[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6530-6533]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        PRESIDENTIAL REPORT PURSUANT TO USE OF FORCE RESOLUTION

  (Mr. HASTERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include therein 
extraneous material.)
  Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, and for the information of all Members, I 
am in receipt of a report from the President pursuant to the Use of 
Force Resolution approved by the Congress last year.
  This report summarizes diplomatic and other peaceful means pursued by 
the United States, cooperating with foreign countries and international 
organizations to obtain Iraqi compliance with all relevant United 
Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.
  Pursuant to House Rule XII, I will refer this report to the Committee 
on International Relations. In addition, for the information of the 
Members, I will submit the document in its entirety for printing into 
the Congressional Record.
  Let me remind Members that this document is pursuant to legislation 
and the statute that we passed last year. This is not a declaration 
that we are in any specific type of activity at this time. It only is 
the pursuit of the statute that was passed last year.
  Any further announcement will be shared with the Congress.

                                              The White House,

                                       Washington, March 18, 2003.
     Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
     Speaker of the House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: Consistent with section 3(b) of the 
     Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq 
     Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), and based on 
     information available to me, including that in the enclosed 
     document, I determine that:
       (1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic and 
     other peaceful means alone will neither (A) adequately 
     protect the national security of the United States against 
     the continuing threat posed by Iraq nor (B) likely lead to 
     enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council 
     resolutions regarding Iraq; and
       (2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-
     243 is consistent with the United States and other countries 
     continuing to take the necessary actions against 
     international terrorists and terrorist organizations, 
     including those nations, organizations, or persons who 
     planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist 
     attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.
           Sincerely,
     George W. Bush.
                                  ____


 Report In Connection With Presidential Determination Under Public Law 
                                107-243

       This report summarizes diplomatic and other peaceful means 
     pursued by the United States, working for more than a dozen 
     years with cooperating foreign countries and international 
     organizations such as the United

[[Page 6531]]

     Nations, in an intensive effort (1) to protect the national 
     security of the United States, as well as the security of 
     other countries, against the continuing threat posed by Iraqi 
     development and use of weapons of mass destruction, and (2) 
     to obtain Iraqi compliance with all relevant United Nations 
     Security Council (UNSC) resolutions regarding Iraq. Because 
     of the intransigence and defiance of the Iraqi regime, 
     further continuation of these efforts will neither adequately 
     protect the national security of the United States against 
     the continuing threat posed by Iraq nor likely lead to 
     enforcement of all relevant UNSC resolutions regarding Iraq.
       This report also explains that a determination to use force 
     against Iraq is fully consistent with the United States and 
     other countries continuing to take the necessary actions 
     against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, 
     including those nations, organizations, or persons who 
     planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist 
     attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. Indeed, as 
     Congress found when it passed the Authorization for Use of 
     Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 
     107-243), Iraq continues to harbor and aid international 
     terrorists and terrorist organizations, including 
     organizations that threaten the safety of United States 
     citizens. The use of military force to remove the Iraqi 
     regime is therefore not only consistent with, but is a vital 
     part of, the international war on terrorism.
       This document is summary in form rather than a 
     comprehensive and definitive rendition of actions taken and 
     related factual data that would constitute a complete 
     historical record. This document should be considered in 
     light of the information that has been, and will be, 
     furnished to Congress, including the periodic reports 
     consistent with the Authorization for Use of Military Force 
     Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1) and the 
     Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq 
     Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243).


            1. The Gulf War and conditions of the Cease-Fire

       On August 2, 1990, President Saddam Hussein of Iraq 
     initiated the brutal and unprovoked invasion and occupation 
     of Kuwait. The United States and many foreign governments, 
     working together and through the UN, sought by diplomatic and 
     other peaceful means to compel Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait 
     and to establish international peace and security in the 
     region.
       President George H.W. Bush's letter transmitted to Congress 
     on January 16, 1991, was accompanied by a report that 
     catalogued the extensive diplomatic, economic, and other 
     peaceful means pursued by the United States to achieve U.S. 
     and UNSC objectives. It details adoption by the UNSC of a 
     dozen resolutions, from Resolution 660 of August 2, 1990, 
     demanding that Iraq withdraw from Kuwait, to Resolution 678 
     on November 29, 1990, authorizing member states to use all 
     necessary means to ``implement Resolution 660,'' to implement 
     ``all subsequent relevant resolutions,'' and ``to restore 
     international peace and security in the area.''
       Despite extraordinary and concerted efforts by the United 
     States, other countries, and international organizations 
     through diplomacy, multilateral economic sanctions, and other 
     peaceful means to bring about Iraqi compliance with UNSC 
     resolutions, and even after the UN and the United States 
     explicitly informed Iraq that its failure to comply with UNSC 
     resolutions would result in the use of armed force to eject 
     Iraqi forces from Kuwait, Saddam Hussein's regime remained 
     intransigent. The President ordered the U.S. armed forces, 
     working in a coalition with the armed forces of other 
     cooperating countries, to liberate Kuwait. The coalition 
     forces promptly drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, set Kuwait 
     free, and moved into southern Iraq.
       On April 3, 1991, the UNSC adopted Resolution 687, which 
     established conditions for a cease-fire to suspend 
     hostilities. Among other requirements, UNSCR 687 required 
     Iraq to (1) destroy its chemical and biological weapons and 
     ballistic missiles with ranges greater than 150 km; (2) not 
     use, develop, construct, or acquire biological, chemical, or 
     nuclear weapons and their delivery systems; (3) submit to 
     international inspections to verify compliance; and (4) not 
     commit or support any act of international terrorism or allow 
     others who commit such acts to operate in Iraqi territory. On 
     April 6, 1991, Iraq communicated to the UNSC its acceptance 
     of the conditions for the cease-fire.


  2. iraq's breach of the cease-fire conditions: threats to peace and 
                                security

       Since almost the moment it agreed to the conditions of the 
     cease-fire, Iraq has committed repeated and escalating 
     breaches of those conditions. Throughout the first seven 
     years that Iraq accepted inspections, it repeatedly 
     obstructed access to sites designated by the United Nations 
     Special Commission (UNSCOM) and the International Atomic 
     Energy Agency (IAEA). On two occasions, in 1993 and 1998, 
     Iraq's refusal to comply with its international obligations 
     under the cease-fire led military action by coalition forces. 
     In 1998, under threat of ``severest consequences,'' Iraq 
     signed a Memorandum of Understanding pledging full 
     cooperation with UNSCOM and IAEA and ``immediate, 
     unconditional and unrestricted'' access for their 
     inspections. In a matter of months, however, the Iraqi regime 
     suspended cooperation, in part as an effort to condition 
     compliance on the lifting of oil sanctions; it ultimately 
     ceased all cooperation, causing the inspectors to leave the 
     country.
       On December 17, 1999, after a year with no inspections in 
     Iraq, the UNSC established the United Nations Monitoring, 
     Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) as a 
     successor to UNSCOM, to address unresolved disarmament issues 
     and verify Iraqi compliance with the disarmament required by 
     UNSCR 687 and related resolutions. Iraq refused to allow 
     inspectors to return for yet another three years.


     3. recent diplomatic and other peaceful means rejected by iraq

       On September 12, 2002, the President addressed the United 
     Nations General Assembly on Iraq. He challenged the United 
     Nations to act decisively to deal with Iraq's systematic 
     twelve-year defiance and to compel Iraq's disarmament of the 
     weapons of mass destruction and delivery systems that 
     continue to threaten international peace and security. The 
     White House background paper, ``A Decade of Deception and 
     Defiance: Saddam Hussein's Defiance of the United Nations'' 
     (September 12, 2002), summarizes Iraq's actions as of the 
     time the President initiated intensified efforts to enforce 
     all relevant UN Resolutions and demonstrates the failure of 
     diplomacy to affect Iraq's conduct: ``For more than a decade, 
     Saddam Hussein has deceived and defied the will and 
     resolutions of the United Nations Security Council by, among 
     other things: continuing to seek and develop chemical, 
     biological, and nuclear weapons, and prohibited long-range 
     missiles; brutalizing the Iraqi people, including committing 
     gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity; 
     supporting international terrorism; refusing to release or 
     account for prisoners of war and other missing individuals 
     from the Gulf War era; refusing to return stolen Kuwaiti 
     property; and working to circumvent the UN's economic 
     sanctions.''
       The President also summarized Iraq's response to a decade 
     of diplomatic efforts and its breach of the cease-fire 
     conditions on October 7, 2002, in an address in Cincinnati, 
     Ohio: ``Eleven years ago, as a condition for ending the 
     Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi regime was required to destroy 
     its weapons of mass destruction, to cease all development of 
     such weapons, and to stop all support for terrorist groups. 
     The Iraqi regime has violated all of those obligations. It 
     possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is 
     seeking nuclear weapons. It has given shelter and support to 
     terrorism, and practices terror against its own people. The 
     entire world has witnessed Iraq's eleven-year history of 
     defiance, deception and bad faith.''
       In response to the President's challenge of September 12, 
     2002, and after intensive negotiation and diplomacy, the UNSC 
     unanimously adopted UNSCR 1441 on November 8, 2002. The UNSC 
     declared that Iraq ``has been and remains in material 
     breach'' of its disarmament obligations, but chose to afford 
     Iraq one ``final opportunity'' to comply. The UNSC again 
     placed the burden on Iraq to comply and disarm and not on the 
     inspectors to try to find what Iraq is concealing. The UNSC 
     made clear that any false statements or omissions in 
     declarations and any failure by Iraq to comply with UNSCR 
     1441 would constitute a further material breach of Iraq's 
     obligations. Rather than seizing this final opportunity for a 
     peaceful solution by giving full and immediate cooperation, 
     the Hussein regime responded with renewed defiance and 
     deception.
       For example, while UNSCR 1441 required that Iraq provide a 
     ``currently accurate, full and complete'' declaration of all 
     aspects of its weapons of mass destruction (``WMD'') and 
     delivery programs, Iraq's Declaration of December 7, 2002, 
     failed to comply with that requirement. The 12,000-page 
     document that Iraq provided was little more than a 
     restatement of old and discredited material. It was 
     incomplete, inaccurate, and composed mostly of recycled 
     information that failed to address any of the outstanding 
     disarmament questions inspectors had previously identified.
       In addition, since the passage of UNSCR 1441, Iraq has 
     failed to cooperate fully with inspectors. It delayed until 
     two-and-a-half months after the resumption of inspections 
     UNMOVIC's use of aerial surveillance flights; failed to 
     provide private access to officials for interview by 
     inspectors; intimidated witnesses with threats; undertook 
     massive efforts to deceive and defeat inspectors, including 
     cleanup and transshipment activities at nearly 30 sites; 
     failed to provide numerous documents requested by UNMOVIC; 
     repeatedly provided incomplete or outdated listings of its 
     WMD personnel; and hid documents in homes, including over 
     2000 pages of Iraqi documents regarding past uranium 
     enrichment programs. In a report dated March 6, 2003, UNMOVIC 
     described over 600 instances in which Iraq had failed to 
     declare fully activities related to its chemical, biological, 
     or missile procurements.
       Dr. Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, reported to 
     the UNSC on January 27, 2003 that ``Iraq appears not to have 
     come

[[Page 6532]]

     to a genuine acceptance, not even today, of the disarmament 
     which was demanded of it.'' Dr. Mohamed El Baradei, Director 
     General of the IAEA, reported that Iraq's declaration of 
     December 7 ``did not provide any new information relevant to 
     certain questions that have been outstanding since 1998.'' 
     Both demonstrated that there was no evidence that Iraq had 
     decided to comply with disarmament obligations. Diplomatic 
     efforts have not affected Iraq's conduct positively. Any 
     temporary changes in Iraq's approach that have occurred over 
     the years have been in response to the threat of use of 
     force.
       On February 5, 2003, the Secretary of State delivered a 
     comprehensive presentation to the UNSC using declassified 
     information, including human intelligence reports, 
     communications intercepts and overhead imagery, which 
     demonstrated Iraq's ongoing efforts to pursue WMD programs 
     and conceal them from UN inspectors. The Secretary of State 
     updated that presentation one month later by detailing 
     intelligence reports on continuing efforts by Iraq to 
     maintain and conceal proscribed materials.
       Despite the continued resistance by Iraq, the United States 
     has continued to use diplomatic and other peaceful means to 
     achieve complete and total disarmament that would adequately 
     protect the national security of the United States from the 
     threat posed by Iraq and which is required by all relevant 
     UNSC resolutions. On March 7, 2003, the United States, United 
     Kingdom, and Spain presented a draft resolution that would 
     have established for Iraq a March 17 deadline to cooperate 
     fully with disarmament demands. Since the adoption of UNSCR 
     1441 in November 2002, there have been numerous calls and 
     meetings by President Bush and the Secretary of State with 
     other world leaders to try to find a diplomatic or other 
     peaceful way to disarm Iraq. On March 13, 2003, the U.S. 
     Ambassador to the UN asked for members of the UNSC to 
     consider seriously a British proposal to establish six 
     benchmarks that would be used to measure whether or not the 
     regime in Iraq is coming into full, immediate, and 
     unconditional compliance with the pertinent UN resolutions. 
     On March 16, 2003, the President traveled to the Azores to 
     meet with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao 
     Barroso, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Spanish Prime 
     Minister Jose Maria Aznar to assess the situation and confirm 
     that diplomatic and other peaceful means have been attempted 
     to achieve Iraqi compliance with all relevant UNSC 
     resolutions. Despite these diplomatic and peaceful efforts, 
     Iraq remains in breach of relevant UNSC resolutions and a 
     threat to the United States and other countries. Further 
     diplomatic efforts were suspended reluctantly after, as the 
     President observed on March 17, ``some permanent members of 
     the Security Council ha[d] publicly announced they will veto 
     any resolution that compels the disarmament of Iraq.''
       The lesson learned after twelve years of Iraqi defiance is 
     that the appearance of progress on process is meaningless--
     what is necessary is immediate, active, and unconditional 
     cooperation in the complete disarmament of Iraq's prohibited 
     weapons. As a result of its repeated failure to cooperate 
     with efforts aimed at actual disarmament, Iraq has retained 
     weapons of mass destruction that it agreed, as an essential 
     condition of the cease-fire in 1991, not to develop or 
     possess. The Secretary of State's February 5, 2003, 
     presentation cited examples, such as Iraq's biological 
     weapons based on anthrax and botulinum toxin, chemical 
     weapons based on mustard and nerve agents, proscribed 
     missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver weapons of 
     mass destruction, and mobile biological weapons factories. 
     The Secretary of State also discussed with the Security 
     Council Saddam Hussein's efforts to reconstitute Iraq's 
     nuclear weapons program.
       The dangers posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and 
     long-range missiles are clear. Saddam Hussein has already 
     used such weapons, repeatedly. He used them against Iranian 
     troops in the 1980s. He used ballistic missiles against 
     civilians during the Gulf War, firing Scud missiles into 
     Israel and Saudi Arabia. He used chemical weapons against the 
     Iraqi people in Northern Iraq. As Congress stated in 1998 in 
     Public Law 105-235, ``Iraq's continuing weapons of mass 
     destruction programs threaten vital United States interests 
     and international peace and security.'' Congress concluded in 
     Public Law 105-338 that ``[i]t should be the policy of the 
     United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed 
     by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the 
     emergence of a democratic government to replace that 
     regime.''
       In addition, Congress stated in the Authorization for Use 
     of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 
     107-243), that: ``Iraq both poses a continuing threat to the 
     national security of the United States and international 
     peace and security in the Persian Gulf region and remains in 
     material and unacceptable breach of its international 
     obligations by, among other things, continuing to possess and 
     develop a significant chemical and biological weapons 
     capability, actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability, 
     and supporting and harboring terrorist organizations.''
       Nothing that has occurred in the past twelve years, the 
     past twelve months, the past twelve weeks, or the past twelve 
     days provides any basis for concluding that further 
     diplomatic or other peaceful means will adequately protect 
     the national security of the United States from the 
     continuing threat posed by Iraq or are likely to lead to 
     enforcement of all relevant UNSC resolutions regarding Iraq 
     and the restoration of peace and security in the area.
       As the President stated on March 17, ``[t]he Iraqi regime 
     has used diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage.'' 
     Further delay in taking action against Iraq will only serve 
     to give Saddam Hussein's regime additional time to further 
     develop WMD to use against the United States, its citizens, 
     and its allies. The United States and the UN have long 
     demanded immediate, active, and unconditional cooperation by 
     Iraq in the disarmament of its weapons of mass destruction. 
     There is no reason to believe that Iraq will disarm, and 
     cooperate with inspections to verify such disarmament, if the 
     U.S. and the UN employ only diplomacy and other peaceful 
     means.


   4. use of force against Iraq is consistent with the war on terror

       In Public Law 107-243, Congress made a number of findings 
     concerning Iraq's support for international terrorism. Among 
     other things, Congress determined that:
       Members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility 
     for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and 
     interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 
     11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq.
       Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international 
     terrorist organizations, including organizations that 
     threaten the lives and safety of United States citizens.
       It is in the national security interests of the United 
     States and in furtherance of the war on terrorism that all 
     relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions be 
     enforced, including through the use of force if necessary.
       In addition, the Secretary of State's address to the UN on 
     February 5, 2003 revealed a terrorist training area in 
     northeastern Iraq with ties to Iraqi intelligence and 
     activities of al Qaida affiliates in Baghdad. Public reports 
     indicate that Iraq is currently harboring senior members of a 
     terrorist network led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a close al 
     Qaida associate. In addition, Iraq has provided training in 
     document forgery and explosives to al Qaida. Other terrorist 
     groups have been supported by Iraq over past years.
       Iraq has a long history of supporting terrorism, and 
     continues to be a safe haven, transit point, and operational 
     node for groups and individuals who direct violence against 
     the United States and our allies. These actions violate 
     Iraq's obligations under the UNSCR 687 cease-fire not to 
     commit or support any act of international terrorism or allow 
     others who commit such acts to operate in Iraqi territory. 
     Iraq has also failed to comply with its cease-fire 
     obligations to disarm and submit to international inspections 
     to verify compliance. In light of these Iraqi activities, the 
     use of force by the United States and other countries against 
     the current Iraqi regime is fully consistent with--indeed, it 
     is an integral part of--the war against international 
     terrorists and terrorist organizations.
       Both because Iraq harbors terrorists and because Iraq could 
     share weapons of mass destruction with terrorists who seek 
     them for use against the United States, the use of force to 
     bring Iraq into compliance with its obligations under UNSC 
     resolutions would be a significant contribution to the war on 
     terrorists of global reach. A change in the current Iraqi 
     regime would eliminate an important source of support for 
     international terrorist activities. It would likely also 
     assist efforts to disrupt terrorist networks and capture 
     terrorists around the globe. United States Government 
     personnel operating in Iraq may discover information through 
     Iraqi government documents and interviews with detained Iraqi 
     officials that would identify individuals currently in the 
     United States and abroad who are linked to terrorist 
     organizations.
       The use of force against Iraq will directly advance the war 
     on terror, and will be consistent with continuing efforts 
     against international terrorists residing and operating 
     elsewhere in the world. The U.S. armed forces remain engaged 
     in key areas around the world in the prosecution of the war 
     on terrorism. The necessary preparations for and conduct of 
     military operations in Iraq have not diminished the resolve, 
     capability, or activities of the United States to pursue 
     international terrorists to protect our homeland. Nor will 
     the use of military force against Iraq distract civilian 
     departments and agencies of the United States Government from 
     continuing aggressive efforts in combating terrorism, or 
     divert resources from the overall world-wide counter-
     terrorism effort. Current counter-terrorism investigations 
     and activities will continue during any military conflict, 
     and winning the war on terrorism will remain the top priority 
     for our Government.
       Indeed, the United States has made significant progress on 
     other fronts in the war on terror even while Iraq and its 
     threat to the United States and other countries have been

[[Page 6533]]

     a focus of concern. Since November 2002, when deployments of 
     forces to the Gulf were substantially increased, the United 
     States, in cooperation with our allies, has arrested or 
     captured several terrorists and frustrated several terrorist 
     plots. For example, on March 1, 2003, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed 
     was captured in Rawalpindi, Pakistan by Pakistani 
     authorities, with U.S. cooperation. The capture of Sheikh 
     Mohammed, the al Qaida ``mastermind'' of the September 11th 
     attacks and Osama Bin Laden's senior terrorist attack 
     planner, is a severe blow to al Qaida that will destabilize 
     the terrorist network worldwide. This and other successes 
     make clear that the United States Government remains focused 
     on the war on terror, and that use of force in Iraq is fully 
     consistent with continuing to take necessary actions against 
     terrorists and terrorist organizations.


                             5. Conclusion

       In the circumstances described above, the President of the 
     United States has the authority--indeed, given the dangers 
     involved, the duty--to use force against Iraq to protect the 
     security of the American people and to compel compliance with 
     UNSC resolutions.
       The President has full authority to use the armed forces in 
     Iraq under the U.S. Constitution, including his authority as 
     Commander in Chief of the U.S. armed forces. This authority 
     is supported by explicit statutory authorizations contained 
     in the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq 
     Resolution (Public Law 102-1) and the Authorization for Use 
     of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 
     107-243).
       In addition, U.S. action is consistent with the UN Charter. 
     The UNSC, acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, 
     provided that member states, including the United States, 
     have the right to use force in Iraq to maintain or restore 
     international peace and security. The Council authorized the 
     use of force in UNSCR 678 with respect to Iraq in 1990. This 
     resolution--on which the United States has relied 
     continuously and with the full knowledge of the UNSC to use 
     force in 1993, 1996, and 1998 and to enforce the no-fly 
     zones--remains in effect today. In UNSCR 1441, the UNSC 
     unanimously decided again that Iraq has been and remains in 
     material breach of its obligations under relevant resolutions 
     and would face serious consequences if it failed immediately 
     to disarm. And, of course, based on existing facts, including 
     the nature and type of the threat posed by Iraq, the United 
     States may always proceed in the exercise of its inherent 
     right of self defense, recognized in Article 51 of the UN 
     Charter.
       Accordingly, the United States has clear authority to use 
     military force against Iraq to assure its national security 
     and to compel Iraq's compliance with applicable UNSC 
     resolutions.

                          ____________________