 
     General Richard B. Myers, USAF, testify before the Armed 
     Services Committee next week, in both open and closed 
     session, on current and potential U.S. military operations. 
     In particular, we request that you discuss the commitment of 
     military forces in and around Afghanistan allocated to the 
     global war on terrorism, the buildup of U.S. military 
     personnel and equipment in the Persian Gulf region to 
     confront the threat posed by Iraq, and potential military 
     commitments in support of a diplomatic solution to the 
     enhanced tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
       As the 108th Congress convenes, our nation is facing a 
     broad range of national security challenges. Together with a 
     large coalition of nations, our troops are engaged in the 
     second year of operations in Afghanistan; on an almost daily 
     basis, U.S. military forces are deploying to areas around 
     Iraq; and for the past month, we have witnesses escalating 
     tension over the North Korean nuclear weapons program.
       Our Committee last conducted hearings on Iraq in September 
     of 2002, prior to the vote on the resolution to authorize the 
     use of force against Iraq, followed by a briefing in 
     December. We had comprehensive hearings on Afghanistan in 
     July 2002, and North Korea in March 2002, when the combatant 
     commanders responsible for those regions testified.
       As the new Congress convenes, and the Committee has a large 
     number of new Members, it is essential to our oversight 
     responsibilities to gain a timely update on vital national 
     security issues in order to fulfill our constitutional 
     responsibilities.
           Sincerely,
     John Warner.
     Carl Levin.
  Mr. WARNER. I yield the fllor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Talent). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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