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Senate Hearing on Iraq
(March 22, 2000)

The Senate Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs held a hearing on Iraq on Wednesday, March 22. The Subcommittee heard testimonies from

• Gary Milhollin, Director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control

• Paul Leventhal, President of the Nuclear Control Institute

• Charles Duelfer, former Deputy Executive Chairman of UNSCOM

Senator Samuel Brownback chaired the hearing and senators Joseph Biden and Paul Wellstone attended.

We provide below a brief report on the Q & A period with Ambassador Walker. Click on the name of each witness listed above to read his testimony.

Senator Brownback expressed concern that there have been no disarmament inspections in Iraq for well over a year. A year after the disbanding of UNSCOM, the UN Security Council, with US acquiescence, created a "kinder, gentler" inspection regime in the creation of UNMOVIC. According to Senator Brownback, this demonstrated a lack of resolve on the part of the United States.

Senator Brownback pointed out that Saddam Hussein is above all the enemy of the Iraqi people. Loosening the sanctions regime is not going to solve the problem. It is in the interest of the Iraqi people, and in the interest of the US and its allies in the region, to remove Saddam Hussein from power. However, the administration has not been pushing the issue forward, but has been "sitting on its hands". There has been no implementation of the Iraq Liberation Act (ILA) to any degree, despite the fact that it was a bipartisan concern.

Senator Brownback wondered what kind of signal the US was sending to its regional allies. The signal was that Saddam was there to stay. This confirms the fears of US allies in the region that the US would not have sufficient resolve. The senator believed that this was a bad message to send.

Senator Biden acknowledged that Saddam Hussein was a problem, and that his removal required that "we do something drastic". Speaking on the implementation of the ILA, Senator Biden said that if the Iraqi opposition were to get pinned down by Saddam's troops in Iraq, it is not certain that Congress will agree to send ground troops to help them.

At the same time, Biden noted that US allies were more inclined to accommodate Saddam. e was concerned that the US administration was taking the position of "if you can't beat 'em, join them", by saying that sanctions are the problem, when in fact Saddam is.

Ambassador Walker gave a summary of his written statement (see full text below), then took questions from the senators.

Senator Brownback asked Ambassador Walker whether he expected Saddam Hussein to be still in power at the end of the current administration. Ambassador Walker said that it was impossible to predict, but it is probable, and added that in the meantime we can use the time to build up the capabilities of the Iraqi opposition. Responding to a further question from the senator, he said that no money was yet given for use inside Iraq, but that the administration was helping the Iraqi National Congress establish its foundations and infrastructure outside Iraq and in the region. Senator Brownback questioned the pace of helping the INC in establishing its foundations, noting that the administration has had funds for this for two years, but has not disbursed the funds. Ambassador Walker stressed that it takes a long period of time to make organizations grant-worthy and establish correct procedures.

Senator Brownback commented that Saddam is wearing out the United States: he is still in power, more money is flowing to him, there is no inspection regime, and yet everyone seems satisfied, and there is no move in the administration to revitalize its policies. Ambassador Walker countered that the United States has been successful in containing the Iraqi regime for 9 years and is now strengthening its control, especially through the crackdown on smuggling and the implementation renewed weapons inspections. The administration also wants to build up the INC and work with the Iraqi opposition. Ambassador Walker stated that on the previous day he had met with Ahmad Chalabi, a member of the INC leadership council, to chart an agenda for working together in the future. He added that the Iraqi opposition were serious people who care about Iraq and about change in Iraq, and the administration wanted to help them achieve their goals.

Senator Wellstone expressed his concern over the humanitarian situation in Iraq. He said that Saddam was a threat to US interests, to the region, but above all a threat to the Iraqi people. However, sanctions have had a devastating effect on Iraqis. While Saddam could be indifferent to the plight of Iraqis, said the senator, the US could not afford to be indifferent, and it was critical to address the public health emergency in Iraq. Senator Wellstone referred to the latest report by the UN Secretary General (see report on our site), which cited holds on contracts and impediments placed by the Iraqi regime. The Senator proposed three courses of action to help the Iraqi situation:

The senators also put forward questions regarding weapons inspections. Senator Biden, noting that new inspection regime (UNMOVIC) is a pale shadow of the previous regime (UNSCOM), asked whether the administration would accept a further weakening of UNSC resolution 1284 to induce its acceptance by Iraq. Ambassador Walker said no. Senator Brownback said that UNSCOM had been effective because it was prepared to "go to the mat" with the Iraqi regime on inspection issues, whereas the chief of UNMOVIC, Hans Blix, was looking to have cooperative relations with the Iraqi government.` Ambassador Walker recommended that we should wait and see how UNMOVIC functions, and expressed confidence that Blix intended to do a thorough job, which might well lead to confrontation with the regime.

Senator Brownback noted that the past record showed that confrontations on weapons inspections were likely to happen, and asked whether this would lead to US military action as in the past. Ambassador Walker responded that military force cannot be excluded, but this would be a policy decision made at the highest level. He added that US policy has already identified four "red lines" for Iraq: development of weapons of mass destruction, an attack on US forces, an attack on the Kurds, or an advance on Kuwait. Senator Brownback asked whether non-cooperation with weapons inspections can become another red line item.

Responding to a question from Senator Brownback, Ambassador Walker said there was no time frame or deadline for Iraq to accept UNSC resolution 1284.

Responding to Senator Wellstone's concerns over the humanitarian situation, Ambassador Walker said it was important to get Saddam to accept resolution 1284. The resolution has an expanded list of pre-approved items for automatic shipment that covers humanitarian needs but not dual use items. The US also agrees with the UN recommendation to increase imports of spare parts for the Iraqi oil industry. Additionally, the US is reviewing the process of approval of contracts, although frequently delays or holds were caused by inadequate information on contracts presented by Iraq. Resolution 1284 calls for two-day approval of contracts by the Security Council Sanctions Committee, and the US plans to increase the number of staff on the Committee to accelerate the review process.