[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 41 (Monday, March 29, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3289-S3290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IRAQ
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I came here to talk about the
future of Iraq. I am just going to make a few comments because we are
in Iraq. We better be successful there. The stability of that country,
politically and economically, is extremely important to the interests
of the United States. If it is destabilized, or if we cut and run, a
vacuum is going to be created. That vacuum is going to be filled. It is
going to be filled by terrorists, somewhat akin to what happened after
the Soviets got whipped in 1989 in Afghanistan. They left and we left
also. We were in there clandestinely. Of course, that
[[Page S3290]]
created a vacuum and that vacuum was eventually filled by the Taliban.
And then, of course, the Taliban provided protection for al-Qaida, the
beginning of that network. We see the result, the painful, painful
result, not only with the beginning of the 1993 attempted destruction
of the World Trade Center but the completion of that plan to destroy it
in 2001 and then the many other bombings that have occurred around the
world.
So we better be successful. We have young men and women--we have old
men and women over there, too--doing a fantastic job for us. Not just
service men and women wearing the uniform of this country; these are
men and women who are not wearing the uniform of this country but are
in equally as important positions such as the CIA, the State
Department, AID, all of the American companies that are over there in
the reconstruction effort--the nongovernment groups that are over there
trying to help out the Iraqi people.
As we approach this 1-year anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein,
it is appropriate to consider what lies ahead for the Iraqi people and
what lies ahead for the American people who made some progress now in
the reconstruction of Iraq. There is now an Iraqi transitional
administrative law which outlines the basic principles upon which a
free and Democratic Iraq will be governed. But trying to get democracy
across to a community, to a society that has lived under repression for
so long--
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired in morning
business.
Mr. NELSON of Florida. I ask unanimous consent I have an additional 7
minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. NELSON of Florida. The responsiveness we have had thus far, I
must say, is nothing short of remarkable. But there are still many
concerns that I have about the reconstruction of that country.
The first is that we have an administrative law that hands control
over to the Iraqis, but it hasn't been spelled out. It seems as though
the decisions and the actions in Iraq are being driven by an artificial
deadline--June 30.
Why June 30? Are we ready to hand over to these institutions that
have no experience in democracy in another 3 months? I don't think so.
An expeditious transfer of power to Iraqis certainly may be desirable,
but we shouldn't put the cart before the horse and give sovereignty to
a governing body that may be less than fully able to handle the
political, military, economic, religious, and ethnic strife that may
arise from such a premature handover. That would put American lives
further at risk and would jeopardize the entirety of our reconstruction
efforts today.
I am also concerned about the nature of the United States presence in
Iraq after the turnover. Will a government, a new Iraqi government
within this short period of time 3 months from now, have sufficient
legitimacy among the Shiite, Sunni, and Kurds--all of them--to maintain
the presence of our troops who are so desperately needed to maintain
the security and stability of that country?
The disagreements over the presence of the troops, not even to think
of the disagreements over the number of our troops and other political
issues involving a successor government which could give rise to civil,
religious and/or ethnic strife--guess who would be right in the middle.
It would be our U.S. troops.
The transitional administrative law does not include an agreement for
the stationing of U.S. forces. That gives rise to the prospect of U.S.
forces fighting well-armed militia groups in addition to the security
threats they face every day. What are they facing every day? Improvised
devices that are designed to lure our troops to them and then kill or
maim our U.S. service men and women.
In addition, the Coalition Provisional Authority now has been working
hard to stand up an indigenous Iraq security and defense force.
I went to one of those police training academies outside of Amman,
Jordan. It was impressive. But within an 8- or 16-week course, they
were only going to be able to train about 1,500 policemen.
I am concerned about whether this force is going to be adequately
staffed, resourced, and ready for the tremendous task of law and order
in Iraq after the turnover on June 30.
Moreover, if these indigenous security efforts fall short and
significant disagreements lead to an unraveling of a unified and
sovereign Iraq, guess who is going to be on the ground as Iraq
dissolves into many religious and ethnic community conflicts. You got
it. The United States service men and women are going to be in the
middle of it.
The political dissolution of Iraq is something the United States must
take every precaution to avoid. That is another reason not to let the
artificial deadlines drive the Iraqi reconstruction.
I am concerned also about the role of religion in the future of Iraq.
The transitional administrative law stipulates Islam will be considered
a source of legislation. I don't have any problem with Islam. That is
their faith. But it seems this provision has satisfied neither those
who wish for a secular government nor those who wish for an Islamic
state.
The United States must more clearly and urgently demand freedom for
all religions and protect against the persecution of any particular
religion. We cannot allow religious extremism to permeate Iraqi society
in spirit and practice, deed, or law.
I am concerned about the economy of Iraq.
Think about it. We appropriated $18 billion for the reconstruction
effort that is starting to enter Iraqi society. For the next 6 to 8
months, $18 billion will be infused to building roads and bridges and
restoring wetlands, water systems, and electrical systems. This is
going to be a country flush with U.S. dollars.
My worry is the Iraqi economy is going to become heavily dependent on
U.S. dollars. This puts an enormous burden on the U.S. taxpayer. What
happens after this appropriation dries up?
I urge the administration not only to call on the international
community, as we did during the Afghan war and following the fall of
the Taliban in Afghanistan, but that we call on other countries and
make them follow through on their pledges for financial assistance.
Finally, I am concerned about the distinctly American nature of
reconstruction efforts. The President promised Congress he would work
closely to build international support for our efforts to disarm Saddam
Hussein. While we are grateful for the few nations providing personnel,
Operation Iraqi Freedom is predominantly an American program. Some may
argue that it may not matter whether other nations participate or how
other nations view our efforts in Iraq and the global war on terrorism.
But this Senator, and I think a lot of Senators, would beg to differ.
This is an important part. This is a very important part of keeping
more allies involved. It would so much improve our chances of obtaining
critical assistance from other Arab countries, especially the Arab
countries in that region, as well as other nations of the world that
now are reluctant to participate.
I wanted to get these thoughts off my chest about this looming
deadline of June 30. I wanted to, as we say in some corners, look over
the horizon at what may be coming and how America needs to prepare for
what may be coming in that strife-torn country of Iraq.
I yield the floor.
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