[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[October 27, 1994]
[Pages 1886-1889]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Letter to Congressional Leaders Reporting on Iraq's Compliance With
United Nations Security Council Resolutions
October 27, 1994

Dear Mr. Speaker:  (Dear Mr. President:)
    Consistent with the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against 
Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1), and as part of my effort to keep the 
Congress fully informed, I am reporting on the status of efforts to 
obtain Iraq's compliance with the resolutions adopted by the U.N. 
Security Council.
    In light of the crisis on the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border that began in 
early October, this report begins with a brief account of the Iraqi 
provocation and U.S. responses through the U.N. Security Council vote of 
October 15. Subsequent developments in this crisis will be covered in 
the next report.
    Iraq's recent behavior with respect to Kuwait has shown the world 
that it has not changed its threatening ways and cannot be trusted. In 
early October 1994, elements of the Hammurabi Division of the elite 
Iraqi Republican Guard were detected relocating to positions at Shaihah 
airfield in southern Iraq. This was the southern most deployment of 
Republican Guard forces since the 1990-1991 Gulf War. By October 8, the 
15th Mechanized Brigade of the Hammurabi Division had deployed to 
approximately 20 kilometers from the Kuwait border. Its artillery assets 
were oriented south toward Kuwait. At the same time, the Al Nida 
Division of the Republican Guard began moving from the Mosul rail yard 
and the Baghdad area to positions in southern Iraq. All these units were 
fully equipped with ammunition, food, and fuel, leading us to conclude 
that this was no mere exercise.
    By October 8, these troop movements, combined with forces already in 
southern Iraq, brought Iraqi troop strength in southern Iraq to 64,000, 
organized into 8 divisions. By October 9, indications were present that 
logistic sites were being established in the vicinity of these 
deployments. Iraqi movements to the south continued, and by October 11, 
it was assessed that Iraq would be capable of launching an attack by 
October 13.
    This provocation required a strong response. Accordingly, on October 
8, 1994, I ordered the immediate deployment of additional U.S. military 
forces to the Persian Gulf. These deployments included the USS George 
Washington Carrier Battle Group and its accompanying cruise missile 
ships, a U.S. Marine Corps Expeditionary Unit, a U.S. Army Mechanized 
Task Force, and personnel to operate two additional Patriot missile 
batteries. On October 10, I further ordered the deployment of over 500 
U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps combat and supporting aircraft to the 
region.
    In response to these measures, the Iraqi government began ordering 
its forces to move to positions in the rear, around Nasariyah and Qalat 
Salih, north of Basra, but still within several hours of the Kuwaiti 
border. Had these

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forces remained deployed around Nasariyah, it would have constituted a 
significant enhancement of Iraq's capabilities in southern Iraq. By 
October 15, there were clear indications that most Iraqi forces that had 
been moved south since late September were being redeployed to their 
original locations. On October 15, 1994, the international community 
also demonstrated its strong resolve regarding this latest provocation 
when it passed unanimously U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 949, 
which condemned Iraq's provocative behavior and demanded that Iraq 
immediately withdraw the units deployed in the south to their original 
positions, not utilize its forces to threaten its neighbors or U.N. 
operations, not redeploy or enhance its military capacity in southern 
Iraq, and cooperate fully with the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM).
    As this recent episode shows, we continue to witness an Iraq that 
has failed to demonstrate its readiness to comply with the will of the 
international community. We will continue to insist that Iraq not 
threaten its neighbors or intimidate the United Nations as it takes 
steps to ensure that Iraq never again possesses weapons of mass 
destruction. The sanctions will be maintained until Iraq complies with 
all relevant provisions of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Indeed, 
these recent provocative Iraqi actions underscore the wisdom of the 
Security Council's September 14 decision not to modify the existing 
sanctions regime.
    Cooperation by Iraq with the United Nations since 1991 has been 
meager, sporadic, selective, and opportunistic. Taken as a whole, Iraq's 
record represents a stunning failure to meet the standard set by the 
Council when it set the terms for ending the Gulf War in UNSCR 687: to 
assure the world community of its ``peaceful intentions.'' The purpose 
of the drafters of Resolution 687--to ensure that Iraq could never again 
pose a threat to its neighbors or to regional peace and security--
remains unfulfilled.
    Nonetheless, UNSCOM and the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA) are working hard, with the help of the United States and other 
supporting nations, to put in place a comprehensive and effective 
monitoring regime for Iraq. During the month of August alone, UNSCOM and 
IAEA had seven different teams in Iraq building and testing monitoring 
capabilities. This effort must be carefully designed if it is to be so 
thorough that Iraq cannot rebuild a covert nuclear program, as it did 
before the Gulf War, when it claimed to be in compliance with the 
nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Continued vigilance is necessary 
because we believe that Saddam Hussein is committed to rebuilding his 
weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capability.
    Indeed, significant gaps in accounting for Iraq's past programs for 
WMD continue. There are unresolved issues in each of the four weapons 
categories (nuclear, long-range missile, chemical, and biological). This 
has been particularly true in the chemical and biological weapons areas, 
where Iraq claims to have destroyed large amounts of documentation. It 
is, therefore, extremely important that the monitoring regime be 
effective, comprehensive, and sustainable. A program of this magnitude 
is unprecedented and will require continued, substantial assistance for 
UNSCOM from supporting nations. Rigorous and extensive trial and field 
testing will be required before UNSCOM can judge the program's 
effectiveness.
    Rolf Ekeus, the Chairman of UNSCOM, has told Iraq that it must 
establish a clear track record of compliance before he can report 
favorably to the Security Council. We strongly endorse Chairman Ekeus' 
approach and reject any attempt to limit UNSCOM's flexibility by the 
establishment of a timetable for determining whether Iraq has complied 
with UNSCR 715.
    The U.N. Sanctions Committee continues to consider and, when 
appropriate, approve requests to send to Iraq materials and supplies for 
essential civilian needs. The Iraqi government, in contrast, has 
continued to maintain a full embargo against its northern provinces and 
has acted to distribute humanitarian supplies throughout the country 
only to its supporters and to the military.
    The Iraqi government has refused to sell $1.6 million in oil as 
previously authorized by the Security Council in UNSCRs 706 and 712. 
Talks between Iraq and the United Nations on implementing these 
resolutions ended unsuccessfully in October 1993. Iraq could use 
proceeds from such sales to purchase foodstuffs, medicines, and 
materials and supplies for essential civilian needs of its population, 
subject to U.N. monitoring of sales and the equitable distribution of 
humanitarian supplies (including to its northern provinces). Iraq's 
refusal to implement UNSCRs 706 and 712 continues to cause needless 
suffering.

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    Proceeds from oil sales also would be used to compensate persons 
injured by Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait. Of note 
regarding oil sales, discussions are underway with Turkish officials 
concerning the possible flushing of Iraqi oil now in the Turkish 
pipeline that extends from Iraq through Turkey. The objective is to 
prevent physical deterioration of the Turkish pipeline as a unique 
asset. Discussions continue as to how to conduct the flushing in a 
manner consistent with the U.N. sanctions regime.
    The ``no-fly zones'' over northern and southern Iraq permit the 
monitoring of Iraq's compliance with UNSCRs 687 and 688. Over the last 3 
years, the northern no-fly zone has deterred Iraq from a major military 
offensive in the region. In southern Iraq, the no-fly zone has stopped 
Iraq's use of aircraft against its population.
    However, the Iraqi government continues its harsh campaign against 
its perceived enemies, both in the north and south. Baghdad's campaign 
of economic warfare against the people of northern Iraq continues. Last 
month the Iraqi regime cut electrical power to the Aqrah/Shirwan 
districts of Dohuk Governorate. Three hundred fifty thousand people now 
confront a lack of water, sanitation, and hospital services. Also in 
northern Iraq, in the vicinity of Mosul, we are watching Iraqi troop 
movements carefully; Iraq's intentions are still unclear. In the south, 
Iraq's repression of the Marsh Arabs and the implementation of a policy 
of environmental devastation represent a clear intent to target a 
specific area for reprisals without regard to the impact on innocent 
civilians. Further, Iraqi forces still wage a land-based artillery 
campaign in the marshes, and the shelling of marsh villages continues. 
In the last few years, the population of the region, whose marsh culture 
has remained essentially unchanged since 3500 B.C., has been reduced by 
an estimated three-quarters.
    Iraq still refuses to recognize Kuwait's sovereignty and the 
inviolability of the U.N. demarcated border, which was reaffirmed by the 
Security Council in UNSCRs 773 and 833. Indeed, Iraq continues to view 
the issue of Kuwaiti sovereignty as an object of tactical moves rather 
than an opportunity to demonstrate peaceful intentions. Further, it has 
not complied with Security Council demands to resolve the issue of 
Kuwaiti MIAs, return Kuwaiti property stolen during the occupation, and 
renounce terrorism. Iraq also has not met its obligations concerning 
Kuwaiti and third-country nationals it detained during the war and has 
taken no substantive steps to cooperate fully with the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as required by UNSCR 687, beyond 
agreement to participate in a technical committee being organized by the 
ICRC.
    The Special Rapporteur of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights 
(UNHRC), Max van der Stoel, continues to report on the human rights 
situation in Iraq, particularly the Iraqi military's repression against 
its civilian populations in the marshes. The Special Rapporteur asserted 
in his February 1994 report that the Government of Iraq has engaged in 
war crimes and crimes against humanity, and may have committed 
violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Regarding the Kurds, the 
Special Rapporteur has judged that the extent and gravity of reported 
violations place the survival of the Kurds in jeopardy. The Special 
Rapporteur has noted that there are essentially no freedoms of opinion, 
expression, or association in Iraq. Torture is widespread in Iraq and 
results from a system of state-terror successfully directed at subduing 
the population. The Special Rapporteur repeated his recommendation for 
the establishment of human rights monitors strategically located to 
improve the flow of information and to provide independent verification 
of reports. We are pressing for the deployment of human rights monitors.
    Special Rapporteur van der Stoel will file additional reports to the 
U.N. General Assembly in the fall and to the UNHRC in early 1995. We are 
also considering efforts to investigate and publicize Iraqi crimes 
against humanity, war crimes, and other violations of international 
humanitarian law.
    Examples of Iraqi noncooperation and noncompliance continue in other 
areas. Dozens of Shi'a clerics are still imprisoned in Iraq without 
charge. Reliable reports have indicated that the Government of Iraq is 
offering reward money for terrorist acts against U.N. and humanitarian 
relief workers in Iraq. For 3 years there has been a clear pattern of 
criminal acts linking the Government of Iraq to a series of 
assassinations and attacks in northern Iraq on relief workers, U.N. 
guards, and foreign journalists, including a German journalist murdered 
in northern Iraq last spring. Ten persons have been

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injured and two have been killed in such attacks this year. These acts 
are indicative of Iraq's continuing disdain for the United Nations and, 
in our view, also constitute violations of UNSCRs 687 and 688.
    The U.N. Compensation Commission (UNCC) has received about 2.4 
million claims so far, with another 100,000 expected. The United States 
Government has now filed a total of 3,100 individual claims with a total 
asserted value of over $215 million. Earlier this year, one panel of 
UNCC Commissioners submitted its report on the first installment of 
individual claims for serious personal injury or death. The UNCC 
Commissioners' report recommended awards for a group of about 670 
claimants, of which 11 were U.S. claimants. The Governing Council of the 
UNCC approved the panel's recommendations at its session in late May. 
This summer the first U.S. claimants received compensation for their 
losses. The UNCC Commissioners are expected to finish reviewing by the 
end of the year all claims filed involving death and serious personal 
injury.
    In October the Governing Council will consider reports from the UNCC 
Commissioners on two other groups of claims. The first group involves 
approximately 50,000 persons, including approximately 200 U.S. 
claimants, who were forced to depart suddenly from Kuwait or Iraq during 
the invasion and occupation. The second group will involve claimants who 
sustained itemized individual losses, e.g., lost salary or personal 
property.
    The United States Government also has submitted a total of 
approximately $1.5 billion in corporate claims against the Government of 
Iraq, representing about 140 business entities. Those claims represented 
a multitude of enterprises ranging from small family-owned businesses to 
large multinational corporations. In addition, in late July, the United 
States Government filed five Government claims with the UNCC. The five 
claims were for nonmilitary losses, such as damage to Government 
property (e.g., the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait) and the costs of 
evacuating U.S. nationals and their families from Kuwait and Iraq. These 
Government claims have an asserted value of about $17 million. In the 
future, the United States Government also expects to file one or more 
additional Government claim(s) involving the costs of monitoring health 
risks associated with oil well fires and other environmental damage in 
the Persian Gulf region. The UNCC expects to begin processing corporate 
claims and government claims later this year or early 1995.
    It is clear that Iraq can rejoin the community of civilized nations 
only through democratic processes, respect for human rights, equal 
treatment of its people, and adherence to basic norms of international 
behavior. Iraq's Government should represent all of Iraq's people and be 
committed to the territorial integrity and unity of Iraq. The Iraqi 
National Congress (INC) espouses these goals, the fulfillment of which 
would make Iraq a stabilizing force in the Gulf region.
    Neither in its words nor its deeds has Iraq convinced us it is no 
longer a threat to regional peace and security. Any discussion of 
lifting the oil embargo and other sanctions cannot be limited to future 
Iraqi cooperation in the area of WMD, but must take into account all the 
issues that comprise the true test of Iraq's peaceful intentions. Full 
Iraqi compliance with all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions 
remains the objective of U.S. policy.
    The Congress' continued support of our efforts is especially 
gratifying.
    Sincerely,

                                                      William J. Clinton

Note: Identical letters were sent to Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, and Albert Gore, Jr., President of the Senate.