Congressional Record: October 29, 2003 (Senate)
Page S13424-S13427


 
                      SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I begin by thanking the Chaplain for his 
prayers for our brave fighting men and women in Iraq, as well as in 
Afghanistan, as well as for the first responders and law enforcement 
personnel who are putting their lives on the line every day for us. In 
California, we pray for those who are fighting the fires. Certainly our 
hearts and sympathies go out to them.
  I also note, Mr. President, as you well know, that we are working 
hard to complete the Iraqi supplemental, which will provide the support 
that our troops need to be safe in Iraq, as well as the reconstruction 
money, which I hope we can pass quickly so we can bring the troops 
home.
  Having said that, let me share with you an experience I had this 
weekend. It came as a great surprise to hear on the news this weekend 
that newspapers were reporting that the Intelligence Committee was 
preparing a report saying that the distinguished chairman of the 
Intelligence Committee was trying to do something with a report that 
was uncalled for and that would whitewash the administration, and 
purporting to outline material in that report.
  That caught me by surprise, No. 1, because I am on the Intelligence 
Committee. As reported by Chairman Roberts, we have not completed a 
report. We have not started a report. We have worked very diligently 
with our staff to interview a hundred witnesses from the intelligence 
agencies. They have reviewed tens and perhaps thousands of documents, 
and they are continuing to do so. As Chairman Roberts said, there will 
be information sought from the Director of the CIA, Director George 
Tenet. So whatever was leaked was not based on fact.
  The second thing that bothered me is that what was supposedly a work 
in the classified confines of the Intelligence Committee had been 
somehow shared with the press. Now, that is a problem. The President 
has come down very strongly in saying that he absolutely abhors leakage 
of classified, sensitive material, as he should. We all should. He said 
he will not tolerate it in the administration, in the White House, or 
even in Congress. But it appears to me that somehow in the Intelligence 
Committee it is leaking like a sieve, and people are saying things that 
are not true.
  So I would caution those who are listening, when you hear about 
something that is going on in the Intelligence Committee, perhaps you 
ought to take it with a great big grain of salt.
  Chairman Roberts and Vice Chairman Rockefeller are conducting these 
hearings, and all Members of this body can come to Hart 219 and have 
access to the material if they want to find out what we are working on. 
But what you hear being discussed is not necessarily relevant to 
anything that is going on.
  What is relevant, and what many people have cited--and I am afraid 
they have not read--is the work of Dr. David Kay, the Interim Progress 
Report of the Iraqi Survey Group, the ISG. This is a declassified 
report from this distinguished person who is heading the intelligence 
gathering in Iraq. He has been cited as saying: Well, we have found no 
weapons of mass destruction; therefore, there must not be any.
  Well, I would say, by that same reasoning, we have not found Saddam 
Hussein; so by that reasoning, maybe Saddam Hussein did not exist. But 
we have seen in the tragedies that have occurred in recent days and 
weeks in the Sunni Triangle and in Iraq and elsewhere that the 
proteges, the adherents to Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, continue 
to carry on their war of terrorism. They are attacking our troops. They 
are attacking Iraqi civilians. They have attacked the U.N. They have 
attacked the Red Cross. They are very dangerous, and we know that the 
battle on terrorism goes on. That is why we have to complete work on 
the Iraqi supplemental appropriations.

[[Page S13425]]

  But what has David Kay found? Why hasn't he found any weapons of mass 
destruction? I might note that it was only this summer, after we had 
been there several months, that we found a squadron of Russian-made MIG 
airplanes hidden in the desert. They were buried in the sand.
  Well, weapons of mass destruction, chemical or biological weapons, 
which we know Saddam Hussein has had in the past and has used in the 
past, could be hidden in a two-car garage, and they could be hidden in 
much smaller samples.
  There is speculation in the media that they could have been taken out 
of the country, which should really worry us. There is speculation 
elsewhere as to what may have happened.
  But Dr. Kay said, talking about the extensive program of denial and 
deception engaged in by Saddam Hussein's regime:

       From birth all of Iraq's WMD activities were highly 
     compartmentalized within a regime that ruled and kept its 
     secrets through fear and terror and with deception and denial 
     built into each program;
       Deliberate dispersal and destruction of material and 
     documentation related to weapons programs began pre-conflict 
     and ran trans-to-post conflict;

  In other words, they were concealing, they were denying they had it 
before the war, during the war, and even after the war.

       Post-OIF--

In other words, after Iraqi Freedom--

     looting destroyed or dispersed important and easily 
     collectible material and forensic evidence concerning Iraq's 
     WMD program. As the report covers in detail, significant 
     elements of this looting were carried out in a systematic and 
     deliberate manner, with the clear aim of concealing pre-OIF 
     activities of Saddam's regime;
       Some WMD personnel crossed borders in the pre/trans-
     conflict period and may have taken evidence and even weapons-
     related materials with them. . . .

  In other words, what Dr. Kay is saying is, the people involved with 
Saddam Hussein, his loyal thugs, could have taken the material out of 
the country. But he says what we have found and what we have discovered 
are:

     dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant 
     amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United 
     Nations during the inspections that began in late 2000. The 
     discovery of these deliberate concealment efforts have come 
     about both through the admissions of Iraqi scientists and 
     officials concerning information they deliberately withheld 
     and through physical evidence of equipment and activities 
     that ISG has discovered that should have been declared to the 
     UN.

  He then goes on to cite many of the things they have found and also 
discussions and reports on interviews he has had.
  For those who wonder what has happened to Saddam Hussein's WMD 
program, the information already prepared and presented by Dr. Kay 
should be a good example.
  But, Mr. President, I would say that the ISG's progress report is not 
final. They have made an extensive investigation of Saddam's biological 
and chemical weapons program, and the work that was going on to restart 
the nuclear program. But unless we accept the fact that Saddam is 
somehow reformed, his track record of not just developing but actually 
using weapons of mass destruction stands as a brutal and tragic fact of 
history.
  It is clear that Saddam Hussein actively deceived the international 
community and was in clear violation of U.N. Security Council 
Resolution 1441 and was actively pursuing WMD programs.

  That Saddam may have redesigned programs around concealment 
activities is something this body should find deeply troubling, 
certainly not grounds, as some would say, to acquit him of any 
accusation of WMD use or pursuit. Our troops are doing an outstanding 
job under difficult conditions. They are away from their families in 
harsh conditions, and they are in harm's way, risking everything. Yet 
they complain less and bicker less than many here in Washington.
  Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden-like terrorists know they cannot 
defeat our brave military men and women on the ground. The only chance 
they have is to create division here at home in the hope that we will 
cut and run. They cannot conceive of retaking Baghdad from our troops, 
so their only chance of victory is here in Washington.
  Yesterday we had a very interesting discussion with Tom Friedman of 
the New York Times, a very seasoned observer, one who doesn't share my 
political views on a lot of issues. But he has been in Iraq. He knows 
what is going on, and he believes we did what we had to do. He said it 
is clear that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden are the motivating 
forces, the leaders behind these attacks, and that they know that if 
they can create enough division here at home, that is their one chance 
of winning. It is almost unthinkable in this day and age that someone 
would attack the Red Cross, the ultimate humanitarian institution, to 
try to drive them out of the country so they cannot minister to the 
suffering of the Iraqi people.
  The Iraqi people share our goal, which is to create a free, stable 
Iraq, independent of Saddam Hussein or the rule of ayatollahs or others 
who do not tolerate human rights, freedom, and the rights of women. We 
cannot leave this country in chaos. If we do, Saddam and Osama bin 
Laden win.
  Those who would say pack up and leave would turn over all of the 
fruits of victory and turn them into the spoils of those who have 
wreaked such havoc on the country. I believe Mr. Friedman said that 
when we got into Iraq, we discovered a country that had been devastated 
back to the stone age. We are working hard to restore security and to 
bring them out of the stone age. The President has outlined a clear 
plan. He is asking for our help, $87 billion.
  I hope today we can complete efforts on the conference report on the 
Iraqi supplemental. We need the $66 billion to make sure our troops are 
protected and adequately well served. We need the other $21 billion as 
a grant, not as a loan, to go to rebuilding the security forces, the 
military, the police, to assure that they can maintain stability. We 
need to turn on the lights and turn on the water so they can get back 
to making a productive country. We have to pass this bill to give them 
support, to show Congress is behind them. We need to continue to work 
to see that Iraqis can control their own destiny.
  We have some 55,000 Iraqi policemen. We have 700 Iraqi Army trained. 
We are training more every day. What we need to do is provide them the 
resources so they can be the eyes and ears because they, the Iraqi 
people, and their police and military are the ones best suited to go 
into the dangerous parts of Baghdad and Fallujah and elsewhere in the 
Sunni triangle and identify those who are Saddam adherents and Osama 
adherents and drag them out in the middle of the night and bring them 
to justice or stop their terrorist activities before they continue to 
strike innocent Iraqis and international institutions such as the U.N. 
and the Red Cross, the U.S. Army, and the military who are there.
  Hospitals are open. We have people going back to school. Progress is 
being made. But we have to complete action. We have to provide the 
assistance to bring Iraq out of the stone age to the point where, with 
the help of the donations from the U.N. conference in Madrid, they can 
have the basic infrastructure that will support loans that will enable 
them to rebuild their oil-producing facilities, to rebuild what was a 
very fruitful agriculture.
  There is hope not only for the Iraqi people but for people throughout 
the Middle East. If we will translate the victory over the Saddam 
Hussein government into a victory over the Saddam and Osama bin Laden 
terrorists who continue to carry the battle to Baghdad, there is hope 
for freedom for people in the Middle East. That is in our best long-
term interest. We are battling against terrorism in Baghdad. Far better 
we battle in Baghdad than in Boston or Ballwin, MO, or Belton, MO. That 
is our choice.
  The President has outlined a consistent and coherent plan that led to 
peace, avoided the problems we thought could occur, and now we have to 
secure the peace.
   Make no mistake about it, today, I feel no differently about Saddam 
and his regime and the threat it posed as the day I voted with 77 of my 
other colleagues to remove Saddam. The threat he posed was real. There 
is no question that the world is better off without Saddam, his 
henchmen, and his two despicable sons who were poised to sustain the 
legacy of Saddam for another half century.

[[Page S13426]]

  The key lesson of September 11, 2001, is that in a world of 
proliferating weapons of mass destruction, we cannot afford to wait 
until threats become actual attacks. The stakes and risks are just too 
high and the brutal track record of Saddam is clear.
   And clearly, as demonstrated recently by David Kay's interim report, 
we have seen unequivocally, that Saddam remained a danger to the world 
up to the last day of his regime.
   Mr. Kay stated ``his WMD programs spanned more than two decades, 
involved thousands of people, billions of dollars''--(billions of 
dollars, I might add, that belonged to the Iraqi people and should have 
been reinvested in Iraq's infrastructure) ``and was elaborately 
shielded by security and deception operations that continued even 
beyond the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom.''
   For months after the passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 
1441, Saddam Hussein continued to violate his obligations to the 
international community by filing false declarations deceiving the 
inspectors and terrorizing the Iraqi People.
   Mr. Kay stated in his interim report that dozens of WMD-related 
program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq 
concealed from the U.N. during the inspections in late 2002 were 
discovered. According to his report, the discovery of these concealment 
efforts were learned primarily through the admission of Iraqi 
scientists and officials. Some of the examples he cited were:
   A clandestine network of laboratories and safehouses within the 
Iraqi intelligence service existed that contained equipment subject to 
U.N. monitoring and suitable for continuing CBW research;
   A prison laboratory complex, possibly used in human testing of BW 
agents, that Iraqi officials working to prepare for U.N. inspections 
were explicitly ordered not to declare to the U.N.
   Reference strains of biological organisms concealed in a scientist's 
home, one of which can be used to produce biological weapons;
   A line of UAVs not fully declared;
   Documents and equipment hidden in scientist's homes that would have 
been useful in resuming uranium enrichment by centrifuge and 
electromagnetic isotope separation;
   New research on BW-applicable agents, brucella and congo crimean 
hemorrhagic fever and continuing work on ricin and aflatoxin were not 
declared to the U.N.
  The ISG has also uncovered thus far the first documented link between 
Iraq and North Korea, with documents detailing Iraq's attempt to buy 
equipment from North Korea to make missiles with ranges of up to 1,300 
km.
  The Iraqi Survey Group's progress report is not final. Extensive 
investigation of Saddam's biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons 
programs remains to be done, but unless we accept that Saddam was 
reformed, his track record of not just developing but actually using 
wmd stands as a brutal and tragic fact of history. It is clear that 
Saddam Hussein actively deceived the international community, was in 
clear violation of UN Security Council Res. 1441 and was actively 
pursuing wmd programs.
  Mr. President, that Saddam may have redesigned programs around 
concealment is something that this body should find deeply, deeply, 
troubling--certainly not acquitting, as some seem to be suggesting.
  Our troops are doing an outstanding job under very difficult 
conditions. They are away from their families, in harsh conditions and 
they are in harm's way risking everything, yet they complain less, and 
bicker less than many here in Washington
  Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden-like terrorists know that they 
cannot defeat our brave military men and women on the ground. The only 
chance they have is to create division here at home in hope that we 
will cut and run. They cannot conceive of retaking Baghdad from our 
troops so their only chance of victory is in Washington.
  Our enemies perceive that our failure to respond to the Khobar Towers 
and the USS Cole and our withdrawal from Lebanon and Somalia shows a 
lack of conviction and a weakness of our resolve.
  The terrorists working for Saddam and Osama, who are trying to thwart 
our efforts by targeting not only our service men and women, but also 
Iraqi civilians, humanitarian workers, and recently the Red Cross, are 
trying to break our will and believe that Americans are weak and lack 
the will to win the peace.
  Cowardly terrorists are shooting at our soldiers and innocent 
civilians, but are aiming at American public opinion and our resolve to 
complete the mission.
  If we leave the country in chaos, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden 
win. This would not only prevent us from seizing a tremendous 
opportunity to create a stable, representative government in the heart 
of the Middle East, but it also would send a signal to terrorists 
around the world that America is weak and invite future acts of terror 
against the United States and our allies.
  Most all know that we cannot afford to retreat. We must strengthen 
our resolve and complete the mission in Iraq, with self-governance of 
that nation as our ultimate end.
  Through joint United States/Iraqi operations, we have captured 
hundreds of foreign fighters and killed a number of them in combat. 
With each passing day, we are witnessing more and more Iraqis assuming 
responsibility for the safety and security of their nation. Currently, 
there are over 85,000,000 Iraqis working to provide security for their 
country with: 6400 Iraqi border patrol forces that will eventually 
replace coalition forces at checkpoints along the border; 55,000 Iraqi 
police that will contribute to a stable society; 18,700 facilities 
protection service members that will secure power lines, refineries and 
other key infrastructures that are targets for sabotage; 700 new Iraqi 
army soldiers that will be a professional force for maintaining peace 
and stability versus Saddam's instrument of terror and repression; and 
lastly, over 4,700 Iraq civil defense citizens that will remain in 
their communities providing valuable local intelligence to coalition 
and Iraqi forces while receiving on the job training in security 
patrolling.

  The men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces serving so dutifully in 
Iraq represent America's finest. As the most highly trained, best-
equipped fighting force ever assembled, they are executing their 
mission and achieving success. I recently visited with some of these 
incredible patriots at Walter Reed to thank them for their patriotic 
and heroic service. What they and their fellow service men and women 
still in Afghanistan and Iraq need from us is our support, not just in 
the form of equipment and supplies, but support and affirmation that 
Washington believes the mission they are carrying out--the one we voted 
to authorize by a three to one margin--continues to be necessary to 
promote peace, stability, and democracy in a world less threatened by 
terror.
  Our service men and women are helping the Iraqi men, women, and 
children establish a foothold of peace and stability in the region, 
which will be a catastrophic blow to the terrorists who have joined the 
fight in Iraq. Our people on the ground get to see first hand the 
extent to which Saddam destroyed a society--a society of people whom 
have never until this day had the opportunity to be safe and free. 
Murder and mass graves are headlines in Washington but they were a way 
of life under Saddam.
  After 9/11, we vowed to stick together and we have. The President 
asked for our support in a sustained effort which will be measured in 
years, not months.
  He told use that the world had changed and that we would have to 
change with it. No longer would be in the mode where we would fire one 
shot then fall back. He realized that the war on terrorism had to be 
carried to the terrorist--we could not just wait for the next attack.
  He has asked Congress and the people to support a sustained effort 
and he warned that it would be a fight like never before. It will have 
its ups and its downs. Mistakes will be made and measures will be taken 
that may not always be popular.
  We are fighting an enemy that wears no uniform and swears an 
allegiance to a radical ideology, not to humanity or a country. One who 
is willing to kill innocents without the slightest remorse.

[[Page S13427]]

It is an unconventional war without borders--and it requires 
unconventional methods to win it. By taking the fight to the enemy, we 
have more opportunity to fight on our terms but on their ground--using 
our best soldiers and spies. So we fight in Baghdad and Bagram so the 
war is not fought in Boston, Boise, or Bolivar, MO.
  I believe that it remains instructive to note that there are two 
major investigations ongoing in Washington. One, in relation to 9/11, 
asks why the Government did not act based on imperfect information. The 
other, in relation to Iraq, asks why the Government did act based on 
imperfect information. This helps us understand the predicament that 
any President faces in a hostile world where lives and freedom at stake 
with intelligence that can almost never be perfect and sometimes can be 
wrong.
  In Afghanistan and Iraq, our people are facing hardship and death. 
Yet they are getting the job done. We have seen reenlistment ceremonies 
that are taking place in Iraq by our dedicated service men and women 
who are committed to staying until their mission is complete.
  A central bank and Iraqi currency have been established months ahead 
of schedule. We went from 0-60,000 trained Iraqi security and military 
personnel in less than 5 months. Schools, which were formerly weapons 
storage depots, are open. Electricity has been restored to prewar 
levels and is delivered not just to Saddam's Bathist friends as before, 
but to the population at large. Hospitals are open, working, and caring 
for patients; and the political leadership of the country has begun 
coalescing. In Afghanistan, where there were once 800,000 boys in 
school, there are now 2.5 million boys and 1.5 million girls in school. 
Baghdad, which once got its news only from Saddam, Aljazeera and CNN, 
now may have more news sources than Washington, DC.
  The Marshall Plan after World War II cost almost $80 billion, in 1998 
dollars, and we had roughly 100,000 troops in Germany for 4 years after 
the war. Who at that time asked after Pearl Harbor, how much was it 
going to cost to defeat the Japanese; who asked how much was it going 
to cost to defeat the Germans after they sank the Lusitania? The cost 
of the war on terror is great but it must be weighed against the human 
tragedy and economic costs of 9/11.
  The supplemental appropriations bill that the Congress needs to pass 
out of conference is necessary to help protect our troops, win the 
peace and create conditions so that our troops can return home safely 
and victorious. The same resolution that the Senate voted 77-23 to 
authorize war almost 1 year ago expressly stated the need to restore a 
stable, peaceful Persian Gulf. Lets honor that commitment today and 
pass the supplemental appropriations bill.
  We need to let our service men and women complete their mission so 
they can come home.
  I say to our men and women serving here and abroad, to their families 
at home, and to those Saddam loyalists and terrorists who doubt our 
will; don't equate public discourse in a free society with weakness. We 
voted overwhelming to authorize to take the fight to the enemy and we 
have voted overwhelmingly to support our troops in the field and to 
help the Iraqi men, women, and children, who were until now, hopeless 
of living with peace and freedom.
  We will not cut and run. We will not let those who have already paid 
the ultimate price die in vain. We will not turn our backs on the 
commitments we have made.
  Some doubted our ability to turn back Nazism and communism but 
collectively, we did. Doubters that we can overcome terrorism will be 
just as wrong now as doubters were then.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Graham of South Carolina). The Senator 
from Arkansas.

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