[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1100-1113]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2030
 REPORT ON TRIP TO LIBYA, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, UZBEKISTAN, AND MILITARY 
                          HOSPITAL IN GERMANY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. King of Iowa). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Weldon) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
majority leader.
  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the topic of my Special 
Order this evening, and I think I will be joined by other Members from 
both sides, is our recent trip to Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, 
and our military hospital for our troops in Germany. But before I get 
into my comments about the trip, let me put some specific quotes from 
Dr. Kay, who has just been referred to by a previous speaker, who made 
the allegation that Dr. Kay said there was no basis for our activity in 
Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, let me put the actual quote in the Record, not something 
that is paraphrasing, but the actual quote. In an interview that Dr. 
Kay conducted on NBC TV, he was asked to comment on whether it was 
prudent to go to war. Dr. Kay said, ``I think it was absolutely 
prudent. In fact, I think at the end of the inspection process, we will 
paint a picture of Iraq that was far more dangerous than we even 
thought it was before the war.''
  Mr. Speaker, that is not me paraphrasing; that is not me summarizing 
or putting my own spin on what Dr. Kay said. That is a direct quote 
from Dr. Kay, and the American people and our colleagues need to 
understand that as we analyze what has been said in the findings of the 
Kay report, that we actually look at those statements, as opposed to 
trying to spin them. Some of our colleagues on the other side, 
especially those running for the Presidency, have tried to put a spin 
on what Dr. Kay said. It is more important for the American people and 
for our colleagues to look at in actuality what he said.
  But, Mr. Speaker, there is one more point I want to make on this 
whole effort of the spin of Dr. Kay, which ties into our trip, because 
of the 45 meetings that we held over the 7 days, visiting eight 
different countries and traveling 25,500 miles in military aircraft, 
including a military aircraft to get over, a Navy plane, C-130s and 
Blackhawk helicopters in Iraq, I think the most significant meeting we 
had was in Iraq, and that meeting was with the individual who is 
actually responsible for the Iraqi Survey Group, which is actually 
doing the search for weapons of mass destruction.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, many of our colleagues in this room and many of the 
people around America have been convinced by the media that Dr. Kay was 
in charge of the investigation for weapons of mass destruction. Mr. 
Speaker, that is wrong. Dr. Kay was a consultant to the general who was 
in charge of the Iraq Survey Group, and that general is a two star 
general by the name of Keith Dayton.
  On our trip to Iraq, in Baghdad we were taken to the Fusion Center, 
where all of the intelligence is brought for the Iraqi Survey Group to 
do their work, and for 90 minutes members of the Republican Party and 
the Democrat Party who were a part of my bipartisan delegation had a 
chance to listen to the actual leader of the inspection process in Iraq 
give us an update.
  I want to share with our colleagues, Mr. Speaker, what General Dayton 
said. First of all, he was perplexed. He was frustrated. He could not 
understand why David Kay came back to America and made this public 
report when he had not yet, first of all, talked to the individual who 
was responsible for the Iraqi inspection process, General Dayton. In 
fact, all of the individuals that we met who were overseeing the 1,500 
people who are involved in the Iraq survey team were equally 
frustrated.
  We learned, for instance, that when David Kay left Iraq, he was not 
entirely happy, because he was dissatisfied that General Dayton had 
other missions besides the search for weapons of mass destruction and 
actually had troops assigned to efforts like

[[Page 1101]]

looking for our POW-MIA Scott Spiker, and also were involved in the 
anti-terrorism efforts on the ground. David Kay became upset and told 
this to General Dayton, that there were assets being diverted away from 
his efforts to look for weapons of mass destruction. That was one of 
the reasons why David Kay left the Iraqi theater to come back to 
America.
  Mr. Speaker, I have not seen that in the American media. I have not 
heard that story yet brought forward. But the individual in charge of 
the Iraq Survey Group, General Keith Dayton, told us that when we had 
our meeting with him in Baghdad.
  Mr. Speaker, we also learned that Dr. Kay had not been in Iraq for 
the last several months, during which time he could have had an 
exchange, an update of the work that was being done by the Iraq Survey 
Group. So, Mr. Speaker, I think it is essentially important that we 
take an additional step here.
  Now, Dr. Kay has issued a report that I think stands on its own and 
speaks for itself. It does not help when Members of this body or the 
media or candidates for the Presidency misinterpret what David Kay 
said. But we need to go beyond that, Mr. Speaker. We need to bring over 
the individual who was actually responsible for the weapons of mass 
destruction search in Iraq. That is not Dr. Kay; that is General Keith 
Dayton. General Dayton has that responsibility, and it is he who 
oversees those 1,500 people.
  General Dayton told us that they are in fact enthusiastic about the 
work they are doing. He explained to us the process now under way to 
send teams into the rivers of Iraq, the lakes of Iraq, the bodies of 
water where they have leads that perhaps weapons of mass destruction 
were dumped, and they are now conducting that search.
  They also told us, General Dayton and his colleagues, that there are 
literally millions of pages and volumes of documents that have yet to 
be searched that can provide leads as to where weapons of mass 
destruction might be.
  I can tell you after visiting the ``spider hole'' up in Takrit where 
Saddam Hussein was holed up for a number of days, that our military 
personnel went over top of that site a dozen times and never found 
Saddam Hussein. Now, that hole was rather large. So if we could not 
find a hole with Saddam in it for 8 or 9 months, then I think we 
certainly owe it to General Dayton to give him the time to continue the 
search for the evidence that he thinks in fact his team can come up 
with.
  So the point is, Mr. Speaker, that on this meeting in Iraq with the 
general in charge of the survey team for weapons of mass destruction, 
we got a clearly different picture from that that is being portrayed by 
the American media, both in terms of Dr. Kay's report and the spin that 
has been made on that report.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, Secretary Rumsfeld appeared before our Committee 
on Armed Services in the House, and I was the first Member of Congress 
that was invited to ask questions of Secretary Rumsfeld. I laid all of 
this out to him, and I asked him if he did not think it was time to do 
what the famous media person, Paul Harvey, used to say at the end of 
his stories: and now we will hear the other half of the story.
  Mr. Speaker, today I requested of Secretary Rumsfeld that Major 
General Keith Dayton be brought back to America to testify before the 
Congress about the work that he is directing right now on looking for 
weapons of mass destruction. Then Members of Congress can ask him about 
the conditions under which David Kay operated, that he was in fact a 
consultant to General Dayton. Then we can ask the questions about the 
circumstances under which Dr. Kay left Iraq. Was there friction? What 
was that friction? Then we can ask the most important question for the 
American people of a two star general who is apolitical and is not 
going to put any kind of a spin on his statement, What is your current 
effort in Iraq and do you expect and do you anticipate the ability to 
find weapons of mass destruction over the next several months?
  I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, what he told us unconditionally is that 
they are very much into this search. It has not ended; it is not 
winding down. In fact, they have placed more in the way of assets and 
resources into the search for weapons of mass destruction.
  Now, oftentimes in this city we do not pay attention to the facts. We 
try to spin things. So I think it is extremely important that we bring 
over General Keith Dayton to give us a firsthand accounting of the 
search for weapons of mass destruction and to give us the other half of 
the story to the findings of Dr. Kay, who was a consultant to General 
Dayton.
  Mr. Speaker, let me get back to the trip that we took, the bipartisan 
trip, which in fact was the first trip to Libya by Americans since 
1969.
  My job as a member of the Committee on Armed Services for the past 17 
years has been to make sure that we give our military the best 
equipment, the best technology, and the best training to allow them to 
continue to be the best military on the face of the Earth, and we have 
done that. I am a self-described hawk in terms of supporting our 
military.
  But, Mr. Speaker, as the vice chairman of the Committee on Armed 
Services, I consider my number one priority to be the avoidance of war, 
because war has always got to be the last choice, because when we 
commit our troops to war, then we put America's sons and daughters into 
harm's way, knowing full well that some or perhaps many of them will 
not return to their families.
  So over the past 17 years, while serving on the Committee on Armed 
Services, making sure our military has the equipment they need, is 
properly trained, and has the financial support that they deserve, I 
have spent an equal amount of time on the proliferation of weapons of 
mass destruction technology and trying to find ways to take those 
enemies of ours and those would-be enemies of ours and turn them into, 
if not allies, at least countries that we can work with.
  My primary focus has been with the former Soviet states, where I have 
traveled almost 35 times and established a relationship with the 
parliaments of all of those former nations that were once a part of the 
Soviet Union. For the past 13 years, with my colleague, the gentleman 
from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), we have co-chaired a formal effort with the 
Duma in the Russian Government, the legislative body of that country, 
to establish a close relationship of friends and partners. We have had 
some ups and downs, but the fact is that we are still working 
aggressively together.
  We have done the same thing with Ukraine, with the Rada; with 
Moldova, with the Parliament; with Georgia, with their Parliament; with 
Azerbaijan and with Armenia. We have done it with Uzbekistan, and we 
are now reaching out to other countries that were once a part of the 
Soviet Union to bring all of those countries into a level of 
cooperation and understanding with us.
  Mr. Speaker, the Soviet Union and its republics were the source of 
much of the technology that ended up in the hands of the Libyans, the 
Iraqis, the Iranians, the North Koreans and the Syrians. In fact, Mr. 
Speaker, during the 1990s, I must have given 100 speeches on what we 
saw occurring on a regular basis, the transfer of technology from 
Russia and China and those former Soviet states into the hands of those 
five countries that I just mentioned. Time and again there were 
violations of arms control agreements. But the response of the 
administration in the nineties was to pretend we did not see it, 
because the administration was more concerned with keeping Boris 
Yeltsin in power, even when the people of Russia had come to believe 
that he was no longer a credible leader for their nation.
  Mr. Speaker, we did the same thing in reaching out to other 
countries, like China, that in fact were heading towards a course of 
perhaps being an enemy of the U.S.; leading six delegations to that 
Nation; being the only elected official asked to speak two times at the 
National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army in Beijing.

[[Page 1102]]

  Finally, Mr. Speaker, last May, after 2 years of planning, I was 
proud to take the first delegation of Members of Congress, again a 
bipartisan delegation, into Pyongyang, North Korea, the goal there 
being to support the President and continuing the dialogue of the six 
nations to eventually resolve the conflict between North Korea, South 
Korea and the rest of the world.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, following the next round of six-way talks at 
the end of this month, I will again lead a delegation back into North 
Korea to continue a positive effort to support our President in finding 
a peaceful solution to the Korean nuclear crisis, again to avoid war, 
because of the consequence of putting America's sons and daughters into 
harm's way.

                              {time}  2045

  Now, I also fully realize, Mr. Speaker, that that is not always 
possible, and one case in point was Iraq. We gave Saddam Hussein 18 
chances to abide by U.N. resolutions, 18 opportunities to come clean, 
to basically come forward and tell the world what he had been doing. 
And the response of Saddam Hussein was to thumb his nose at us and at 
the rest of the world and to defy the world community. As a result, the 
President was left with no choice when he asked us to support him in a 
resolution of war.
  For the life of me, Mr. Speaker, I cannot understand the logic of 
those in this body and the leader of France, Jacques Chirac, and the 
leader of Germany Gerhard Schroeder who criticized President Bush for 
going into Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein. Because what is interesting 
is, just 4 short years ago, many of these same people criticizing 
President Bush from this body, as well as Jacques Chirac and Gerhard 
Schroeder, were the very individuals pushing Bill Clinton into a war in 
Yugoslavia to remove Milosevic from power. And guess what, Mr. Speaker? 
When Schroeder and Chirac and some of the Members of this body who are 
criticizing President Bush pushed Bill Clinton into an armed conflict, 
they did not go to the U.N. for a resolution, because they knew full 
well that Russia would veto any such resolution of the Security 
Council. So what did they do? Bill Clinton, Gerhard Schroeder, and 
Jacques Chirac, supported by many of those in this body who have been 
criticizing President Bush, did not go to the U.N. as George Bush did, 
they went to NATO.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, NATO is a defensive body. It was organized as a 
defensive entity to defend Europe and the NATO countries from an attack 
by a nation like the Soviet Union. NATO was never meant to be an 
offensive organization. But in 1999, many of those same people, 
including many of those Democrat candidates for President today, were 
out there supporting Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder and Bill 
Clinton in using NATO for the first and only time ever in its history 
as an offensive invasion force into a non-NATO country.
  So we invaded Yugoslavia. We bombed Serbia. We removed Milosevic, who 
was a war criminal. But what is so confusing to me, Mr. Speaker, is 
that those same people who were on Bill Clinton's band wagon to invade 
Serbia and Yugoslavia because Milosevic was a war criminal, all of a 
sudden, having supported George Bush, even though he went to the U.N. 
for the 17th and 18th time, even though Saddam Hussein has been 
characterized by everyone, from Max Vanderstadt, the U.N. Human Rights 
Advisor, to Amnesty International as the worst human rights abuser 
since Adolf Hitler, did not want to support the effort in Iraq. Sounds 
like politics to me, Mr. Speaker. It does not sound like much 
consistency or substance.
  How can you be for removing a war criminal like Milosevic from power 
and not going through the U.N., but using NATO as an offensive force, 
and then 4 years later, criticize President Bush after having gone to 
NATO for the 17th and 18th time, after having given Saddam Hussein 
every opportunity, and then, in the end, who decided we had to remove 
this war criminal, this user of weapons of mass destruction, as he did 
against the Kurds, as he did against the Iranians, from power. It does 
not make sense to me, Mr. Speaker, unless, of course, you add in the 
political equation.
  But again, in that case, I thought the military action was justified, 
but I would say in the case of North Korea and Libya and perhaps Iran, 
if we can avoid conflict, we should take every opportunity to explore 
that to its end.
  That is why, Mr. Speaker, almost a year ago, at a conference on world 
energy issues in Houston, Texas, I challenged major international 
energy corporations to come together and establish an International 
Energy Advisory Council, to specifically focus on the use of energy as 
a mechanism to avoid war and as a mechanism to help us solve regional 
conflicts that could lead to major escalations of war. That group, 
headed up by Jeffrey Waterers, had an initial meeting in Washington, 
D.C. in July in the Rayburn Office Building, where Chalabi came over 
from Iraq and spoke to the energy leaders about Iraq postwar. We had 
major leaders from the State Department and DOD came into speak, and 
allowed the energy corporations, including those from Iraq and Iran, to 
come together and see if energy could not provide a partial solution to 
the crisis both in Iraq as well as other crises around the world.
  In October, a second forum was held in London, again attended by all 
of the major leaders around the world in the energy industry, which I 
could not attend. But following that meeting, I set up a private 
meeting with Colonel Gadhafi's son, Saif al Saleem al Gadhafi, a 34-
year-old, London-educated, Ph.D. candidate at the London School of 
Economics, who today is apparently, according to some pundits, in line 
to succeed his father as the leader of Libya.
  I wanted to meet this individual, because we had mutual interests, to 
see whether or not there was a possibility of breaking new ground with 
Libya politically, of seeing whether or not there would be a movement 
away from the policies of the past, which I had heard to be rumored 
back in the middle part of last year, unaware of what was happening 
with our own private discussions within our government. In January of 
this year, the meeting with Saif al Gadhafi took place. He and I had a 
long discussion. We talked about Libya's past relationship with the 
U.S. and the West. We talked about the horrible bombings, the terrible 
tragedy of Lockerbie, the bombings in Berlin, the linkage of Libyan 
state-sponsored terrorism, and I told Saif, we can never forgive and 
never forget. Likewise, he told me it was difficult for he and his 
father to forget that we had bombed their home and in fact killed his 
1\1/2\ year old sister. But we both said it was time to look to the 
future as opposed to the past.
  But Saif was one who was looking to settle the past problems with the 
Lockerbie victims' families, to look at putting to rest those issues 
where Libya had done horrible things, and that perhaps it was time to 
move into a new direction. So he invited me to bring a delegation of 
our colleagues to Tripoli. I said I would gladly take that invitation. 
Two days later, a formal written invitation came to my office in 
Washington from the chairman of the People's Congress in Libya, 
inviting me to bring a delegation in. We secured a military plane and 
we decided our trip would involve not just Libya, but a trip that the 
White House had been encouraging me to take with Members to Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
  So the plane was secured, and from the Speaker's list of Members who 
were asked to go to Libya and Afghanistan, we assembled a delegation, a 
bipartisan delegation, including my good friend, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Ortiz) who would have been here tonight, but he had a death 
of a close friend and is down back in his district; the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Israel), a Democrat; the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Alexander), a Democrat; the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller), a 
Republican; the gentleman from California (Mr. Gallegly), a Republican; 
the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), a Republican; and the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa), a Republican. The gentlemen from 
California (Mr. Gallegly) and (Mr. Issa)

[[Page 1103]]

joined us the day before we left. They were not a part of the 
delegation going on to Iraq and Afghanistan; they only joined us for 
the Libyan portion of the trip.
  And I would say, Mr. Speaker, any Member of Congress could have come 
with us on that trip into Libya. We had over 100 empty seats on our 
aircraft. So any Member of Congress could have joined us if they had 
just called and expressed an interest, as the gentlemen from California 
did the day before we left.
  Mr. Speaker, our trip to Libya and the other countries was 
exhausting. As I mentioned earlier, we traveled 25,500 miles, we 
visited 8 countries, and we had 45 meetings. Members of our delegation 
on some nights got less than 2 hours sleep. When we arrived in Kuwait, 
before going into Iraq, we arrived at 4 o'clock in the morning from our 
plane, got to our hotel and had to be up at 6 o'clock in the morning 
for the military to take us into Baghdad. So I want to congratulate the 
members of the delegation that were on this trip because of their 
outstanding service to the country in performing an extremely difficult 
task, completing the mission that we set out for ourselves.
  But I want to talk specifically about what we actually did and, in 
the end, I will ask to put our trip report in the Congressional Record.
  We did not know what to expect in Libya, Mr. Speaker, because no one 
had been there from our country for the past 35 years. We were not sure 
what the response would be. In fact, we were told by the White House 
and the National Security Council that the Libyans did not want any 
presence of the U.S., they certainly did not want to see the flag 
flown, and they did not want America in any way displayed because it 
would upset the people of the country. In fact, up until the 11th hour, 
they did not want us to land our military plane at the Tripoli Airport. 
How wrong they were.
  When we arrived in Tripoli, Mr. Speaker, and our plane pulled up to 
the tarmac, the number one spot in front of the air terminal at the 
main Tripoli Airport, there was a whole core of individuals from the 
leadership of Libya waiting to meet us. Officials from the government 
of the country, the foreign ministry, the people's Congress, all out 
there welcoming the Americans back to their nation. In fact, there was 
a huge media entourage, TV cameras, reporters who were there to ask us 
questions about why we were there and to follow us through our initial 
meeting which was held in the lobby of the Tripoli Airport.
  The welcome was unbelievable; unbelievably positive. As we sat down 
and talked about our agenda for the 2 days we were going to be there, I 
had asked for less than a dozen meetings. Mr. Speaker, not only was 
every meeting that I asked for granted to us, but they even went beyond 
and gave us meetings we had not asked for. We met with the Prime 
Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Vice Prime Minister, the 
Foreign Minister, the minister in charge of removing weapons of mass 
destruction from Libya. We met with the foundation established by Saif 
al Gadhafi, the same foundation overseeing the refunding of the money 
that is owed to those victims' families of the Lockerbie disaster. We 
met at the largest university in Libya, Al Fateh University, which has 
75,000 students. We met with the leaders of the Libyan-American 
Friendship Society, which was started in 2000, where 400 people waited 
for 3 hours for us to arrive in this large tent to welcome us openly 
with American flags flying outside of the tent and inside of the tent, 
with children dressed up in colorful costumes to sing for us, with 
young people reciting poetry for us and speeches welcoming America back 
to Libya.
  Everyplace we went, Mr. Speaker, every person we met, every group we 
talked to was hungry and starving for a new positive relationship with 
America.
  In fact, during our first day in downtown Tripoli, I asked the 
delegation to break away with me to go on an unplanned event, to walk 3 
or 4 blocks away from the hotel, and to go into the marketplace, the 
old city, the shopping district, where hundreds of shops and local 
stores are there for the Libyan citizens to buy their materials, their 
clothing, their housewares, their pots and pans, and the things that 
they need for their own lives. The delegation walked together, without 
any pre
an
nouncement, without guards around us, without any advanced alert, and 
we went through the marketplace. Every person we met in the Libyan 
marketplace in downtown Tripoli was positive. They came up to us, they 
shook our hands. A young 10-year-old, when the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. Miller) said, Hi, how are you, said back to her, I am 
fine, how are you? And she said, You speak excellent English. He said, 
I have been practicing in school.
  We met shopkeepers, an elderly gentleman who was pounding the copper, 
making pots, who looked up and said, We are glad to have you in our 
country. We hope it is a new beginning. Everyone we met on the streets 
of Tripoli, Mr. Speaker, were positive toward America. It overwhelmed 
us. It was not what we expected, it was not what we were told to expect 
by our own government back here in our country.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, Members sitting around the table at the 
university with the President of the Al Fateh University and about 25 
of his department heads; and remember, this is a 75,000 student 
university, they have major programs in medicine, in law, in health 
care, in science, in technology, in education, in environment and 
agriculture. As he went around the room, each of these department 
heads, all of whom spoke excellent English, give us their background 
and what department they headed. It was unbelievable, Mr. Speaker. All 
but two of them were educated here in America. They told us what 
schools they attended: UCLA, Princeton, Colorado, Michigan, University 
of Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Georgia, all the major schools of our 
country.

                              {time}  2100

  And they told us of their longing to once again reestablish ties with 
the American educational system and with the American people. In fact, 
one of the professors at the University, professor of English, Dr. T. 
T. Tarhuui, wrote a poem entitled ``Members of Congress,'' which I will 
enter into the Record when I place our trip report in at the end so the 
American people and our colleagues can read the poem he wrote for our 
visit.
  So the response by the people and the leaders of Libya was 
unbelievably and overwhelmingly positive. In fact, we asked to see a 
weapons of mass destruction site. Not only did they take us to their 
nuclear complex but we had full access to their 10 megawatt research 
reactor which they opened to look into and to understand what they were 
doing with radio isotopes and discuss with them their nuclear program; 
but before we went to that site, they had us sit down with the minister 
who was in charge of the entire program to allow the IAEA and the U.S. 
and Great Britain to remove the weapons of mass destruction from that 
nuclear site and from Libya. In fact, much of that removal took place 
the same week that we were in Libya on a separate military aircraft.
  But perhaps the most interesting meeting in Libya was with Colonel 
Qadafi. We did not know what to expect. We were taken to his residence 
that we had bombed in 1986. We saw the devastation still evident. We 
saw the lessons and the stories about his daughter who was killed. And 
we were then brought to another part of the complex where there was a 
large outdoor tent. We were led in and sat down on the sofas arranged 
in a semi-circle manner and awaited the arrival of Colonel Qadafi. 
About 5 minutes later, he came into the tent in his glowing purple 
robed outfit with his hat on, shook our hands, smiled and sat down. And 
for 2 hours we had a discussion among the group. And then I had a 
private session with him for 30 minutes.
  In the trip report, Mr. Speaker, are the very quotes that Colonel 
Qadafi made to our group as transcribed by both our staff director, 
Doug Roach, and our military escort. We had two separate note takers in 
that meeting.

[[Page 1104]]

  It was a very solemn meeting with Qadafi. For the first 25 or 30 
minutes he talked to us in a very low tone, a very deliberate tone. And 
he said, You know, I am so happy that you are here, he said, but my 
question is why has it taken over 30 years for someone from your 
country to sit down with me and talk to me? I could understand if you 
met with me and you had problems because I had done something wrong, 
some terrible act, but if you would have met with me and talked with me 
and then felt that I was lying, you would have been justified in 
bombing me. But you did not talk to me for over 30 years.
  He said, You do not understand the Libyan people. We understand 
America. We studied all about it. And I would ask you to help me in my 
effort to reestablish that relationship with your country.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, we made no apologies to Colonel Qadafi. We let him 
and his leaders know that the past actions of his government and some 
of his people were outrageous and will never be forgiven nor forgotten. 
But we also said it is time to move into a new direction.
  We praised him personally for the public statements that he has made 
about his willingness to remove his weapons of mass destruction and 
about his willingness to turn over a new page in a relationship with 
the West.
  He talked about his country's coming into the arms control regimes 
that for decades they have not been a part of. And for that we thanked 
him. And we said to Colonel Qadafi, Your words are important and we 
praise them, but words will not carry the day. You must show us with 
your actions that you truly are serious with removing the weapons of 
mass destruction, about changing the ways of the past, about working 
with us on the problem of terrorism, about rooting out those cells that 
exist in your country, and about laying down a new foundation for the 
future.
  We told him that we would judge Libya and their colonel's comments 
based on substance as opposed to words and dialogue. But we also told 
him that if that process continued that we were sure that one day a 
normalization of relations would occur. And when that day came, we in 
the Congress, Democrats and Republicans, were prepared to help our 
President establish a new relationship with the people and the 
institutions of Libya.
  Our meetings with Qadafi were productive, were candid, and were 
designed to convey a positive message of support for the leadership of 
our President in stating that Libya has become a model of moving in the 
right direction away from terrorism.
  One of the things that Colonel Qadafi said to us was that he was 
taking tremendous heat from the other Arab leaders in the region who 
were making fun of him, who were criticizing him and calling him 
because of his decision to renounce weapons of mass destruction. And 
his concern was that America not abandon him if, in fact, he continues 
to do the kinds of things that have happened over the past several 
weeks with both the IAEA, Great Britain, and the United States.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I think our trip to Libya was extremely positive. We 
were not there to become a patsy for anyone. We were not there to try 
to brush over what has happened in the past. We were there to do what I 
said earlier is my top job as the vice chairman of the Committee on 
Armed Services, to avoid another war, to find a way not to appease 
anyone, but to continue on the path that our President has laid down, 
to turn a former terrorist nation, a nation that has been involved in 
state-sponsored activity in a new direction to becoming friends with 
the U.S.
  The second part of our trip moved us to Iraq. We had amazing meetings 
with the troops. We had time with Ambassador Bremer, with General 
Sanchez. We asked them to give us updates on the troops' activities, on 
the stability inside of that country.
  We had a meeting with Dr. Pachachi, who is the leader of the 
governing council. We had several of his colleagues there with us as we 
talked about the plan to hand Iraq over to his people. And he thanked 
us for that support. We assured him that America was there for the long 
haul; and that even though the political rhetoric of this election year 
will cause Democrats and Republicans to criticize each other, that we 
were not going to as Americans abandon what we had started in Iraq.
  We then went out with the troops, Mr. Speaker. I mentioned we talked 
at length with the Iraq survey team. I will not review that because I 
did it at the beginning of my Special Order. But we went out and had 
other meetings as well in Iraq. In fact, we traveled up to Tikrit. We 
went in a C-130, and we saw the terrible trauma that our C-130 pilots 
are under as they have to evasively fly into airports to do 
unbelievable maneuvers so they can avoid the surface-to-air missiles 
that still exist in Iraq.
  On the ground up in the Tikrit area, we were able to take Blackhawk 
helicopters out into the troop areas to meet with troops, to go to the 
spider hole where Saddam had been holed up, to visit with our Special 
Forces. In fact, we were able to be a part of a ceremony as one of our 
young Special Forces, Mr. Reyes, Sergeant Reyes, reenlisted. We became 
a part of that ceremony to honor him for his commitment to our country.
  We had a tremendous interaction with the general in charge of the 4th 
Infantry Division, General Odierno, who gave us a personal update as to 
the encounters that were taking place on a daily basis. In fact, I had 
a very moving experience there with General Odierno because one of my 
constituents, a 24-year-old young man who I had nominated to West 
Point, was killed in an attack back in the latter part of 2003.
  As General Odierno was describing to us some of the attacks on his 
troops, he talked about a young 24-year-old that he had come to know, 
an outstanding leader whose convoy was attacked, whose troops came 
under heavy fire, who himself was hit, and in spite of his own 
injuries, continued to protect and save the lives of at least one and 
possibly two other soldiers before his life was snuffed out.
  As the general talked, and as I described to him the 24-year-old that 
I had nominated to West Point, the general asked me his name. And I 
said Bernstein. He said Congressman, that is who I was talking about. 
He went to school with my son at West Point. I happen to have a 3-page 
letter with me from Lieutenant Bernstein's parents thanking me for the 
praise we had acknowledged for him to his family, including comments 
from those who knew the lieutenant, who had been touched by him during 
his brief life. I gave a copy of that letter to the general. He was 
very moved and presented me with the unit coin which I will present to 
the Bernstein family in remembrance of their son, a brave American 
hero.
  Our visit with the troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Uzbekistan 
was to assess what they needed. We came back with the idea that they 
need more linguistic support, they need more UAVs, and we need better 
benefits and support for our Guard and Reservists who are serving so 
well. And that message was conveyed throughout the trip.
  In leaving Iraq, we went to Islamabad and then flew into Afghanistan 
into the capital city of Kabul where we met with King Zahir Shah to 
assess his continuing role as the leader of that country, someone who 
helped us get the Afghanis to convene Aloya Jirga to bring together the 
leaders to establish a constitutional government.
  In following the meeting with King Zahir Shah, we met with the leader 
of the government of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai. He talked to the 
success only made possible by the leadership of the United States. In 
between we met with more of our troops.
  Then we flew from Kabul up to our K2 base in Uzbekistan, a former 
Soviet military site where we spent a day and a half with the troops. 
Each member of our delegation walked through the wards. We went to the 
bedsides of those soldiers, some who had shrapnel wounds, some who had 
been shot in the leg, some who had piercings of the eyes, some who had 
skin diseases. And

[[Page 1105]]

we told them that they were our heroes.
  We met with those that were on the way out in transition, that were 
coming back to the States. In fact, we offered seats to 12 of those 
young soldiers who came back with us to America and then were taken to 
the Army medical facility here in Washington, D.C. for further 
treatment and eventual transport back to their districts.
  We had two town meetings in the military base in K2. As we stayed 
overnight, we had dinner one night and breakfast the next morning with 
the troops. And during the evening and the morning, we had town 
meetings to allow the troops to tell us what was on their minds. They 
told us the good things and bad things; but without any question, Mr. 
Speaker, the morale of our troops in every visit we made was 
overwhelmingly positive. They knew why they were there. They were 
positive for being there. And they were happy that we came.
  We delivered 10,000 Valentine's cards, made by schoolchildren all 
over America. We delivered 25 cases of Tasty Cakes so the troops could 
get a fresh taste of America and the treats that come from my hometown 
city of Philadelphia. We even brought over shirts from the Philadelphia 
Eagles. Unfortunately, not many wanted them because the Eagles had lost 
a terribly embarrassing game before in the playoffs, but we gave them 
out anyway.
  Mr. Speaker, our trip was an overwhelming success. I am proud of 
those Members of Congress that went on this journey to try to improve 
relations with these nations, with these emerging democracies, and the 
conversion of this former arch enemy of ours.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to the gentleman from Indiana 
(Mr. Souder) for whatever time he would like to consume, one of the 
stars on this trip. He was the only member of the delegation not on the 
Committee on Armed Services, the other five were; but he is a strong 
supporter of our military and, more importantly, he is the chairman of 
the oversight committee that oversees all of our anti-narcotics and 
abuse efforts worldwide. He has been a leader in helping the President 
and the administration deal with the problems of narcoterrorism, and he 
and his staff were there to specifically focus on that issue, and he 
did it extremely well at every stop. But it was a pleasure to have him 
with us. He has traveled in the past with me to Russia. And I was proud 
to have him as a colleague on this trip.

                              {time}  2115

  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I first want to praise the gentleman for his 
continuing efforts in this often, and previously, ignored region of the 
world. He has been an expert in Russia for a long time. I believe he 
said 33 different trips to Russia, someone who is a familiar face 
there, who will go nose to nose with the Russians, and at the same time 
the Russians know he will be back again and again and again. He is our 
friend while he is also arguing with us.
  I have watched the gentleman practice that in tough negotiations with 
Russia and prepare himself for the other types of things that he has 
been working with in this troubled region of the world.
  He has spent time in the Ukraine, in Georgia. His commitment to 
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and the so-called ``Stans'' was there long 
before we had the focus in the recent post-9/11 issues. The gentleman 
was interested in this for a long time since the Republicans came into 
control in Congress and even before that in his career.
  His efforts in North Korea. He has been in the world hot spots before 
they were known as the world hot spots; therefore, the particular trip 
that we were able to do, as the gentleman has explained tonight, we 
cannot overstate the gentleman's role and the connections and how these 
things are connected.
  Because the gentleman is involved in the energy, he got to know 
Mohammar Khadafi's son, who would enable us to get into places we were 
never able to get in and help facilitate the breakthrough that we are 
having in Libya. The gentleman deserves that credit. No matter how many 
times it is said, the fact remains that we were able to get into places 
that we were not able to get into, that Americans would not have been 
able to get into had the gentleman not been spending a lot longer than 
just the most recent time, but time way before that. I thank the 
gentleman very much for that.
  Let me kind of reinforce a couple of things that the gentleman said. 
First, I would like to start with Libya because there were many of us, 
and let me just in my little piece that I got to say to the leader, Mr. 
Khadaffi, it was very clear. I said, look, I am a fundamentalist 
Christian. I am a strong supporter of Israel. I am one of your critics. 
But at the same time, and I did not particularly like some of the 
things he was claiming to be, this great democracy and how great 
socialism was working. We did not agree. But he said it in a debating 
type of way, probably a little nicer than some of the debate we had 
here earlier this evening. It was a good discussion. He seems to want 
to start to communicate.
  While I found some of the things he said offensive or in 
disagreement, the bottom line is he took a huge step to open up a 
country that was previously and still is on our terrorist list, that 
may be networking; and those of us who have seen all sorts of 
classified things know we have Libyan suspects all over the world for 
potential networks suspects. If he shuts this down, if he shuts this 
nuclear development down, look, I am willing to sit through a few 
lectures. I am willing to talk. If somebody can be moved off the 
terrorist list, if somebody can be moved off the nuclear list, we can 
sit down and talk. It does not mean that we are apologizing or that we 
are agreeing with past things. Okay. What is done is done.
  If we have a chance at a time when we are under assault all over the 
world to find a friend who wants to fight al Qaeda, who wants to take 
on bin Laden, who wants to dismantle, and on the whole I would just as 
soon they did health research and tried to figure out how to put their 
nuclear research into desalinization of water. They want our help to 
try to figure out how to get more water in Libya so they can irrigate. 
And that is a lot better than developing bombs to blow up our people.
  His comment that you referred to where he said, we do not know much 
about Libya, partly we will never know that much about Libya. And some 
of it was rhetoric and frustration we hear all around the world. But 
you know what, we did just not know much about Libya. I love to study 
history. We did not know hardly anything about Libya. Apparently, our 
government does not either.
  They were telling the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) that 
we cannot land there. We do not know how we will be received. They will 
be hostile. There will be no press coverage. And we landed, and there 
is not any other way to state this, it was the friendliest place I've 
even been on a CODEL.
  Everybody was so excited to see us. Once the leader said, this is 
okay, all this Americanism is pouring out. The gentleman mentioned the 
university. They want to get our education. The 38 of the top 40 people 
have been educated in America. The U.S.-Libyan Friendship Society, 
there is hundreds of people waiting 3 hours to have lunch with a few 
Congressmen.
  The excitement of the whole trip there, you go, something is a 
disconnect. We do not understand. And at one of the dinners where the 
Libyan husband of an American citizen asked me, Are you guys over here 
just to tick off the French? And I said, What? I said, I hate to be an 
ignorant American here, but why would we be ticking off the French? He 
said, You do not understand. In North Africa, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, 
the French and the Italians are viewed as the occupiers. The Americans 
came in in World War II and liberated us. We like America. And I am 
thinking, no, no, these are the guys that hate us.
  It is not that we just do not know much about Libya; we do not know 
anything. We had it backwards. If they are willing to work with us, 
hey, look,

[[Page 1106]]

it is trust but verify. They could have taken us into a nuclear 
facility.
  The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) knew more than I did 
because he has been to Russia so many times, he goes, oh, that is a 
Russian system. Were you working with this university? Were you working 
with that university? It is clear that the pressure that President 
Reagan put on communism to get the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 
change in Russia meant that it also dried up a lot of the assistance 
they were getting in Libya. And then they had to go into the market to 
pick up a few things. That knowledge, while the gentleman knows a lot, 
quite frankly, he said repeatedly, look, there is only so much we can 
do. The President makes these decisions. We can input. We can help once 
it goes through, how to put these plans together, but the bottom line 
is we want nuclear scientists to look at their nuclear facilities. We 
want experts to verify what we have heard.
  What we see is they need it economically. His son, who is the next 
potential leader, wants to change the country. He is being schooled at 
the London School of Economics. When you go into Tunisia, you can see 
the differences between there and Libya. So can all their people next 
door. They have reasons to want to change. He does not want to be 
caught in a spider hole like Saddam was.
  All the evidence suggests that this is real. What the chairman said, 
to go up to Libya, was a huge breakthrough. The administration is 
moving rapidly and this may be one of the biggest things in our life 
time that saves lots. And it is much to the gentleman's credit, and it 
was a great stop in Libya.
  I only want to mention one thing about Iraq because I agree with 
everything the gentleman has stated about that, from everything to 
morale to others; but I supported and the gentleman mentioned about 
getting General Dayton in here and the weapons of mass destruction, 
trying to understand that the consultants somehow got more high profile 
than the people that are actually running the weapons of mass 
destruction program, that there are multiple directions here; but what 
I wanted to comment on particularly was the spider hole itself.
  It taught me something else with this that I have been trying to 
communicate back home as well. That hole was not very big. I am not a 
particularly big person, maybe a little overweight but not that much, 
but I did not fit into the hole very well. The bigger you were, the 
tighter it was. The taller you were, the tighter it was. It was a very 
small hole.
  What we heard was that there was inside information, we had already 
been to that farm twice looking for it, looking for him. Saw nothing. 
Then inside information, not voluntarily given, told them where it was. 
They went in with Special Forces and still did not find it. Found a 
different hole. Then they had to go back and get a drawn map to go.
  First off, if you think of the hole as very small and the part where 
he would go down into basically like a casket with a higher ceiling, 
there was not much room when you got down in there. You could not move 
barely at all.
  No wonder he was disoriented. If he had American troops tromping 
around above him while they are making several visits with a little 
tube going down, he was probably getting very little oxygen, it was 
dark, there was no food, it is not like it is a lighted well-structured 
cell. It was a little dirt box that he was in. And if it is that hard 
by the time they put the grass over the top of it and something over 
the top of that, there was no way even Special Forces with a map could 
find it. Put this in the context of weapons of mass destruction.
  If you cannot find Saddam when you have a map from his top staffers, 
and you have your top forces searching for it with a map and it takes 
you two runs, we may never find some of this stuff. Just because we do 
not find it does not mean it does not exist. We have already proven it 
was worthwhile to go in there because they were clearly developing.
  The other thing was in going down to the Believer's Palace at the 
bottom, when we went down and saw the supposed place where he would 
feed back all this stuff to us and we were one of the first groups, I 
believe they had just opened up the basement there, and you saw the 
ability to put 200 of his special guards and his cabinet and himself in 
there. What we saw was not only the masks that you always hear about, 
chemical and biological masks, but they had controls on the wall for 
different types of chemical and biological weapons to control the air 
systems and other things. This guy was not preparing for conventional 
war.
  Whether he was preparing now or a year from now or 2 years from now 
may be debated, but he was getting ready to fight an unconventional 
war.
  In Afghanistan, which was one of my primary goals to talk again to 
President Karzai, who I met here as well as the former King, about 
narcotics. Afghan heroin is again flooding the market. We have major 
obligations here with Afghanistan. As the King said in Rome, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) took the first delegation in. 
We followed shortly after that, and the King told me at that time, we 
used to grow all sorts of crops where they now do poppy, and 
Afghanistan is often remembered when there is trouble, but then you 
forget us because we are a poor country that gets run over by all the 
major powers. My people are hungry.
  I have never seen a country without a middle class or even nice 
hotels. It was a suburb of hell, quite frankly, in Kabul. They need 
help. Yet at the same time, I think 85 percent of the people turned out 
in a recent election even though al Qaeda was threatening to kill them. 
They are excited. They have a multiparty system, multicandidates 
running.
  We have to figure out how to get them off the heroin because their 
farmers are not making that much from heroin. It is going to middle 
men. And these middle men that are making the money are often tied to 
the terrorist networks. They use narcotics, human trafficking and other 
illegal substances to fund it. So what I was trying to explain and 
President Karzai has been helpful, the general, the nephew I think of 
the King, said that we need Special Forces, Afghani Special Forces to 
go in after the heroin because the RPGs and the bombs and the suicide 
bombers are getting funded in Afghanistan largely by the fact that when 
the heroin poppy goes into market, that money then gets to middle men 
who take that money to buy armaments and to build al Qaeda and other 
terrorist networks around the world.
  It is a very close link between drugs and terrorism, a very close 
link to reestablishing the control in Afghanistan. They have the will. 
They are turning out to vote at greater rates than we are. They are 
excited about the freedom. Women have their first freedom. We have an 
American-educated leader who really is dynamic in what he wants to do 
in Afghanistan, a King who has shown his commitment for 40 years and 
then transferring it to democratic power there.
  I was hopeful for Afghanistan even though it is a very tough country 
that has been abused by every major power through world history for 
hundreds and hundreds of years. This was an eye-opening trip. It was a 
tremendous privilege to be allowed on it.
  I commend the gentleman for leading a breakthrough in Libya, major 
steps in Iraq, and showing the courage to go into Afghanistan even when 
people were telling us, the day we were still going in, do not go in 
there. It is not safe right now; we went in. President Karzai was able 
to go in front of his media and say, look, the Americans are here. They 
are backing us up. They are not bailing out just because two suicide 
bombers hit us in the last few days and somebody hit an ammunition 
dump. We are not retreating. This is real. It is not just the 
President; it is the Congress that is behind you.
  I thank the gentleman for his leadership.
  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I want to add a comment 
about the role of this body and members of foreign policy.

[[Page 1107]]

  There are some who say that Members of Congress should not travel 
overseas or travel to countries that we are having problems with.
  I will say that is absolutely, totally wrong. There are some within 
the State Department who take offense to the fact that Members of 
Congress will travel to countries like this. Let me say to my 
colleagues in this body, many of you will be here for 10 years or 20 
years. If you focus on one country or a group of countries, you will 
have far more opportunities to specialize in that country than a State 
Department official who spends 3 years in one post and moves on 
someplace else.
  There is a very real and substantive role for Members of Congress to 
play, and we must play it. This is not a case where the executive 
branch controls everything and we are just subservient to them. We are 
an equal part of the Federal Government, and we have the responsibility 
because we appropriate the dollars, we levy the taxes, and we oversee 
the way the money is spent, to travel to these countries, to open 
doors, to look for new ways to establish relationships, and to support 
the administration, which we did on this trip as we have on every major 
trip. But there is a role for the Congress to play.
  I am convinced that Members of Congress can play an extremely 
constructive role because we do not have to act as diplomats. We do not 
have to watch how we sit, how we sip our tea, what words did we use, 
because we are not representing the President. We are not representing 
the Secretary of State. We are representing ourselves. The members of 
Congress on this CODEL, as it has been on every CODEL that I have been 
a part of, did a fantastic job on behalf of America.

                              {time}  2130

  Mr. Speaker, I would like to at this point in time place the trip 
report in the Record, filed as a part of our process as we do for every 
trip that gives the American people and our colleagues a complete, 
factual understanding of what we did, where we went and how we 
represented our country.
  I am proud of this delegation, Democrats and Republicans alike, 
opening new doors to help in the security of not just America but of 
all those countries that want peace around the world.

  Congressional Delegation (CODEL) Weldon to Libya, Tunisia, Kuwait, 
 Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Germany--January 25-31, 
                                  2004


                                Summary

       A bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) led by 
     Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA), traveled to Tripoli, 
     Libya; Tunis, Tunisia; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Baghdad, Balad 
     Air Base, and Ad Dawr, Iraq; Islamabad, Pakistan; Kabul, 
     Afghanistan; Karshi Kharnabad (``K2''), Uzbekistan; and 
     Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, 
     Germany January 25-31, 2004. The delegation met with the 
     leadership of Libya, Afghanistan, and Iraqi Governing Council 
     representatives, the former Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United 
     States, reviewed U.S. military operations and visited 
     personnel supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in Kuwait 
     and Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Pakistan, 
     Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. The delegation included:

     Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA)
     Representative Solomon Ortiz (D-TX)
     Representative Steve Israel (D-NY)
     Representative Rodney Alexander (D-LA)
     Representative Candice Miller (R-MI)
     Representative Elton Gallegly (R-CA)
     Representative Mark Souder (R-IN)
     Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA)

       A listing of the complete delegation and key personnel 
     contacted at each location is provided at attachments 1 and 
     2, respectively.
     Libya, January 25-26
       The delegation was the first bipartisan congressional 
     delegation to meet with Colonel Moammar Gaddafi in 35 years. 
     Fourteen other meetings were held with senior ministry, 
     legislative, educational, and charitable foundation 
     officials. The discussions with Colonel Gaddafi and all other 
     senior leaders were extraordinarily positive regarding the 
     potential for normalized relations between Libya and the U.S. 
     The delegation encouraged the Libyan leader to follow through 
     on his encouraging public statements regarding elimination of 
     Libyan weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, with 
     swift, verifiable elimination of those programs. Further, the 
     delegation spoke with Libyan leaders regarding numerous 
     public and private cooperative science, technology, 
     environmental, health care, economic development, and energy-
     related programs that could be developed and instituted 
     immediately upon normalization of relations. The delegation 
     also delivered introductory letters from American University 
     students to students of Al Fateh University in Tripoli.
       Colonel Gaddafi thanked Chairman Weldon for making the 
     visit possible: ``coming at a very critical time''--observing 
     that he wished that ``such a meeting could have taken place 
     thirty years ago'' and stating his hope ``to be able to 
     compensate for what we missed.'' He commented at length on 
     the need for countries to communicate and engage in dialogue 
     before taking up arms against one another. He denied any 
     responsibility for the night club bombing in 1986 that led to 
     the U.S. bombing of Libya and the death of his step daughter:
       ``For 30 years we haven't discussed anything with each 
     other . . . taking the wrong approach right from the 
     beginning, with wars, losses, damage, loss of valuable time, 
     without a good, specific reason for doing so . . . The 
     picture of Gaddafi (in the U.S.) is not a real one. When I 
     took the decision on elimination of weapons of mass 
     destruction, I did it for my people, out of conviction . . . 
     If I had the atomic bomb I would put it on the table. There 
     is no reason for Libya and the United States not to have good 
     relations. The right course is the one you have taken: to 
     come here and meet . . . the policies were wrong in the past. 
     We can't rectify such wrongs . . . We have to compensate for 
     what we have missed. . . I highly value your visit because it 
     is necessary that you know us very well. Because once you 
     know us well, then you will take the appropriate policy 
     decisions.''
       He further commented regarding what he believed to be a 
     lack of knowledge in the U.S. about Libya's government:
       ``Americans don't even know the governing system in Libya. 
     We know the governing system in the U.S.: the White House, 
     the NSC (National Security Council), Congress . . . We know 
     about the Pentagon. We know about the newspapers, one by one. 
     We even know the writers. We know names of companies and 
     specializations. Nevertheless, Americans don't know anything 
     about our congresses, peoples' committees, revolutionary 
     committees, social structure, leadership, or anything about 
     the Green Book.''
       Colonel Gaddafi also mentioned criticism from Arab 
     countries he said was aimed at Libya for deciding to 
     eliminate its WMD programs:
       ``In the past year there have been bad mediators. Tunisia, 
     Egypt and other Arab countries see it as not in their best 
     interest for Libya and the United States to have good 
     relations. These countries are benefiting from the embargo 
     and seek a continuation of the embargo for their own 
     interests. How would you expect them to work for good 
     relations between Libya and America? The Arabs are waging a 
     fierce campaign against us for deciding to get rid of WMD. I 
     hope they are not successful in taking revenge against us. I 
     hope that even Libyans are not sorry for taking such a step. 
     It all depends on your supporting us. It does deserve support 
     and encouragement so that Libyans won't be disappointed.''
       Chairman Weldon stated that before coming to Libya the 
     delegation had been told by U.S. officials of the positive 
     attitude taken by Libyans in cooperating with the survey of 
     Libyan WMD programs and initial steps to eliminate WMD 
     programs:
       ``There is no doubt in my mind that your policies and 
     leadership will lead to normalized relations between our 
     countries. Even President Bush, in his recent State of the 
     Union message, mentioned Libya as a model for other 
     countries. You have to understand that President Bush has 
     been criticized by elements of our society for calling Libya 
     a model, just as you have been criticized by Arab leaders who 
     want to see Libya and America stay apart.''
       Chairman Weldon indicated that normalization of relations 
     between the two countries would permit initiatives to be 
     undertaken between the Libyan General Peoples' Congress and 
     the U.S. Congress, much like has been done with the Russian 
     Duma and other parliaments, to further governmental and non-
     governmental cooperation between peoples of the two 
     countries, leading to better understanding, peaceful 
     cooperation, and providing for a better quality of life for 
     all peoples: ``The path forward will not be easy, good things 
     have to be worked for . . . I am convinced that if we work as 
     hard on our side as you have on your side, we can start a new 
     chapter in our relationship, without make judgments about 
     your country or your culture, but to work together, as 
     partners.''
     Kuwait-Iraq, January 26-28
       The delegation traveled to Baghdad to meet with and receive 
     updates from L. Paul Bremer, Administrator of the Coalition 
     Provisional Authority; General Sanchez, Commander, Joint Task 
     Force Seven; the Iraq Survey Group, responsible for the 
     search for weapons of mass destruction; representatives of 
     the primary factions of the Iraqi Governing Council; and the 
     Deputy Commanding General, 1st Armored Division, responsible 
     for the security of Baghdad.
       Four members of the delegation met with Sheik Saud al 
     Sabah, former Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United States, to 
     renew acquaintances and discuss the general political, 
     economic, and military situation in the

[[Page 1108]]

     region. Sheik Sabah has personally established a fund for 
     families of U.S. military personnel killed in the 1991 Gulf 
     War.

                    Coalition Provisional Authority

       Ambassador Bremer indicated that work continues on 
     formulating the strategic framework for Iraqi security, its 
     economy, and political transition. He noted that while the 
     security situation had improved, there still exists a major 
     terrorist threat. He further stated that the ``consumption 
     economy'' is working well, but structural problems exist, 
     largely due to the distorting economic effects of five cents 
     a gallon gasoline. The focus is in getting capital into the 
     economy. Work continues, as well, on the transition to a 
     National Assembly by July 1, 2004. Differences within the 
     Governing Council and among the general populace on the 
     selection of delegates by caucus or direct election continue 
     to cause significant debate and public demonstrations. 
     Ambassador Bremer noted that an announcement is due in the 
     near future from the United Nations on its recommendations on 
     elections in Iraq based on the results of a study completed 
     by a visiting United Nations team.

                                 CJTF-7

       General Sanchez indicated that the number of attacks by 
     former regime elements, foreign terrorists, and others had 
     continued to decline since the capture of Hussein, now 
     averaging less than 20 per day, down from a high of 50 per 
     day.

                        Iraqi Governing Council

       The delegation met with four members of the Iraqi Governing 
     Council (IGC), representing the primary political and 
     religious factions within Iraq. The President of the IGC, Dr. 
     Adrian Pachachi, a secularist, indicated the Council was in 
     the final phase of establishing basic laws, establishing the 
     details of a provisional government, and completing the 
     constitution. Dr. Pachachi further indicated his belief that 
     the draft constitution covers every conceivable right: 
     freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, the rule of law, etc. 
     Three of the four council members--Dr. Pachachi, the Sunni, 
     and Shia IGC Members--were unanimous in stating their views 
     that it is an oversimplification to conclude that individual 
     Iraqi religious affiliation dictates the views of the Iraqi 
     people on various policy issues: ``the reality is that the 
     fanatics are a tiny minority, but very vocal and very well 
     organized.'' The Sunni IGC member indicated that Sunni and 
     Shia will vote on the issues, not on the basis of religion, 
     but on the substance of the issues under consideration--``the 
     educated middle class in Iraq is much more open minded.''
       The Kurdish member stated that the Kurds live under a 
     different system and different culture, observing that they 
     have suffered under Iraqi rule, and ``have the right to 
     establish their own way.'' Dr. Pachachi, acknowledged that 
     ``from the beginning we have recognized that the Kurds are 
     distinct, that their special status will be maintained. We 
     are in the process of agreeing to that arrangement.'' Dr. 
     Pachachi further indicated that the problem at hand is 
     deciding the best way to select members of the legislature: 
     ``The problem is that it will be difficult to have credible 
     elections in such a short period . . . If the UN doesn't 
     believe elections are possible, they will likely propose 
     other possibilities.''

                           Iraq Survey Group

       Major General Keith Dayton, Director of the Iraqi Survey 
     Group, provided a classified update on the search for weapons 
     of mass destruction and counter terrorism programs. A common 
     misperception is that Dr. Kay headed the hunt for WMD. While 
     Dr. Kay has been a very valuable advisor in the hunt for WMD, 
     General Dayton has headed the group responsible for the hunt 
     for WMD since its inception in June 2003, and with Dr. Kay's 
     departure, will continue to head the group.
       What can be said about the delegations' discussions is that 
     there, the people in the trenches actually doing the day-to-
     day searches, collecting, and analyzing the data and 
     material, expressed a sense of ``frustration and dismay'' 
     over ``what Dr Kay is doing''--or at least some of the 
     media's characterizations of ``what Dr. Kay is doing,'' as he 
     exits from his high visibility role in the hunt for WMD.
       The ISG has responsibilities beyond the sole search for 
     WMD. Although not the Commander of the ISG, but responsible 
     as the special advisor for WMD, apparently Dr. Kay sought 
     total control of all the assets under the ISG for the sole 
     purpose of the hunt for WMD. It was a matter of ``all or 
     nothing.'' And when he didn't get all of the assets--even 
     when those assets were increased to provide additional funds 
     for areas other than the search for WMD, Dr. Kay objected, 
     ultimately being a factor in his departure.
       Those responsible for the search for WMD in Iraq believe 
     that while no large stockpiles of WMD have yet to be 
     uncovered, no shortage of leads exist--with literally tens-
     of-millions of documents remaining to be fully examined and 
     considerable leads and circumstantial evidence to be 
     pursued--``with much remaining to be done.''
       General Dayton believes the declared failure by some to yet 
     find large stockpiles of nuclear, chemical, or biological 
     weapons is premature and ignores the significance of the 
     evidence that has been found about the undisputed activities 
     in each of these areas providing evidence of future 
     intentions and breakout capabilities being pursued and proven 
     to have existed. In the nuclear area, Dr. Kay said as 
     recently as January 28 that, ``Look, the man had the intent 
     to acquire these weapons, he invested huge amounts of money 
     in them. The fact is he wasn't successful.''
       In the end, Dr. Kay's judgment, regardless of the 
     disappointment resident in the ISG, came down on the side of 
     the continued search. In an interview on NBC in which he was 
     asked to comment on whether it was prudent to go to war, Dr. 
     Kay said ``I think it was absolutely prudent. In fact, I 
     think at the end of the inspection process we'll paint a 
     picture of Iraq that was far more dangerous than we even 
     thought it was before the war . . .''

                         Balad Air Base-Ad Dawr

       At Balad Air Base, the delegation met with the Commanding 
     General of the 4th Infantry Division, Major General Mike 
     Odierno and the Commander, Third Brigade, 4th ID, Colonel 
     Fred Rudesheim. The delegation also visited the capture site 
     of Saddam Hussein at Ad Dawr. At each stop the Members had an 
     opportunity to meet with military personnel from their home 
     states and districts.
     Afghanistan, January 29
       The delegation met with President Hamid Karzai and the 
     former King of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah. President Karzai 
     expressed his appreciation to the delegation for the many 
     sacrifices made by America to further political stability, 
     economic progress, and increased employment in Afghanistan 
     and for America's continued war on terrorism . . . ``Our 
     people know what America has done.'' He described the Loya 
     Jirga process, the adoption of the Afghan Constitution, 
     patterned after the U.S. Constitution, and the anticipated 
     general elections.

                         President Hamid Karzai

       President Karzai cited the key importance of Pakistan to 
     stability in Afghanistan, by not interfering in Afghan 
     affairs, yet assisting in elimination of the Taliban threat. 
     The President and the delegation discussed the significant 
     problem of continued high levels of poppy cultivation in 
     Afghanistan. President Karzai acknowledged. Afghanistan's 
     failed efforts to eliminate poppy cultivation and described 
     the government's plan to destroy poppy fields, while 
     assisting farmers in alternative crop cultivation, 
     interdiction of drug routes, and destruction of heroin 
     production labs. The President concluded that for Afghanistan 
     to emerge as a nation-state it has to destroy the poppy crop: 
     ``to destroy terrorism, we must destroy poppies.'' The 
     delegation cited its support and commitment to Afghanistan, 
     ``for the long haul.''

                        His Highness, Zahir Shah

       The former King, Zahir Shah, thanked the delegation for 
     U.S. assistance in establishing peace and security in 
     Afghanistan. He observed that the political process in 
     Afghanistan is based on a tribal structure--a democracy that 
     functions within a tribal structure--with the same goals as 
     the people in America.
      Uzbekistan, January 29-30
       Following meetings in Kabul, the delegation traveled to 
     Karshi-Kharnabad (``K2''), Uzbekistan, to visit U.S. military 
     personnel supporting OEF. In addition to being able to speak 
     informally at the evening and breakfast meals with personnel 
     from their districts, the delegation received mission 
     orientated briefings, toured a mission aircraft, and viewed a 
     static display of a Uzbek Air Force SU-27.
     Germany, January 30-31

             Commander, USAF Europe and U.S. Consul General

       General ``Doc'' Foglesong and Consul General (CG) Peter 
     Bodde discussed NATO-related military and regional political 
     issues. General Foglesong described the challenges posed by 
     making the NATO Response Force (NRF) viable given the current 
     limited expeditionary capabilities of the NRF. He also 
     described the efforts at re-sizing NATO and U.S. operations--
     ``mining manpower positions''--and the use of ``reach back 
     capabilities'' to allow functions in the U.S. such as 
     intelligence to support the European theater instead of 
     having to have the capability resident in Europe. General 
     Foglesong further described efforts to develop niche 
     capabilities among NATO partners to preclude all nations from 
     having to have all military capabilities with some developing 
     expeditionary capabilities for billeting, some with medical, 
     others with civil engineering, etc.
       Representative Souder expressed his deep concern regarding 
     Austria's, France's, Turkey's and Germany's various degrees 
     of lack of support for U.S. operations in Iraq. He also 
     commented on the cumbersome rules of engagement within NATO 
     in the war in Kosovo. General Foglesong indicated his 
     ``cautious optimism'' about relations and support in dealing 
     with the countries within NATO: ``They recognize that 
     terrorists don't recognize borders.''
       Representative Ortiz, expressing frustration, observed that 
     ``it would be nice if the State Department would consider us 
     (Congress) equal players,'' indicating the both

[[Page 1109]]

     State and Defense Departments frequently take action without 
     consultation or regard for the views of Congress.
       Chairman Weldon concluded that regardless of the some 
     troubling aspects in the execution of foreign policy and some 
     military operations, ``the American peoples' support and the 
     support of Congress for the troops are solid and 
     unequivocal--and the troops need to know that.''

 Contingency Aero-medical Staging Facility & Lanstuhl Regional Medical 
                                 Center

       The delegation visited with injured military personnel from 
     Afghanistan and Iraq at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center 
     and Aero-medical Staging Facility at Ramstein Air Base. The 
     delegation was pleased to provide transportation for ten 
     soldiers, awaiting transportation to the U.S. to continue 
     their treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for 
     injuries suffered in Iraq.

             Political, Economic, and Security Environment

       The CODEL visit to Libya came shortly after Libyan leader 
     Moammar Gaddafi's pledge to rid his country of weapons of 
     mass destruction.
       The Iraq visit took place six weeks after the capture of 
     Saddam Hussein near Ad Dawr and nine months after the 
     declared end to major combat operations in Iraq. In October 
     2003, Congress had approved President Bush's $87 billion 
     fiscal year 2004 supplemental request for military, 
     intelligence, and reconstruction costs in Iraq and 
     Afghanistan. Acts of terrorism being conducted by former 
     regime elements, fundamentalist extremists, foreign 
     terrorists, and common criminals against coalition forces and 
     Iraqi civilians continued to cause casualties, although at a 
     reduced rate since Hussein's capture and the end of Ramadan. 
     The Iraqi people, particularly the police, have increasingly 
     become the target of the random terrorist attacks.
       The Afghanistan visit came shortly after the adoption of 
     the Afghanistan constitution by the ``Loya Jirga.'' Lingering 
     Taliban elements and Al Qaeda continued efforts to threaten 
     the evolution of democratic Afghanistan through intimidation 
     and sporadic terrorist attacks against coalition forces, non-
     governmental international aid organizations and Afghans.


                                Overview

       A bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) comprised of 
     eight Members of Congress, led by Representative Curt Weldon 
     (R-PA), traveled to Tripoli, Libya; Tunis, Tunisia; Kuwait 
     City, Kuwait; Baghdad, Balad Air Base, and Ad Dawr, Iraq; 
     Islamabad, Pakistan; Kabul, Afghanistan; Karshi Kharnabad 
     (``K2''), Uzbekistan; and Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl 
     Regional Medical Center, Germany January 25-31, 2004. The 
     delegation met with the leadership of Libya and Afghanistan, 
     representatives of the Iraqi governing Council (IGC), the 
     former Kuwaiti Ambassador to the U.S., reviewed U.S. military 
     operations and visited personnel supporting Operation Iraqi 
     Freedom (OIF) in Kuwait and Iraq and Operation Enduring 
     Freedom (OEF) in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. In 
     addition, thousands of Valentines Day cards from U.S. school 
     children as well as other gifts were presented to U.S. troops 
     serving in OIF and OEF in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan 
     in the war against terrorism.
     Tripoli, Libya, January 25-26
       The delegation was the first bipartisan congressional 
     delegation to visit Libya and meet with Colonel Moammar 
     Gaddafi in 35 years.

                            Arrival Meeting

       The delegation was met by a delegation led by Abdullatife 
     Aldali, Chairman of the Tripoli Conference, who welcomed the 
     delegation: ``We look forward to a new relationship between 
     Libya and America.''
       Following an introduction of the delegation, Chairman 
     Weldon indicated the delegation was in Libya to open a new 
     chapter in U.S.-Libyan relations, to listen and learn from 
     its Libyan counterparts: ``There are strong U.S. interests in 
     both political parties to be friends with Libya, to work to 
     resolve common concerns. We don't come here to represent the 
     Secretary of State or the President, but as representatives 
     of a coequal branch of the United States Government, looking 
     forward to normalized relations between our countries.'' 
     Chairman Weldon described many of the inter-parliamentary 
     relationships Congress has with the parliaments in Russia, 
     Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and the European Parliament 
     and indicated his hope that there would one day be a similar 
     relationship with the General Peoples' Congress Great 
     Jamahiriya of Libya.
       Representative Ortiz indicated that there is much to be 
     gained by both countries by being friends and thanked the 
     hosts for their warm welcome.

 Overview of Ministry, Legislative, Educational, & Foundation Meetings

       The delegation met with Colonel Gaddafi for two hours and 
     had fourteen other meetings with senior ministry, 
     legislative, educational, and charitable foundations. The 
     delegation spoke with the Libyan leaders about cooperative 
     governmental and non-governmental programs that could be 
     developed and instituted, much like has been done with the 
     parliaments of other countries. Chairman Weldon noted that 
     discussions regarding such programs could be started 
     immediately upon normalization of relations.
       Chairman Weldon prefaced each of the discussions with 
     Libyan leaders with an explanation of the congressional role 
     in the U.S. federal system of separate, but equal branches of 
     government: ``We are not here to negotiate, that is the 
     responsibility of the executive branch of our government. But 
     after you take the necessary steps to follow through on your 
     stated intention to eliminate your WMD programs, Congress can 
     encourage our President and Secretary of State to expedite 
     normalization of relations with your country. Following that, 
     we can work with you, like we have with a number of other 
     parliaments around the world, to establish governmental and 
     non-governmental programs to bring our two countries closer 
     together and improve the welfare of both our peoples.'' The 
     discussions with Colonel Gaddafi and all other senior leaders 
     with whom the delegation met were extraordinarily positive 
     regarding the potential for normalized relations between 
     Libya and the U.S.

                            Colonel Gaddafi

       Colonel Gaddafi thanked Chairman Weldon for making the 
     visit possible: ``coming at a very critical time,'' observing 
     that he wished that ``such a meeting could have taken place 
     thirty years ago'' and stating his ``hope to be able to 
     compensate for what we missed.'' He commented at length on 
     the need for countries to communicate and engage in dialogue 
     before taking up arms against one another. He denied any 
     responsibility for the night club bombing in 1986 that led to 
     the U.S. bombing of Libya and the death of his step daughter:
       ``For 30 years we haven't discussed anything with each 
     other . . . taking the wrong approach, right from the 
     beginning, with wars, losses, damage, loss of valuable time, 
     without a good, specific reason for doing so . . . The 
     picture of Gaddafi in the U.S. is not a real one. When I took 
     the decision on elimination of weapons of mass destruction, I 
     did it for my people, out of conviction . . . If I had the 
     atomic bomb I would put it on the table. There is no reason 
     for Libya and the United States not to have good relations. 
     The right course is the one you have taken: to come here and 
     meet . . . the policies were wrong in the past. We can't 
     rectify such wrongs . . . We have to compensate for what we 
     have missed. . . .I highly value your visit because it is 
     necessary that you know us very well. Because once you know 
     us well, then you will take the appropriate policy 
     decision.''
       He further commented at length at what he believed to be a 
     lack of knowledge in the U.S. about Libya's government:
       ``You don't even know the governing system in Libya. We 
     know the governing system in the U.S.: the White House, the 
     NSC (national security council), Congress. We know about the 
     Pentagon. We know about the newspapers, one by one. We even 
     know the writers. We know names of companies and 
     specializations. Nevertheless, Americans don't know anything 
     about our congresses, peoples' committees, revolutionary 
     committees, social structure, leadership, or anything about 
     the Green Book.''
       Colonel Gaddafi commented on the criticism he said was 
     aimed at Libya for deciding to eliminate its WMD programs:
       ``In the past there have been bad mediators. Tunisia, Egypt 
     and other Arab countries see it as not in their best 
     interests for Libya and the United States to have good 
     relations. They are benefiting from the embargo and seek a 
     continuation for their own interests. How would you expect 
     them to work for good relations between Libya and America? 
     The Arabs are waging a fierce campaign against us for 
     deciding to get rid of WMD. I hope they are not successful in 
     taking revenge against us. I hope that even Libyans are not 
     sorry for taking such a step. It all depends on your 
     supporting us. It does deserve support and encouragement so 
     that Libyans won't be disappointed.''
       Chairman Weldon stated that before coming to Libya the 
     delegation had been told by U.S. officials of the positive 
     attitude taken by Libyans in cooperating with the survey of 
     Libyan WMD programs and initial steps to implement the WMD 
     program elimination.
       ``There is no doubt in my mind that your policies and 
     leadership will lead to normalized relations between our 
     countries. Even President Bush, in his recent State of the 
     Union message, mentioned Libya as a model for other 
     countries. You have to understand that President Bush has 
     been criticized by elements of our society for calling Libya 
     a model, just as you have been criticized by Arab leaders who 
     want to see Libya and America stay apart.''
       Chairman Weldon indicated that normalization of relations 
     between the two countries would permit initiatives to be 
     undertaken between the Libyan General Peoples' Congress and 
     the U.S. Congress, much like has been done with the Russian 
     Duma and other parliaments, to further government and non-
     governmental cooperation between peoples of the two 
     countries, leading to better understanding, peaceful 
     cooperation, and providing for a better quality of life for 
     all people: ``The path forward will not be easy,

[[Page 1110]]

     but most good things you have to work hard for . . . I am 
     convinced that if we work hard on our side as you have on 
     your side, we can start a new chapter in our relationship, 
     not to judge your country, your culture, but to work 
     together, as partners.''
       The delegation encouraged the Libyan leader to follow 
     through on his encouraging public statements regarding 
     elimination of Libyan weapons of mass destruction (WMD) 
     programs, with swift, verifiable elimination of WMD programs.

               General Peoples' Congress Great Jamahiriya

       Zinati Zinati, Speaker of the General Peoples' Congress 
     Great Jamahiriya, welcomed the delegation and expressed his 
     appreciation for the ``extraordinary effort'' the delegation 
     took to be in Libya: `` This is evidence of the great will on 
     your part to develop, promote and enhance relations between 
     our two countries.'' The Speaker provided the delegation with 
     a general overview of the structure of the ``basic 
     congresses'' and the General People's Congress, the annual 
     legislative agenda, and the Libya legislative procedures.
       Chairman Weldon noted that the delegation was the first 
     U.S. bipartisan delegation to visit Libya in over 35 years. 
     He expressed his appreciation for the warm reception and how 
     this portended very productive discussions. The Chairman also 
     cited the gratifying experience of the delegation shortly 
     after the official arrival when the delegation had been able 
     to take advantage of a short period before the beginning of 
     the official itinerary to visit the nearby souq (market). 
     There, the delegation had an opportunity to meet several 
     Libyans, including small children, shopping and tending their 
     stores, who in each and every case warmly greeted the members 
     of the delegation, often in English.
       Chairman Weldon indicated that the delegation had come to 
     Libya to praise Col Gaddafi for the ``bold steps he had taken 
     to begin to bring our countries back together.''
       ``The positive steps Libya has taken in settling 
     international claims against Libya; agreeing to rejoin 
     international non-proliferation organizations and treaties; 
     and declared intentions to deal with weapons of mass 
     destruction have been very well received around the world. In 
     fact the focus of the world is on Libya. It is a positive 
     focus, that can lead to normalized relations between our 
     countries. We came to let your Congress know that once 
     normalized relations can be established, that our Congress 
     can work with you, like we have done with the parliaments of 
     Ukraine, Russia, Europe, and other parliaments to establish 
     cooperative programs for the benefit of both our peoples.''
       Chairman Weldon further described the detailed program 
     established with the Russian Duma outlined in A New Time, A 
     New Beginning, as described in attachment 3, prepared by 
     members of the U.S. Congress, that was promulgated for the 
     purpose of providing a catalyst for Russia and the U.S. to 
     work together to benefit the peoples of both countries. He 
     explained that a similar program and process for 
     implementation could be established between Libya and the 
     U.S. once normalized relations could be achieved. He further 
     states ``that, something more fundamentally important that 
     can occur is to change the image of Libya in America, and the 
     world. The American people have a limited knowledge of Libya. 
     By enhancing our formal relationship between our parliaments 
     we would have an opportunity to further understanding between 
     our peoples.''
       Representative Ortiz commented that ``someone has a vision 
     to get us together and I want to thank my Chairman for his 
     vision.'' Mr. Ortiz quoted LBJ (Lyndon Baines Johnson):
       ``Let's sit down and reason together.'' Adding, ``that is 
     what we are here to do today. There have been incidents that 
     have caused us to drift apart. We can't change history, but 
     we don't want to repeat it . . . We have taken the first 
     step. I come from Texas and we have had a great relationship 
     with Libya in the past. We have only been here a few hours, 
     but I like what I see and I like what I hear. For the sake of 
     the future generations, we need to give them a chance to 
     hope, to dream, and to plan. We pledge we will do everything 
     to strengthen the bonds between our two countries.''
       Chairman Weldon thanked the Speaker for the efforts of Saif 
     al Saleem al Gaddafi, Colonel Gaddafi's son, and Abdulmagid 
     Mansouri, a member of the International Energy Advisory 
     Council for their efforts in facilitating the visit of the 
     delegation. Chairman Weldon further stated that: ``I am happy 
     we are opening a new door between our countries and I want to 
     keep that door open and not repeat the tragedies of the 
     past.''
       Suleiman Al Shahoumi, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the 
     General Peoples' Congress, observed that:
       ``Libya is a small country that inherited an ancient system 
     with people living in poverty and experiencing starvation. 
     The revolution in 1969 sought to bring up the level of life 
     for the Libyan people. The Libyan people have chosen a 
     political system--a direct democracy--in harmony with Libya's 
     culture and principles in life . . . A system based on 
     placing all authority in the hands of the people, distributed 
     through 450 Peoples' Basic Congresses. This system is 
     independent and balanced . . . The policies of these 
     congresses support national liberation for states and nations 
     and call for the respect of human rights and condemns all 
     forms of terrorism. This policy also believes that the only 
     way to resolve conflicts is through dialogue, calling for 
     peace, stability, and order and cooperation between peoples 
     and states. This policy believes that prosperity is achieved 
     through democracy and development. Therefore Libya, thanks to 
     the revolution, has been able to provide all types of rights 
     to the people: utilities, education, human resources, 
     housing, fresh water--all related to mankind. In spite of the 
     term human rights not being precisely defined, my country has 
     signed onto all treaties related to human rights.''
       Secretary Shahoumi, commenting on terrorism, cited the 
     difficulty in ``differentiating between terrorism and the 
     legitimate right of nations and peoples to fight for their 
     freedom and human rights.'' He added that, ``we deny and 
     refuse the ways of connecting terrorism and Islam because we 
     believe terrorism has no religion, has no state or country or 
     home, and has no nationality.''
       In commenting on weapons of mass destruction, the Secretary 
     noted that ever since the 1969 Revolution, Libya has been 
     calling for making the Middle East a region free of weapons 
     of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons:
       ``But nobody has ever responded to this initiative. 
     Therefore because of no response to our initiative, we 
     thought as a small country, a modest way to protect ourselves 
     was to establish WMD as part of our defense policy. However, 
     after breakthroughs in resolving conflicts like UTA and 
     Lockerbie and because of serious thoughts of the 
     international community to get rid of WMD, Libya decided to 
     formally announce its decision to dismantle its WMD programs. 
     In this regard, we wish to express our deep appreciation for 
     the positive international response to our initiative and we 
     again call for making the region a WMD-free zone. As a step 
     to that end, Libya has signed all relevant treaties and 
     conventions related to this topic, including treaties banning 
     all types of experiments related to WMD . . . And we call on 
     your support to make the Middle East a WMD-free zone.''
       The Secretary further provided his view that the people of 
     Libya believe and have in fact published a White Book on the 
     topic of peace in the Middle East. He indicated the White 
     Book makes a ``practical and persuasive case'' for making 
     Israel and Palestine a ``bi-state country,'' modeled after 
     South Africa, with Muslims, Jews, and Christians all living 
     together with ``all rights and duties.''
       Representative Issa observed that Libya's stated intent to 
     eliminate its WMD programs represents a ``huge step'' toward 
     the goal of a WMD-free Middle East: ``Your offer made in 
     Beirut two years ago to normalize relations with Israel was 
     also a huge step . . . I will have to admit that I am a 
     little cynical that Palestinians and Jews should join into 
     one country so readily. Your dream is still a good one. 
     Either option is acceptable to me. I hope you will join us in 
     seeking either option as an acceptable approach to achieving 
     peace in the Middle East.''

                             Prime Minister

       Prime Minister Shokri Ghanem observed that strained 
     relations between Libya and the U.S. existed due to 
     ``misunderstandings or misfortunes,'' and Libya wishes to 
     change that.
       Representative Issa stated that it is important to sustain 
     the momentum that has developed in normalizing relations: 
     ``Momentum is like magic when it works . . . it is about 
     expectations. Colonel Gaddafi turned on a dime in an amazing 
     way. With no missteps, the U.S. could have an Embassy here in 
     300 days.''
       Prime Minister Ghanem stated that ``with good intentions, 
     with each party trying to understand one another,'' 
     differences can be worked out: ``When we talk we understand 
     one another. You are a big country--a super power--we are a 
     small country, yet neither of us has a monopoly on wisdom. We 
     have a duty to one another, and should not listen to a third 
     party. We are very interested in going the whole way. We 
     suffered from terrorism more than you. We failed to 
     communicate. We need to talk.'' Chairman Weldon added: 
     ``Honesty and candor are critical.''
       Representative Gallegly mentioned the change that has taken 
     place in American attitudes and the high level of 
     apprehension that exists since 9/11. He further commented on 
     the ``extremely warm welcome'' the delegation had received. 
     He added that ``the press can often become the wedge, 
     frequently seeing the glass as half empty. We can't let the 
     press control the debate on this issue.'' Prime Minister 
     responded that: ``the people are open and warm and have no 
     grudges whatsoever.''
       Prime Minister Ghanem concluded that after 9/11 the whole 
     world is different: ``We can work together. Libya is a small 
     country. When we talk and listen you can find wisdom in a 
     small country. You will find us a good ally. The United 
     States was the number one place we sent our students. We 
     would like to do that again.''

                            Foreign Minister

       Foreign Minister Abdulrakman Shalgam stated: ``it is an 
     honor for us to start a new

[[Page 1111]]

     era of relations with the U.S. . . . I believe this is a 
     chance for you to learn about our people. Our expectation, 
     our ideas and thoughts can benefit from international peace . 
     . . In the past there was a joint misunderstanding. It is the 
     mission for both of us to clear up that misunderstanding . . 
     . Certain circumstances caused a misunderstanding. We started 
     a bit late, but better late than never. It is an honor to be 
     receiving the first delegation from America.''
       Chairman Weldon stated that the delegation didn't know what 
     to expect in coming to Libya: ``Your people have overwhelmed 
     us with their warm greetings--in your markets and in all of 
     our meetings . . . The eyes of the world are on Libya because 
     of what you have done. Your decision to rid your country of 
     WMD and rejoin related treaties has caused Libya to become 
     the centerpiece for discussion all over our country. The 
     highest respect we can give is coming here personally . . . 
     As you know, we are not here to negotiate, that is not our 
     job. But if you continue the path you have chosen, as an 
     equal branch of our government, we believe we can institute a 
     process that will benefit both of our peoples. We have spoken 
     with your Congress about that day and talked to them about 
     the work we have done with other parliaments. We are excited, 
     optimistic, and with your leadership, we believe normalized 
     relations can be established.''
       Representative Ortiz observed that he never believed that 
     one day he would be in Tripoli. He also spoke of the warm 
     greetings extended to the delegation.

   Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable Associations the 
       Gaddafi Human Rights Foundation & The Libyan Red Crescent

       The delegation visited with officials of the Gaddafi 
     International Foundation for Charitable Associations, the 
     Gaddafi Human Rights Foundation, and the Libyan Red Crescent 
     to discuss their programs.

                          Al Fateh University

       The delegation met with the President of Al Fateh 
     University, department heads, and delivered introductory 
     letters from American University students to students of the 
     University. Professor Tarhuui read a poem that he had 
     prepared to celebrate the delegation's visit, attachment 4.
     Baghdad, Iraq, January 27
       The delegation traveled to Baghdad to meet with and receive 
     updates from L. Paul Bremer, Administrator of the Coalition 
     Provisional Authority; General Sanchez, Commander, Joint Task 
     Force Seven; the Iraq Survey Group, responsible for the 
     search for weapons of mass destruction; representatives of 
     the primary factions of the Iraqi Governing Council; and the 
     Deputy Commanding General, 1st Armored Division, responsible 
     for the security of Baghdad.

                    Coalition Provisional Authority

       Ambassador Bremer indicated that work continues on 
     formulating the strategic framework for Iraqi security, its 
     economy, and political transition. He indicated that while 
     the security situation had improved, there still exists a 
     major terrorist threat. He further indicated that the 
     ``consumption economy'' is working well, but structural 
     problems exist, largely due to the distorting effects of five 
     cents a gallon gasoline. The focus is in getting capital into 
     the economy. Work continues, as well, on the transition to a 
     National Assembly by July 1, 2004. Differences within the 
     Governing Council and among the general populace on the 
     selection of delegates by caucus or direct election continue 
     to cause significant debate and public demonstrations. An 
     announcement is due in the near future from the United 
     Nations on its recommendations on elections in Iraq based on 
     the results of a study completed by a visiting United Nations 
     team.

                                 CJTF-7

       Lieutenant General (LTG) Ricardo Sanchez, the senior U.S. 
     military officer in Iraq (Commending General V Corps and 
     Coalition Joint Task Force 7), provided an update on combat, 
     security, and U.S. military personnel issues. General Sanchez 
     indicated that the number of attacks by former regime 
     elements, foreign terrorists, and others had continued to 
     decline since the capture of Hussein, averaging less than 20 
     per day, down from a high of 50 per day.

                        Iraqi Governing Council

       The delegation met with four members of the Iraqi Governing 
     Council (IGC), representing the primary political and 
     religious factions within Iraq. The President of the IGC, Dr. 
     Adnan Pachachi, a secularist, indicated the council was in 
     the final phase of establishing basic laws, establishing the 
     details of a provisional government, and completing the 
     constitution. Dr. Pachachi indicated his belief that the 
     draft constitution covers every conceivable right: freedom of 
     speech, freedom of assembly, the rule of law, etc. Three of 
     the four members--Dr. Pachachi, the Sunni, and Shia IGC 
     Members were unanimous in stating their views that it is an 
     oversimplification to conclude that religious affiliation 
     dictates the views of the Iraqi people: ``the reality is that 
     the fanatics are a tiny minority, but very vocal and very 
     well organized.'' The Sunni IGC member indicated that Sunni 
     and Shia will vote on the issues, not on the basis of 
     religion, but on the substance of the issues under 
     consideration--``the educated middle class in Iraq is much 
     more open minded.''
       The Kurdish member stated that the Kurds live under a 
     different system and culture, that they have suffered under 
     Iraqi rule, and ``have the right to establish their own 
     way.'' Dr. Pachachi acknowledged that ``from the beginning we 
     have recognized that the Kurds are distinct, that their 
     special status will be maintained. We are in the process of 
     agreeing to that arrangement.'' Dr. Pachachi further 
     indicated that the problem at hand is deciding the best way 
     to select members of the legislature: ``The problem is that 
     it will be difficult to have credible elections in such a 
     short period . . . If the U.N. doesn't believe elections are 
     possible, they will likely propose other possibilities.''

                           Iraq Survey Group

       Major General Keith Dayton, Director of the Iraqi Survey 
     Group, provided a classified update on the search for weapons 
     of mass destruction and counterterrorism programs. A common 
     misperception is that Dr. Kay headed the hunt for WMD. While 
     Dr. Kay has been a very valuable advisor in the hunt for WMD, 
     General Dayton has headed the group responsible for the hunt 
     for WMD since its inception in June 2003, and with Dr. Kay's 
     departure will continue to head the group.
       What can be said about the delegation's discussions is that 
     there, the people in the trenches actually doing the day-to-
     day searches, collecting, and analyzing the data and 
     material, expressed a sense of ``frustration and dismay'' 
     over ``what Dr. Kay is doing''--or at least some of the 
     media's characterization of ``what Dr. Kay is doing,'' as he 
     exits from his high visibility role in the hunt for WMD.
       The ISG has responsibilities beyond the sole search for 
     WMD. Although not the Commander of the ISG, but responsible 
     as the special advisor for WMD, apparently Dr. Kay sought 
     total control of all the assets under the ISG for the sole 
     purpose of the hunt for WMD. It was a matter of ``all or 
     nothing.'' And when he didn't get all of the assets--even 
     when those assets were increased to provide additional funds 
     for areas other than the search for WMD, Dr. Kay objected, 
     ultimately being a factor in his departure.
       Those responsible for the search for WMD in Iraq believe 
     that while no large stockpiles of WMD have yet to be 
     uncovered, no shortage of leads exist--with literally tens-
     of-millions of documents remaining to be fully examined and 
     considerable leads and circumstantial evidence to be 
     pursued--``with much remaining to be done.''
       General Dayton believes the declared failure by some to yet 
     find large stockpiles of nuclear, chemical, or biological 
     weapons is premature and ignores the significance of the 
     evidence that has been found about the undisputed activities 
     in each of these areas providing evidence of future 
     intentions and breakout capabilities being pursued and proven 
     to have existed. In the nuclear area, Dr. Kay said as 
     recently as January 28 that, ``Look, the man had the intent 
     to acquire these weapons, he invested huge amounts of money 
     in them. The fact is he wasn't successful.''
       In the end, Dr. Kay's judgment, regardless of the 
     disappointment resident in the ISG, came down on the side of 
     the continued search. In an interview on NBC in which he was 
     asked to comment on whether it was prudent to go to war, Dr. 
     Kay said ``I think it was absolutely prudent. In fact, I 
     think at the end of the inspection process we'll paint a 
     picture of Iraq that was far more dangerous than we even 
     thought it was before the war . . .''.

                          1st Armored Division

       Brigadier General Mark Hertling, Deputy Commanding General, 
     1st Armored Division, provided an update on security and 
     Iraqi police training programs within Baghdad.
     Kuwait, January 27
       Four members of the delegation met with Sheik Saud al 
     Sabah, former Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United States, to 
     renew acquaintances and discuss the general political, 
     economic, and military situation in the region. Sheik Sabah 
     has personally established a fund for families of U.S. 
     military personnel killed in the 1991 Gulf War.
     Balad Air Base & Ad Dawr, January 28
       Major General Ray Odierno, Commanding General, 4th Infantry 
     Division, and Colonel Frederick Rudesheim, Commander, 3rd 
     Brigade Combat Team, 4th ID, escorted the delegation to the 
     site of Saddam Hussein's capture near Ad Dawr and briefed the 
     delegation on operations and reconstruction efforts in his 
     area of responsibility.
     Islamabad, Pakistan January 29
       AMB Nancy J. Powell briefed the delegation on issues 
     relating to the bilateral relationship between the United 
     States and Pakistan, and responded to members' questions.
       Chairman Weldon asked if Usama Bin Ladin were in 
     Baluchistan (the southern tribal area bordering Afghanistan), 
     and if he were being protected by Pakistani government 
     officials. AMB Powell responded that she does not believe 
     there are Al Qaeda sympathizers among the Pakistani 
     leadership, but the question of Taliban supporters is 
     ``trickier.'' She noted that in general, Pakistani 
     cooperation has been excellent: Khalid

[[Page 1112]]

     Sheikh Mohammed was taken down by Pakistani elements, and 
     that another high value target was captured within 90 minutes 
     of transmitting U.S. intelligence to Pakistani forces.
       Chairman Weldon followed up with a question concerning the 
     likelihood of assassination of President Musharraf AMB Powell 
     responded that it is always a danger--he recently survived 
     two attempts on his life, which Musharraf blames on Al-Qaeda. 
     AMB Powell pointed out that the 1988 plane crash that claimed 
     the life of President Zia is still surrounded by questions.
       Chairman Weldon asked how extensive our contacts with 
     Pakistani officials were. AMB Powell responded that we lost 
     contact with an entire generation of Pakistani officers when 
     Pakistan was under sanctions between 1990-2001, but just this 
     last year we brought 75 junior officers into our training 
     programs. Chairman Weldon also asked about the F-16s that 
     Pakistan bought but were denied under sanctions, and AMB 
     Powell replied that they had been paid back.
       Chairman Weldon suggested that Chairman Souder lead an 
     effort to create a tripartite interparliamentary exchanges 
     with Pakistani, Indian, and U.S. legislators. AMB Powell 
     remarked that this would be particularly helpful to Pakistani 
     parliamentarians: they passively await legislation drafted by 
     the government; they have no staff; no working committee 
     system.
     Kabul, Afghanistan January 29
       The delegation met with President Hamid Karzai and the 
     former King of Afghanistan Zahir Shah. President Karzai 
     expressed his appreciation to the delegation for the many 
     sacrifices made by America to further political stability, 
     economic progress, and increase employment in Afghanistan and 
     for America's continued war on terrorism . . . ``Our people 
     know what America has done.'' He described the Loya Jirga 
     process, the adoption of the Afghan Constitution, patterned 
     after the U.S. Constitution, and the anticipated general 
     elections.

                         President Hamid Karzai

       President Karzai cited the key importance of Pakistan to 
     stability in Afghanistan by not interfering in Afghan 
     affairs, yet assisting in elimination of the Taliban threat. 
     The President and the delegation discussed the significant 
     problem of continued high levels of poppy cultivation in 
     Afghanistan. President Karzai acknowledged Afghanistan's 
     failed efforts to eliminate poppy cultivation and described 
     the government's plan to destroy poppy fields, while 
     assisting farmers in alternative crop cultivation, 
     interdiction of drug routes, and destruction of heroin 
     production labs. The President concluded that for Afghanistan 
     to emerge as a nation-state it has to destroy the poppy crop: 
     ``to destroy terrorism, we must destroy poppies.'' The 
     delegation cited its support and commitment to Afghanistan, 
     ``for the long haul.''

                        His Highness, Zahir Shah

       The former King, Zahir Shah, thanked the delegation for 
     U.S. assistance in establishing peace and security in 
     Afghanistan. He observed that the political process in 
     Afghanistan is based on a tribal structure--a democracy that 
     functions within a tribal structure--with the same goals as 
     the people in America.
     Karshi-Kharnabad, Uzbekistan, January 29-30
       The delegation remained overnight at Karshi-Kharnabad (``K-
     2''), Uzbekistan following meetings in Kabul to visit U.S. 
     military personnel supporting OEF. In addition to being able 
     to speak informally at the evening and breakfast meals with 
     personnel from their districts, the delegation received 
     mission orientation briefings and visited unit assigned 
     aircraft and a static display of a Uzbek SU-27 provided by 
     the Uzbek Air Force.
     Ramstein and Lanstuhl Medical Center Germany, January 30-31

           General ``Doc'' Foglesong and Consul General Bodde

       General ``Doc'' Foglesong and Consul General (CG) Peter 
     Bodde discussed NATO-related military and regional political 
     issues. General Foglesong described the challenges posed by 
     making the NATO Response Force (NRF) viable given the current 
     limited expeditionary capabilities of the NRF. He also 
     described the efforts at re-sizing NATO and U.S. operations--
     ``mining manpower positions''--and the use of ``reach back 
     capabilities'' to allow functions in the U.S. such as 
     intelligence to support the European theater instead of 
     having to have the capability resident in Europe. General 
     Foglesong further described efforts to develop niche 
     capabilities among NATO partners to preclude all nations from 
     having to have all military capabilities with some developing 
     expeditionary capabilities for billeting, some with medical, 
     others with civil engineering, etc.
       Representative Souder expressed his deep concern regarding 
     Austria's, France's, Turkey's and Germany's various degrees 
     of lack of support for U.S. operations in Iraq. He also 
     commented on the cumbersome rules of engagement within NATO 
     in the war in Kosovo, ``when eight foreign ministers were 
     involved in approving target lists.'' General Foglesong cited 
     need for ``balance'' in each of these relations and for 
     future planning, the need to assess our abilities to deploy 
     into and out of various countries and determine which 
     countries will allow the U.S. to ``kinematically execute'' 
     from their bases.
       The delegation also discussed the status of relationships 
     with the French and German governments. General Foglesong and 
     CG Bodde highlighted a number of efforts by Germany to assist 
     the U.S., e.g., providing air base security to permit U.S. 
     security personnel to be deployed to support operations like 
     OIF and OEF. General Foglesong indicated his optimism in 
     dealing with the countries within NATO: ``They recognize that 
     terrorists don't recognize borders.''
       Representative Ortiz, expressing frustration, observed that 
     ``it would be nice if the State Department would consider us 
     (Congress) equal players,'' indicating that both DOD and DOS 
     frequently take action without consultation or regard for the 
     views of Congress. Chairman Weldon also noted what seems to 
     be apparent ``disconnects'' between the State Department, 
     DOD, and NSC on foreign policy issues.
       Chairman Weldon concluded that regardless of the many 
     troubling aspects in the execution of foreign policy and some 
     military operations, support for the troops is solid and 
     unequivocal and the troops need to know that.

 Contingency Aero-medical Staging Facility & Lanstuhl Regional Medical 
                                 Center

       Colonel Brenda McEleney provided the delegation a tour of 
     the Contingency Aero-medical Staging Facility where they were 
     able to visit with a number of troops awaiting transportation 
     to Walter Reed Medical Center.
       Colonel Steven Older and Colonel Carol Gilmore provided the 
     delegation a tour of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center 
     where the delegation was able to meet with a number of 
     military personnel recovering from injuries sustained in 
     Iraq.
       The delegation provided transportation from Ramstein Air 
     Base to Andrews Air Force Base for ten soldiers en route to 
     Walter Reed Army Medical Center where they were to receive 
     further treatment for injuries sustained in Iraq.

                               DELEGATION


                                MEMBERS

       Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA), Representative Solomon 
     Ortiz (D-TX), Representative Steve Israel (D-NY)*, 
     Representative Candice Miller (R-MI), Representative Rodney 
     Alexander (D-LA), Representative Elton Gallegly (R-CA)**, 
     Representative Mark Souder (R-IN), Representative Darrell 
     Issa (R-CA)**.


                           Professional Staff

       Doug Roach, Harald Stavenas, Richard Mereu**, Marc 
     Wheat***.


                           U.S. Army Escorts

       Lt Colonel Craig Collier, Lt Colonel Gregg Blanchard, Sgt 
     Thai Kov, Sgt Hugh Griffin.

     *Kuwait-Iraq only.
     **Libya only.
     ***29-31 Jan.

                             KEY PERSONNEL


                                 Libya

     Colonel Moammar Gaddafi
     Shokri Ghanem, Prime Minister
     Abdulrakman Shalgam, Foreign Minister
     Zinati Mohammad Zinati, Speaker of the General Peoples' 
         Congress
     Matoug M. Matoug, Deputy Prime Minister for Service Affairs 
         (weapons of mass destruction)
     Honorable Suleiman Al Shahoumi, Secretary of Foreign Affairs 
         at the General Peoples' Congress
     Dr. Abdulhafed M. Jaber, Director, Technical Cooperation 
         Office, Ministry of Service Affairs (weapons of mass 
         destruction)
     Abdulatife Aldali, Chairman of Tripoli Conference (Mayor of 
         Tripoli)
     Abdulmagid Mansuri, Member, International Energy Advisory 
         Council
     Tajura Nuclear Research Center
     Professor E.F. Ehtuish, Chairman, Board on the Environment
     Saleh Saleh, General Manager, Gaddafi International 
         Foundation for Charity Associations
     Dr. Giuma Atigha, Gaddafi Human Rights Foundation
     Dr. Mohamed Lutf Farhat, President, Al-Fateh University
     Dr. Muftah M. Etwilb, Director of International Relations, 
         Libyan Red Crescent
     Libyan-American Friendship Association


                                Baghdad

     Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, Administrator of the Coalition 
         Provisional Authority (CPA) (c/o CPA Legislative Affairs, 
         1401 Wilson Blvd, Floor 5, Arlington, VA 22209-2306)
     Dr. Adnan Pachachi, President, Iraqi Governing Council 
         (secularist)
     Dr. Roj Schaways, Iraqi Governing Council Member (Kurd)
     Dr. Muwaffak A1 Rubuic, Iraqi Governing Council Member (Shiia 
         religious leader)
     Samir Sumaidaie, Iraqi Governing Council Member (Sunni)
     Ambassador Richmond, UK Special Representative to Iraq
     Lieutenant General (LTG) Ricardo Sanchez, the senior U.S. 
         military official in Iraq (Commanding General V Corps and 
         Coalition Joint Task Force 7) (HQ CJTF-7 CPA Command 
         Group, Unit 91400, APO AE 09342-1400)

[[Page 1113]]

     Major General Keith Dayton, Commander, Iraqi Survey Group (c/
         o CPA Legislative Affairs, 1401 Wilson Blvd, Floor 5, 
         Arlington, VA 22209-2306)
     Brigadier General Mark Hertling, Deputy Commanding General, 
         1st Armored Division (Unit 93054 APO AE 09324-3053)
     Robert Kelley, Legislative Counselor to Ambassador Bremer (c/
         o CPA Legislative Affairs, 1401 Wilson Blvd, Floor 5, 
         Arlington, VA 22209-2306)
     Lt Colonel Richardson, Distinguished Visitors Bureau 
         (Security detail) (c/o CPA Legislative Affairs, 1401 
         Wilson Blvd, Floor 5, Arlington, VA 22209-2306)


                                 Kuwait

     Sheik Saud al Sabah, former Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United 
         States
     Joe Porto, U.S. Embassy Control Officer (US Embassy, Unit 
         69000, APO AE 098809000)


                             Balad Air Base

     Major General Ray Odierno, Commanding General, 4th Infantry 
         Division (ID) (APO AE 92628)
     Colonel Frederick Rudesheim, Commander, Third Brigade, 4th 
         ID, APO AE 09323


                          Islamabad, Pakistan

     Nancy Powell, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, (Unit 62200, APO 
         AE 09812-2200)
     Joel Reifman, economic section/control officer, U.S. Embassy


                           Kabul, Afghanistan

     Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan
     Zahir Shah, former King of Afghanistan
     Sardar Abdulwalij, General, retired (nephew and associate of 
         H.E. Zahir Shah)
     Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan
     Hank Tucker, political-military section/control officer, U.S. 
         Embassy


                      Karshi-Kharnabad, Uzbekistan

     Jon R. Purnell, U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan (pouch address: 
         7110 Tashkent Place, Dulles, VA 20189-7110)
     Colonel Scott Wagner, Installation Commander (Unit HHC 213 
         ASG APO AE 09311)
     Lt. Colonel Hosil Mirzaev, Uzbekistan Air Force, (SU-27 
         display)


    Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany

     General Robert (Doc) H. Foglesong, Commander, U.S. Air Forces 
         Europe
     Lt General Arthur J. Lichte, Vice Commander, U.S. Air Forces 
         Europe
     Peter W. Bodde, Consul General, U.S. Embassy, Frankfurt 
         (American Consulate General, Siesmayerstrasse 21, 60323 
         Frankfurt, Germany)
     Brigadier General Rosanne Bailey, Commander, 435th Air Base 
         Wing
     Colonel Philip Lakier, Deputy Surgeon General, USAF, Europe
     Colonel Brenda McEleney, Deputy Commander, 435th Medical 
         Group
     Colonel Steven Older, Acting Commander, Landstuhl Regional 
         Medical Center
     Colonel Carol Gilmore, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
     Larry Wright, Vice Consul, U.S. Consulate, Frankfurt


   C-40 Aircraft crew (Fleet Logistics Support Squadron-VR 59, 1050 
               Boyington Dr. Ft Worth, Texas 76127-5000)

     Commander Bill Snyder, Aircraft Commander
     Lt. Commander Benjamin White, Copilot
     AE2 Michael Marr, crew chief
     AK2 Lyndal Crow, Loadmaster
     AD1 James Davis, flight attendant
     HM2 Letty Owour, flight attendant
     AM2 Shawn Smith, maintenance technician
     MAI Daniel Topper, security
     MA2 John Eagles, security
     MA2 Jason Stafford, security
     MA3 Daniel Veccholla, security

                      A New Time; A New Beginning

       A New Time, A New Beginning was published in 2001 under the 
     leadership of Representative Curt Weldon (PA-7), co-chairman 
     of the Duma-Congress Study Group, to provide a comprehensive 
     bipartisan program for cooperation between the United States 
     and Russia. It was endorsed by nearly one-third of the 
     members of Congress and provides 108 recommendations for 
     U.S.-Russia cooperation in the following 11 major subject 
     areas: Agricultural Development, Cultural/Education 
     Development, Defense and Security, Economic Development, 
     Energy/Natural Resources, Environmental Cooperation, Health 
     Care, Judicial/Legal Systems, Local Governments, Science and 
     Technology, and Space and Aeronautics.

                          Members of Congress

     Welcome, men of Congress.
     To the land of bless.
     Here, peace is the belief.
     And love is man's relief.
     We are a nation of norms.
     Disbelievers in terror of all forms.
     Destructive arms is not our goal.
     We are for peace, body and soul.
     Our guide is sweetness and light,
     First in beauty, first in might.
     Think not of terror
     Man's imposed horror.
     Such sickly deeds
     Are but evil seeds
     That cause man to fall
     And end the universe for all.

     Dr. T.T. Tarhuui
     Professor of English,
     Al Fateh University
     Tripoli Libya

                          ____________________