Rep. Hyde: House Resolution on Iraq's Weapons Violations-12-12-01

I am pleased to call up H.J. Res. 75, a resolution expressing our strong concern about Saddam Hussein's failure to comply with the weapons inspection requirements established by the United Nations at the end of the Persian Gulf war.

This resolution was introduced on December 4th by our former colleague on this Committee, Mr. Graham, and I was proud to join him as an original cosponsor of the measure. Many other members of the Committee are cosponsors as well. Since introduction, we have worked with Mr. Lantos, as well as with Mr. Gilman and Mr. Ackerman of our Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, to develop the substitute that is now before us.

The resolution draws attention to the growing threat to international peace and security posed by Saddam Hussein's refusal to comply with the terms of the cease fire agreement ending the Persian Gulf War. Those terms were incorporated by the U.N. Security Council into Resolution 687 of 1991, and into subsequent resolutions addressing the situation in Iraq. Those terms required him to afford U.N. weapons inspectors unfettered access to sites in Iraq where weapons of mass destruction might be under development, as well as to other relevant locations and information in Iraq.

From 1991 until 1998, Saddam Hussein went through the motions of complying with these inspection requirements, while doing everything he could to prevent the weapons inspectors from discovering the truth about the history of his weapons programs. Since 1998, Saddam has stopped complying altogether.

In other words, since 1998, Saddam's ability to reconstitute his nuclear weapons program, his biological weapons program, his chemical weapons program, and his long range missile program has not been constrained by international inspectors. There is every reason to believe that Saddam has taken advantage of the absence of inspectors to revive these weapons programs.

The events of September 11th demonstrate the severity of this threat to the United States, and indeed to all civilized countries. The terrorists who attacked our country on September 11th wanted to kill as many Americans as possible. They sought to use aircraft as weapons of mass destruction. There can be no doubt that if they had had access to real weapons of mass destruction, they would have used them to kill as many of our fellow citizens as possible.

Saddam Hussein has a track record of developing such weapons, and of using them not only against his enemies, but against his own people. So he certainly would have no qualms about using them against us.

Just last week this Committee received testimony from two of our nation's leading experts on biological weapons. These experts, Dr. Richard Spertzel and Dr. Ken Alibek, agreed that there was most likely state involvement in the anthrax attacks that our nation has experienced since September 11th, and that the most likely state to have been involved was Iraq.

So we are confronting a very serious threat-something that is literally a matter of life and death-and this resolution expresses our very strong desire to see something done about it.

This resolution does not seek to give the President legal authority to use force against Iraq. There is a debate about whether he already has such authority, and I happen to believe that he does, but this resolution does not speak to that question.

All it says is that Iraq is violating its obligations under international law, and that this violation presents a mounting threat to our nation, to our allies, and to international peace and security. These statements are demonstrably true, and the truly dangerous course would be to remain silent in the face of these facts.

For all these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.