[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 8806]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         WILL WE WIN THE PEACE?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, due to the bravery and the magnificent 
performance of American troops, our Armed Forces will soon win a 
resounding victory over Saddam Hussein, disarming him and eliminating 
the threat of his regime. Now that we are on the verge of winning the 
war, we must now turn our attention to winning the peace.
  The morning after our military victory over Saddam, we will wake up 
to four challenges in Iraq: peacekeeping, humanitarian relief, 
reconstruction, and governance. How we face those challenges will 
determine whether we win the peace, win the battle for the hearts and 
minds of the people of Iraq, enhance our status in the Muslim world, 
and maintain our credibility as the leader of free and democratic 
nations.
  I fear we could fail to meet those challenges if we pursue an 
aggressive, antagonistic diplomacy that makes demands of our allies, 
but does not listen to them. We could fail if we embrace unilateralism 
and abandon our traditional reliance on multinational action. We could 
fail if we allow the reality or even the appearance of an American 
military colonial government in Iraq.
  To meet these challenges and best serve American national interests, 
as well as the best interests of the citizens of Iraq, I suggest eight 
steps:
  First, the State Department, not the Defense Department, must be in 
charge of American policy after the military victory.
  Second, whenever and wherever possible, we must internationalize the 
stabilization and reconstruction operations and not try to do it all 
ourselves.
  Third, American troops in the field will be needed to keep the peace, 
but we should move quickly to spread the burden of peacekeeping by 
giving NATO the task. NATO is a robust military alliance that defeated 
one tyrant in Kosovo and surely could keep order in a post-Saddam Iraq.
  Fourth, emergency relief authority must begin with the State 
Department and USAID, but there is no better chief administrator for 
the humanitarian challenges than the United Nations. Its vast 
resources, experience and expertise are unparalleled.
  Fifth, we must engage expert multilateral organizations like the 
United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank in 
the reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure. A debt restructuring is 
needed to deal with Iraq's financial burden of $383 billion including 
foreign debt, compensation claims, and pending contracts.
  Sixth, we should convene a donor's conference soon after the military 
victory. Funds will be needed right away for quick start reconstruction 
projects. This could provide a funding opportunity for the Arab League.
  Seven, Iraqis must establish corruption-free control over their own 
oil. We should advocate for a transparent and reformed industry that 
accounts for oil revenues and devotes profits to rebuilding the 
country.
  Eight, we should urge the United Nations to sponsor a conference on 
the formation and direction of a transitional Iraqi-based government. 
Iraqi provisional leaders, internal Saddam opponents, exiles and the 
international community should be brought together to establish a 
stable representative government of Iraqis.
  We must seize this opportunity to stabilize and unify Iraq and 
demonstrate to the entire world our commitment to democratic values, 
personal liberties, and social justice. That is how we win the peace in 
Iraq.

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