Iraq Part of Global War on Terrorism, Rumsfeld Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2002 -- Iraq is not separate from the
global war on terrorism, it is part of it, Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services
Committee today.
The secretary and Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, returned to Capitol Hill for the
second time in two days to discuss the Bush
administration's position on Iraq.
Rumsfeld said stopping rogue states from developing and
using weapons of mass destruction is a key aspect of the
global war on terrorism. "We can fight the various elements
of the global war on terror simultaneously," he said.
He stressed that Bush has not made a decision on use of
force against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. But he said
the administration continues to believe that Iraq is a
"grave and growing danger" to the United States and the
world.
Rumsfeld said that while other nations are dangerous and
are looking at weapons of mass destruction, no terrorist
state in the world poses a more immediate threat to the
security of America than the regime of Saddam Hussein.
He urged the senators to work with the president and
members of the House to craft a resolution insisting that
Iraq comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions. He said
delay would signal Hussein that he can continue to violate
the will of the world -- expressed through the United
Nations -- with impunity.
Rumsfeld said that the Iraqi letter delivered Sept. 16 to
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is no excuse for the
United States or United Nations to stop pressing for
resolutions against Iraq.
"Some people have asked the question now that Iraq has
agreed to unconditional inspections, why does Congress need
to react?" he asked. "If we want to measure the depth of
(Iraq's) so-called change of heart, I suggest we watch what
they do, not what they say."
Immediately after Iraq delivered its letter to Annan
pledging cooperation with U.N inspectors, its air defense
gunners and missileers began firing on coalition patrol
aircraft, Rumsfeld said.
He told the senators two inspection regimes are in play --
ground inspections and air inspections. Iraq threw ground
inspectors out in 1998.
"The air inspections -- operations Northern Watch and
Southern Watch -- have been flying at the risk of their
lives," he said. "Since delivering the letter promising
unconditional access, (the Iraqis) have fired at coalition
aircraft somewhere between 15 and 20 times -- a
considerable increase from the period before the letter."
Further, Iraqi officials are setting conditions for the
"unconditional" inspection regime. Rumsfeld said the Iraqi
foreign minister suggested in a speech to the United
Nations "that the inspections must operate within
guidelines in a manner that respects Iraqi sovereignty and
security."
He said this is a further example of Iraqi willingness to
play with the international community. "When it's the right
moment to lean forward, they do," he said. "When it's the
right moment to lean back, they do. It's a dance. They go
on for months and, indeed, they've gone on for years
jerking the U.N. around. When they find things are not
going their way, they throw out a proposal like this."
Rumsfeld said the issue is not inspections, the issue is
disarmament and the problem is a lack of compliance. "As
the president made clear in his U.N. address, we require
Iraq's compliance with all 16 U.N. resolutions," he said.
He said there is a place for inspections, but not with this
regime. Inspections are effective if the country being
inspected cooperates and wants to prove to the world it is
complying.
"They tend not to be as effective in uncovering deceptions
and violations, when the target is determined not to be
disarmed," he said. "Iraq's record of the last decade is
that it wants weapons of mass destruction and that it is
determined to develop them."
Iraq already has offensive biological and chemical weapons,
and it's working to develop a nuclear capability, Rumsfeld
said. Saddam's regime also maintains ties to a number of
terrorist groups. The combination of a rogue state with
weapons of mass destruction and terrorist groups that wish
to use those weapons is a danger the United States and the
United Nations cannot ignore, he said.
"Since Sept. 11 we have seen a new means of delivering
these weapons -- terrorist networks," Rumsfeld said. "To
the extent that they might transfer (weapons of mass
destruction) to terrorist groups, they could conceal their
responsibility for attacks on our people."
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff concurred with
the secretary's remarks on the dangers of Iraq. He assured
the senators that the U.S. military is prepared to do
whatever President Bush requires of it.
"Today we have sufficient forces to continue our ongoing
operations, meet our international commitments and continue
to protect the American homeland," Myers said.
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