24 April 2002
U.S. Works to Strengthen International Controls on Iraq
(Powell also discusses challenges with Iran at Senate subcommittee)
(640)
Secretary of State Colin Powell said that Iraq "remains a significant
threat" to stability in the Middle East, and the Bush administration
is working with the United Nations to strengthen international
controls on Iraq.
Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee's subcommittee
on foreign operations, export financing and related programs in
Washington April 24, Powell said Russia has endorsed the Goods Review
List (GRL) for Iraq, which he said he expects the U.N. Security
Council to implement in May.
The GRL identifies materials which U.N. Security Council members must
approve for export to Iraq and ensures continued supervision and
control of dual use goods, Powell said.
The secretary said the Bush administration still strongly believes in
regime change in Iraq.
"[W]e look forward to the day when a democratic, representative
government at peace with its neighbors leads Iraq to rejoin the family
of nations," Powell said.
With regard to Iran, Powell said the United States has a long list of
grievances, but if the Iranian leadership renounced terrorism and
supported the Afghan Interim Authority, then he said it would be
possible for the two governments to have "a reasonable conversation."
Following are excerpts from the transcript of Powell's April 24
testimony containing his comments on Iraq and Iran:
(begin excerpt)
Mr. Chairman, with regard to other challenges in this region, Iraq
comes next on our list. That country remains a significant threat to
the region's stability. We are working at the UN and elsewhere to
strengthen international controls on Iraq. In the last year, we
successfully stopped the free fall of sanctions and began to rebuild
United Nations Security Council consensus on Iraq. The UNSC
unanimously adopted resolution 1382 in November, committing itself to
implement the central element of "smart sanctions" by the end of next
month -- and I believe we are going to make it.
This central element, or Goods Review List (GRL), identifies materials
UNSC members must approve for export to Iraq and ensures continued
supervision and control over dual-use goods. Its implementation will
effectively lift economic sanctions on purely civilian trade and focus
controls on arms, especially WMD. This will further strengthen support
for UN controls by showing the international community that Saddam
Hussein, not the UN and not the U.S., is responsible for the
humanitarian plight of the Iraqi people. We have achieved agreement
with the Russians on the substance of the GRL and are now finalizing
processes for implementing the list and working on a UNSC Resolution
for adopting it.
At the end of the day, we have not ruled out other options with
respect to Iraq. We still believe strongly in regime change in Iraq
and we look forward to the day when a democratic, representative
government at peace with its neighbors leads Iraq to rejoin the family
of nations.
With regard to other challenges, we have a long-standing list of
grievances with Iran, from concerns about proliferation, to that
country's continued sponsorship of terrorism, to Iranian meddling in
Afghanistan in a way unhelpful to the Interim Authority in Kabul. Of
late, we have been very clear in communicating to Teheran that its
support for terrorism must stop and that what is needed in Afghanistan
is help, not meddling.
If Iran renounced terrorism, if it supported the Interim Authority, I
am convinced that we would be able to talk to Iran, that we would be
able to have a reasonable conversation with Iranian leaders. With
respect to the situation in Afghanistan, for example, I believe we can
demonstrate to them that it is not in their interest to destabilize
the government that they helped to create in Bonn. The other issues
will be more difficult; but I do believe constructive talks with Iran
on Afghanistan are possible.
(end excerpt)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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