[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20177-20178]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              POSTWAR IRAQ

  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, President Bush did the right thing today 
by taking personal responsibility for the inclusion of misleading 
intelligence information in this year's State of the Union. But he has 
yet to turn his full attention to the more urgent matter at hand, 
winning the peace in Iraq.
  To finish the fight and help build a free Iraq, President Bush must 
create a new national and international consensus for the benefit of 
our Nation's

[[Page 20178]]

security, the future of the Middle East and the well-being of America's 
fighting men and women.
  A new consensus is only possible, however, if the administration is 
honest enough to admit what is not working in Iraq and courageous 
enough to design a new approach that will.
  The President must acknowledge a plain truth that everybody knows. 
This war is not over, and his administration declared a premature 
victory. Our military did a superb job toppling Saddam; now they need 
the support, the resources, and the right troops to defeat the 
significant pockets of guerilla opposition that remain.
  Unfortunately, unless we adjust our course, the management of postwar 
Iraq may well be viewed by history as the most consequential 
mismanagement of an international crisis by any U.S. administration 
since Vietnam.
  Notwithstanding the deaths of Qusai and Odai Hussein, the joint U.S.-
UK mission is in deep trouble. Nine months ago, I called for the 
administration to enlist NATO in comprehensive planning for postwar 
Iraq. What we are seeing now is the costs of failing to plan and 
refusing to internationalize our approach.
  The departure of Saddam Hussein from power is an opportunity to 
change the course of history in the Middle East. That is one reason I 
supported and celebrated Iraq's liberation. It could have been, should 
have been, and still might prove a victory for people everywhere who 
respect human rights, cherish freedom, seek to halt the spread of 
weapons of mass destruction, and believe that peace between Arabs and 
Israel is both achievable and essential.
  To succeed, we will need all the help we can get--from NATO and other 
allies, the U.N., and friends within the Arab and Muslim communities. 
The President apparently believes that we can succeed largely on our 
own.
  The American people are starving for some straight talk. There is no 
reason except failed Presidential leadership that 90 percent of the 
foreign troops in Iraq are American. As commander in chief, he should 
be able to assure the families of our Armed Forces in Iraq that 
absolutely everything is being done to help them achieve their mission 
and come home safely and soon. He could not honestly provide such an 
assurance today.
  Our troops won't get the help or protection they need unless the 
administration offers to share authority and responsibility for 
reconstruction efforts in Iraq. The President should not let past 
disagreements or misguided ideology stand in the way. The 
administration has little patience for diplomacy, so they argue that a 
U.N. framework means a loss of American control.
  That is simply untrue. Like we did in Kosovo, we should ask the U.N. 
to provide a mandate for a coalition-led force that will work in 
consultation with, but not under the control of, the U.N. civilian 
administration. That will preserve the absolutely essential American 
control of our forces, but create a framework in which many nations can 
participate comfortably.
  The Bush administration must level with the world and with the 
American people. A new consensus must be built on the truth. Winning 
the peace in Iraq will require many months, probably several years. It 
will cost tens of billions of dollars more than can be accounted for by 
Iraqi oil revenues. It will entail grave, ongoing risks to our Armed 
Forces. But it is a necessary, even noble, mission in which every law-
abiding and freedom-loving country has a stake, and to which each 
should be invited to contribute not as a favor to America, but as a 
gift to our common future.

                          ____________________