[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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