[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 92 (Friday, June 20, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RESULTS OF THE ATTACK ON IRAQ: WHAT HAVE WE DISCOVERED?

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 2003

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, (1) After more than two months of searching, 
no Weapons of Mass Destruction have been discovered in Iraq. While it 
is not impossible that something may be discovered, the fact that no 
WMD were used during the war and none have yet been discovered 
afterward indicates that Iraq did not pose a threat to the United 
States.
  (2) Assuming that no WMD are discovered in Iraq, it appears that Iraq 
may have actually been following the various UN resolutions that 
demanded the destruction of this weapons material.
  (3) Before the attack on Iraq, it was claimed that Iraq would destroy 
its oil wells. Though some explosives may have been found at some 
sites, it is clear that there was no co-ordinated Iraqi effort to 
demolish its oil facilities.
  (4) Before the attack, it was claimed that the Iraqi government would 
blow up dams to slow down invading troops. It did not do so.
  (5) Despite claims before the attack, there is no evidence of 
sustained, high-level contacts between the Iraqi government and the Al-
Qaeda terrorist network.
  (6) US troops and defense planners were shocked that the Iraqi army 
simply melted away as the US attack pressed toward Baghdad. An army 
that cannot even defend its own territory is hardly a threat to its 
neighbors--or to the United States 6,000 miles away.
  (7) Considering the apparent lack of WMD and the total failure of the 
Iraqi army, claims that Iraq was a threat to United States national 
security appear to have been inaccurate. I publicly doubted such claims 
before the attack.
  (8) Ending Saddam Hussein's rule over Iraq hasn't solved much. Even 
with Saddam removed from power, we are told that that ``regime change'' 
as such is not enough: there must be a ``process'' of regime change 
where the end-goal is to remake Iraq and Iraqi society in our own 
image. This is otherwise known as ``nation-building.''
  (9) Chaos and lawlessness prevails across Iraq. There is no 
functioning police force other than American troops. Anger toward the 
United States occupying force continues to increase.
  (10) There is little chance of anything resembling democracy emerging 
in Iraq any time soon. Any real ``democracy'' that emerges will likely 
have a fundamentalist Islamic flavor and will be hostile to other 
religious and ethnic groups in Iraq.
  (11) American soldiers are still getting killed on a regular basis. 
More organized forces seeking to kill American troops appear to be 
springing up across Iraq. Frustration with the American occupation of 
Iraq seems to be adding to the ranks of these organized anti-occupation 
forces, multiplying the threat to American troops.
  (12) There are more US troops being sent to Iraq now that major 
hostilities have ended. Troops that were supposed to be coming home 
have been told they must remain in Iraq because of the continued chaos 
and danger to American forces.
  (13) Though it was claimed before the US attack that proceeds from 
the sale of Iraqi oil would be sufficient to rebuild the country, it is 
now obvious that this will not be the case. The brunt of the burden of 
Iraqi reconstruction will therefore fall on the American taxpayer. Much 
of the damage is the result of our own bombing of that country.
  (14) At a time when the US economy continues to falter, costs of 
occupation and reconstruction of Iraq have skyrocketed. Money spent 
rebuilding Iraq is money not available to help the US economy recover.
  (15) The credibility of the United States overseas is at an all time 
low.
  (16) The US intelligence community is being increasingly questioned 
over the quality of intelligence provided, while others suspect that 
the intelligence provided had been manipulated somewhere in the process 
to support a pre-determined policy.
  (17) Hatred toward the United States is on the increase in the Arab 
world, making terrorism more likely against us than before the attack--
as the CIA predicted.
  (18) Nation-building--from creating a health-care system to 
organizing trash pick-up to running the Iraqi media--has become our 
number one goal in Iraq.
  (19) Yet, supporters of this war are already planning for the next 
war--possibly against Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba . . . or who knows 
where . . .
  (20) In Washington, a foreign policy of noninterventionism, as 
advanced by the Founders and supported by the Constitution, is not 
considered a reasonable option, though millions of Americans would 
welcome it.

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