[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 18760-18761]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             WAR WITH IRAQ

   Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, Democrats--not all, but some, 
predominantly those running for President of the United States--have 
questioned United States intelligence and war with Iraq based on 16 
words. Republicans have made a comprehensive case based on facts, 
recent history, and protecting the American people. Democrats', in my 
opinion, politically motivated case, questions intelligence and a war 
with Iraq in the following words found in the address by the President:

       The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein 
     recently sought significant quantities of uranium from 
     Africa.

  The case for going to war was not made by those words.
   No. 1, it was made on the proposition of protecting the American 
people.

       On a September morning, threats that had gathered for 
     years, in secret and far away, led to murder in our country 
     on a massive scale. As a result, we must look at our security 
     in a new way, because our country is a battlefield in the 
     first war of the 21st century. We learned a lesson: The 
     dangers of our time must be confronted actively and 
     forcefully, before we see them again in our skies and in our 
     cities. And we set a goal: we will not allow the triumph of 
     hatred and violence in the affairs of men.

       That is from a speech President Bush made to the American 
     Enterprise Institute on February 26, 2003.

       Possession of the world's most deadly weapons is the 
     ultimate trump card. . . . Should we take the risk that 
     [Saddam] will not someday use these weapons at a time and a 
     place and in a manner of his choosing . . . ? The U.S. will 
     not and cannot run that risk to the American people. That is 
     not an option, not in a post-September 11 world.

  That is from the presentation Secretary Powell made to the United 
Nations Security Council on February 5, 2003.
  The second reason to go to war was the refusal to disarm:

       Saddam Hussein has been under a duty to disarm for more 
     than a decade. Yet he has consistently and systematically 
     violated that obligation and undermined U.N. inspections. And 
     he only admitted to a massive biological weapons program 
     after being confronted with the evidence.

  That is from a radio address to the Nation President Bush made on 
December 7, 2002.
  The third reason to go to war was the refusal to allow weapons 
inspections:

       Iraq has undermined the effectiveness of weapons inspectors 
     with ploys, delays, and threats--making their work impossible 
     and leading to four years of no inspections at all.

  That is from a press conference President Bush gave on November 8, 
2002.

[[Page 18761]]

  The fourth reason to go to war was the use of biological and chemical 
weapons:

  Now, what makes him even more unique is the fact that he's actually 
gassed his own people. He has used weapons of mass destruction on 
neighboring countries and he's used weapons of mass destruction on his 
own citizenry.

  That is from a press conference President George Bush gave on October 
21, 2002.
  The fifth reason for going to war--chemical weapons:

       We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of 
     chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX 
     nerve gas. Saddam Hussein also has experience in using 
     chemical weapons. He has ordered chemical attacks on Iran, 
     and on more than forty villages in his own country. These 
     actions killed or injured at least 20,000 people, more than 
     six times the number of people who died in the attacks of 
     September the 11th.

  That is from President Bush's Cincinnati speech on October 7, 2002.

       Earlier today, I ordered America's armed forces to strike 
     military and security targets in Iraq. Their mission is to 
     attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons 
     programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors. 
     Their purpose is to protect the national interest of the 
     United States.

  That is from a speech to the Nation by President Bill Clinton on 
December 16, 1998.
  The sixth reason for going to war--biological weapons:

       It was then that the regime was forced to admit that it had 
     produced more than 30,000 liters of anthrax and other deadly 
     biological agents. The inspectors, however, concluded that 
     Iraq had likely produced two to four times that amount. This 
     is a massive stockpile of biological weapons that has never 
     been accounted for, and capable of killing millions.

  That is from President George W. Bush's Cincinnati speech on October 
7, 2002.

        Although criticizing the Bush Administration for its 
     ``sudden burst of urgency'' to go after Saddam, he did not 
     dispute the Iraqi dictator's possession of prohibited weapons 
     and stated on September 23, 2001: ``We know that he has 
     stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons 
     throughout his country.''

  That is from the Washington Times of June 4, 2003.
  No. 7, concealed WMD production:

       In 2001, an Iraqi defector, Adnan Ihsan Saeed al-Haideri, 
     said he had visited twenty secret facilities for chemical, 
     biological and nuclear weapons. Mr. Saeed, a civil engineer, 
     supported his claims with stacks or Iraqi government 
     contracts, complete with technical specifications. Mr. Saeed 
     said Iraq used companies to purchase equipment with the 
     blessing of the United Nations--and then secretly used the 
     equipment for their weapons programs.''
       This came from ``A Decade of Deception and Defiance,'' a 
     briefing document to accompany President George W. Bush's 
     speech to the U.N., September 12, 2002.

  No. 8, Saddam Hussein's atrocities:

       The government continues to execute summarily alleged 
     political opponents and leaders in the Shi'a religious 
     community. Reports suggest that persons were executed merely 
     because of their association with an opposition group or as 
     part of a continuing effort to reduce prison populations.''
       This came from ``A Decade of Deception and Defiance,'' a 
     briefing document to accompanying President George W. Bush's 
     speech to the U.N., September 12, 2002.

  No. 9, links to terrorists:

       Iraq shelters terrorist groups including the Mujahedin-e-
     Khalq Organization (MKO), which has used terrorist violence 
     against Iran and in the 1970s was responsible for killing 
     several U.S. military personnel and U.S. civilians; the 
     Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), which is known for aerial 
     attacks against Israel and is headed by Abu Abbas, who 
     carries out the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille 
     Lauro; and the Abu Nidal Organization, an international 
     terrorist organization that has carried out terrorist attacks 
     in twenty countries, killing or injuring almost 900 people.
       This came from ``A Decade of Deception and Defiance,'' a 
     briefing document to accompany President George W. Bush's 
     speech to the U.N., September 12, 2002.

  No. 10, peace and stability in the Middle East:

       And there is no doubt that his aggressive regional 
     ambitions will lead him into future confrontations with his 
     neighbors--confrontations that will involve both the weapons 
     he has today, and the ones he will continue to develop with 
     his oil wealth.
       This was Vice President Cheney in a speech to VFW 
     convention, August 26, 2002.

  No. 11, nuclear weapons:

       The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its 
     nuclear weapons program. Saddam Hussein has held numerous 
     meetings with Iraqi nuclear scientists, a group he calls his 
     ``nuclear mujahideen''--his nuclear holy warriors. Satellite 
     photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at 
     sites that have been part of its nuclear program in the past. 
     Iraq has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes 
     and other equipment needed for gas centrifuges, which are 
     used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.
       This was President George W. Bush, the Cincinnati speech, 
     October 7, 2002.
       On the nuclear question, many of you will recall that 
     Saddam's nuclear ambitions suffered a severe setback in 1981 
     when the Israelis bombed the Osirak reactor. They suffered 
     another major blow in Desert Storm and its aftermath.
       This was Vice President Cheney in a speech to VFW 
     convention, August 26, 2002.

  There is no doubt in my mind that these and many more are the reasons 
we went to war. These and many more are the reasons Americans supported 
the war. These and many more are the reasons they still support the 
war. These and many more are the reasons they hope this war ends in a 
successful peace. These reasons and many more, not the 26 words that 
are being argued about, are the reasons Americans supported our 
President in the war, supported our troops in the war, support both of 
them today, and support both in a genuine American hope that peace will 
ensue.
  Already there are some fruits of this effort in the Middle East. We 
hadn't seen for a long time the meetings between the Israelis and the 
Palestinians that we have been seeing. This war had something to do 
with that. Let's hope it is the beginning of peace.
  I yield the floor.

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