    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [August 2, 1999]
    [Pages 1365-1369]
    [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
    August 2, 1999

    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 United
    Nations Security Council (UNSC). My last report, consistent with Public
    Law 102-1, was transmitted on May 19, 1999.

    [[Page 1366]]

    Overview

        We are convinced that as long as Saddam Hussein remains in power, he will continue to threaten the
    well-being of his people, the peace of the region, and vital U.S.
    interests. We will continue to contain these threats, but over the long
    term, the best way to address them is by encouraging the establishment
    of a new government in Baghdad. To this end, we continue to work
    intensively with the Iraqi opposition. In May, the Iraqi National
    Congress (INC) Interim Presidency Committee met with the Secretary of
    State, the National Security
    Advisor, and several Members of Congress in
    Washington. The Department of State has been assisting the INC in its
    preparations for a National Assembly meeting. Also, the Department has
    been working with other nongovernmental organizations to develop
    projects to assist the Iraqi opposition and the Iraqi people in their
    efforts to achieve a regime change. In June, delegations from the two
    main Kurdish parties traveled to Washington to discuss the next steps in
    implementing the reconciliation agreement they signed in Washington last
    year.
        During the last 60 days, we have also been working with members of
    the UNSC to build support to adopt a resolution that would reestablish
    an effective disarmament and monitoring presence inside Iraq, better
    meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, and increase pressure
    on Iraq to account for those missing from the Gulf War, and return
    Kuwaiti property. The Security Council is currently continuing its
    discussions on these matters.
        The United States continues to support the international community's
    efforts to provide for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people
    through the oil-for-food program. On May 21, the Security Council
    unanimously adopted Resolution 1242, extending the program for another
    180 days.

    U.S. and Coalition Force Levels in the Gulf Region

        Saddam Hussein's record of aggressive
    behavior necessitates the deployment of a highly capable force in the
    region in order to deter Iraq from threatening its neighbors,
    reconstituting its WMD program, or moving against the Kurds in Northern
    Iraq. We will continue to maintain a robust posture and have established
    a rapid reinforcement capability to supplement our forces in the Gulf,
    if needed.
        Our forces are a balanced mix of land and carrier-based aircraft,
    surface ships, a Patriot missile battalion, a mechanized battalion task
    force, and special operations units. To enhance force protection
    throughout the region, additional military security personnel are also
    deployed.

    Operation Northern Watch and Operation Southern Watch

        Aircraft of the United States and coalition partners enforcing the
    no-fly zones over Iraq under Operations Northern Watch and Southern
    Watch are regularly illuminated by radar and engaged by anti-aircraft
    artillery, and occasionally, by surface-to-air missiles.
        As a result of Iraq's no-fly zone violations and attacks on our
    aircraft, our aircrews continue to respond with force. United States and
    coalition forces are fully prepared and authorized to defend themselves
    against Iraqi threats while carrying out their no-fly zone enforcement
    mission and, when circumstances warranted, have engaged various
    components of the Iraqi integrated air defense system. While threats to
    our aircraft continue, actual Iraqi aircraft violations of the no-fly
    zones have declined.

    The Maritime Interception Force

        The multinational Maritime Interception Force (MIF), operating in
    accordance with Resolution 665 and other relevant resolutions, continues
    to enforce U.N. sanctions in the Gulf. The U.S. Navy is the single
    largest component of the MIF, but it is frequently augmented by ships,
    aircraft, and other support assets from Australia, Bahrain, Belgium,
    Canada, Kuwait, The Netherlands, New Zealand, the UAE, and the United
    Kingdom. Member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) provide
    logistical and personnel support to the MIF, and accept vessels diverted
    for violating U.N. sanctions against Iraq.
        The smuggling of refined petroleum products through the Gulf has
    remained at a low level since Operation Desert Fox. The MIF, and our
    ability rapidly to augment it, will continue to serve as a critical
    deterrent to both the smuggling of petroleum products out of the Gulf
    and the smuggling of prohibited items into Iraq.

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    UNSCOM/IAEA: Weapons of Mass Destruction

        There has been no United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) or
    International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) presence in Iraq since
    December 15, 1998. UNSCOM informed the Security Council on June 1 of the
    status of UNSCOM's chemical laboratory, biological room, equipment, and
    components in the Baghdad Monitoring and Verification Center (BMVC). The
    Canal Hotel houses UNSCOM offices along with those of other U.N.
    activities in Iraq, such as the Office of the Iraq Programme, which
    implements the oil-for-food program. UNSCOM has analytical equipment and
    materials it would like to see removed in a straightforward technical
    operation as a precaution. The samples include less than one kilogram of
    seized Iraqi mustard agent. There are no immediate safety concerns. In
    June, UNSCOM recommended to the Security Council that UNSCOM send a team
    of experts to destroy the conventional lab chemicals, chemical
    standards, and biological samples, and request that Iraq cooperate. In
    July the U.N. Secretariat, in consultation with UNSCOM, deputized a team
    of experts to decommission the lab. UNSCOM provided an operations plan
    for the mission to the Secretariat. UNSCOM and U.S. experts trained the
    U.N. team in Bahrain. The U.N. team consisted of an UNSCOM
    administrator, a biologist from a German university, and four experts
    from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

    Dual-Use Imports

        Resolution 1051 established a joint UNSCOM/IAEA unit to monitor
    Iraq's imports of allowed dual-use items. Iraq must notify the unit
    before it imports specific items that can be used in both weapons of
    mass destruction and civilian applications. Similarly, U.N. members must
    provide timely notification of exports to Iraq of such dual-use items.
    Since the withdrawal of UNSCOM and IAEA monitors, only some limited
    monitoring in certain sectors is being conducted by the U.N. Office of
    the Iraq Programme inspectors. This situation has presented new
    challenges for the U.N. Sanctions Committee and is a factor in the
    contract approval process. As a precautionary matter, the United States
    has placed holds on a number of dual-use contracts that might otherwise
    have been approved.

    The U.N. Oil-for-Food Program

        We continue to support the international community's efforts to
    provide for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people through the oil-
    for-food program. On May 21, the Security Council unanimously adopted
    Resolution 1242, extending the program for another 180 days. As in phase
    five, Iraq is again authorized to sell up to $5.2 billion worth of oil
    in the coming 180 days. Because of the increase in world oil prices and
    increased exports, Iraq may reach the ceiling during this phase. As of
    June 14, U.N. reporting indicates that since the start of the oil-for-
    food program, 5,375 contracts for humanitarian goods worth over $7
    billion have been approved with 389 contracts worth $351 million on hold
    and approximately 1,000 contracts in various stages of processing in the
    United Nations.
        Within the oil-for-food program, Resolution 1242 maintains a
    separate program for northern Iraq, administered directly by the United
    Nations in consultation with the local population. This program, which
    the United States strongly supports, ensures that when Iraq contracts
    for the purchase of humanitarian goods, 13 to 15 percent of the funds
    generated under the oil-for-food program are spent on items for northern
    Iraq. The separate northern program was established because of Baghdad's
    repression and disregard for the humanitarian needs of the Kurdish,
    Assyrian, Yezidi, and Turkoman minorities in northern Iraq.
        Humanitarian programs such as oil-for-food have steadily improved
    the life of the average Iraqi living under sanctions while denying
    Saddam Hussein control over Iraq's oil
    revenues. Currently, the ration basket provides over 2,000 calories per
    day per Iraqi. We will continue to work with the U.N. Secretariat, the
    Security Council, and others in the international community to ensure
    that the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people are met while denying
    political or economic benefits to the Baghdad regime. In addition, we
    are working with the United Nations and other Security Council members
    to mitigate the effects of the current drought in Iraq.

    Northern Iraq: Kurdish Reconciliation

        In June, delegations from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and
    the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) traveled to Washington to discuss
    the next steps in implementing

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    the accord they signed in September 1998. Consensus was achieved on a
    number of confidence-building measures, including opening party offices
    in major cities throughout northern Iraq, eschewing negative press
    statements, countering the divisive influence of the Kurdistan Workers'
    Party (PKK), beginning the return of internally displaced persons, and
    creating a voter registration commission for upcoming elections. The
    delegations discussed other issues, such as revenue sharing, internal
    security, and the formation of an interim joint regional assembly and
    administration. They will continue these talks in northern Iraq and seek
    to implement steps that were agreed.

    The Human Rights Situation in Iraq

        The human rights situation in Iraq continues to fall far short of
    international norms, in violation of Resolution 688. That resolution
    explicitly notes that the consequences of the regime's repression of its
    own people constitute a threat to international peace and security in
    the region. It also demands immediate access by international
    humanitarian aid organizations to all Iraqis in need. However, for over
    7 years the Iraqi government has refused to allow the U.N. Human Rights
    Commission Special Rapporteur for Iraq, Max Van der Stoel, to visit Iraq. U.N. human rights monitors have
    never been allowed into Iraq.
        Severe repression continues in southern Iraq, as the regime works
    toward the destruction of the Marsh Arabs' way of life and the unique
    ecology of the southern marshes. The regime has repeatedly ignored
    appeals by Max Van der Stoel and others
    for access by human rights monitors to investigate these reports. The
    human rights monitors have asked to investigate the alleged
    assassination of three of Iraq's most senior Islamic clerics: Ayatollah
    Mohammed al-Sader in February 1999, Ayatollah Borujerdi in April 1998,
    and Ayatollah al-Gharavi in June 1998.
        In the north, outside the Kurdish-controlled areas, the government
    continues the forced expulsion of ethnic Kurds and Turkomans from Kirkuk
    and other cities.

    The Iraqi Opposition

        We are deepening our engagement with the forces of change in Iraq,
    helping Iraqis both inside and outside Iraq to become a more effective
    voice for the aspirations of the people. We will work toward the day
    when Iraq has a government worthy of its people, a government prepared
    to live in peace with its neighbors, and respects the rights of its
    citizens. We believe that a change of regime in Baghdad is inevitable,
    and that it is urgently incumbent on the world community to support the
    Iraqis who are working to ensure that change is positive. These Iraqis
    include the resistance inside the country, and those free Iraqis now in
    exile or in northern Iraq, who seek to improve the chances that the next
    government of Iraq will truly represent, serve, and protect all the
    Iraqi people.
        The INC has stepped up its activities since the April 7-8 meeting of
    the Executive Council at Windsor. The Interim Presidency Committee
    visited Washington from May 24 to May 28 for meetings with the Secretary
    of State, the National Security Advisor, and several Members of
    Congress. In a demonstration of the growing cohesion among the Iraqi
    opposition, the INC leadership was accompanied by other key Sunni
    opposition leaders. The INC also sent a delegation to the United Nations
    in May to discuss humanitarian and human rights issues.
        Over the last several weeks, the INC Executive Committee met again
    in London and the Interim Presidency Committee has worked on
    preparations for their National Assembly. The Department of State
    assisted the INC in these efforts by funding conference planning
    services with Economic Support Funds. Using these same funds, the
    Department of State worked with other nongovernmental organizations to
    develop projects to assist the Iraqi opposition and the Iraqi people in
    their efforts to achieve regime change.

    The United Nations Compensation Commission

        The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), established
    pursuant to Resolutions 687, 692, and 1210, continues to resolve claims
    against Iraq arising from Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of
    Kuwait. The UNCC has issued over 1.3 million awards worth approximately
    $10 billion.
        Thirty percent of the proceeds from authorized oil sales are
    allocated to the Compensation Fund to pay awards and finance UNCC
    operations. The UNCC Governing Council has determined that certain small
    claims by individuals will receive initial payments of $2,500, before
    paying larger claims of either individuals or businesses and government
    agencies. In June, the

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    Governing Council established the rules for making payments on the
    remaining small claims and the larger individual, corporate, and
    government claims. To date, the U.S. Government has received funds from
    the UNCC for initial installment payments for approximately 2,288 U.S.
    claimants.

    Conclusion

        Iraq remains a serious threat to international peace and security. I
    remain determined to see Iraq fully comply with all of its obligations
    under Security Council resolutions. The United States looks forward to
    the day when Iraq rejoins the family of nations as a responsible and
    law-abiding member. I appreciate the support of the Congress for our
    efforts and shall continue to keep the Congress informed about this
    important issue.
            Sincerely,

                                                          William J. Clinton

    Note: Identical letters were sent to J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the
    House of Representatives, and Strom Thurmond, President pro tempore of
    the Senate.