[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 1203]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  IRAQ

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, as Senator Byrd mentioned, we have 
serious issues to contemplate concerning Iraq. This is a country we 
have had conflict with before, a country that has weapons of mass 
destruction. Iraq has been at war with itself and its neighbors for 22 
of the 23 years that Saddam Hussein has ruled that country. The people 
of Iraq have not known peace under Saddam Hussein.
  History reveals repression at home is often the breeding ground for 
outside aggression. Iraq is certainly a case in point. There has been 
no peace in Iraq since Saddam Hussein came to power more than two 
decades ago. First, he declared war on Iran, a war that lasted nearly a 
decade. He then declared war on the Iraq Kurdish population in the 
north. He even used chemical weapons against them in his pursuit of 
total and absolute control of Iraq.
  After the war with the Kurds, he declared war on Kuwait, calling 
Kuwait an integral part of Iraq. Since his defeat at the hands of the 
U.S.-led coalition, Saddam has spent the past decade defying the United 
Nations and the United Nations imposed agreements and building weapons 
of mass destruction to use against his next victims.
  History has also shown that authoritarian dictators do not 
successfully become integrated into civilized society. On the contrary, 
they seek any and all means to pursue their goals and perceive any 
positive overtures towards them as acts of weakness on the part of 
their adversaries. It has been the policy of the U.S. Government to 
seek the overthrow of Saddam Hussein since the passage of the 1997 Iraq 
Liberation Act. This policy is strongly supported--it was then and is 
now--by both Houses of Congress and both parties. It was also embraced 
by President Bush in the Republican Party platform.
  This is going to be a key issue as we continue to look at what we are 
going to do to remove Saddam Hussein from power. We are not safe. That 
region of the world is not safe as long as Saddam Hussein rules in 
Iraq. This situation is not tenable over the long term. I am hopeful we 
can move forward to see some stability established in the region 
without Saddam Hussein in power.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to be recognized 
for 5 minutes to speak as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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