Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Title:  "Lugar Sees No Peace with Saddam Hussein in Power." (900828)

Author:  MANDINE, ROSALIND (USIA STAFF WRITER)
Date:  19900828

Text:
*NEA202

08/28/90 *

LUGAR SEES NO PEACE WITH SADDAM HUSSEIN IN POWER (Article on Lugar press conference, 8/28/90) (760) By Rosalind Mandine USIA Staff Writer

Washington -- The crisis in the Gulf cannot be resolved with Saddam Hussein remaining in power in Iraq, according to a leading Republican member of the U.S. Senate.

Senator Richard Lugar, who once chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, added, however, that he does not expect the Iraqi leader to step down voluntarily.

"My own view is that he (Saddam Hussein) does have to leave the leadership of the country," the Indiana Republican said August 28, during a press conference about the situation in the Gulf and his recent trip to the Far East.

Even if Iraq were to withdraw from Kuwait today, its chemical weapons and potential nuclear capability will continue to pose a threat to the Middle East as well as some parts of Europe, the Soviet Union and Asia, Lugar said.

These capabilities must be "removed as a threat," he stressed, "otherwise the need for the United States and other members of the United Nations to remain in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries for a long period of time would be evident."

Lugar said he was "pessimistic" about the possibility of negotiating Saddam Hussein's resignation. "My own view is that it is unlikely that Saddam Hussein will resign after negotiations with the United Nations or anyone else, and that military force will probably have to be required before that resignation occurs and Iraqi capacity to continue to terrorize the Middle East is curtailed," he said.

Lugar said it would not be acceptable if Iraq were to withdraw from Kuwait but leave a puppet government there and continue to control the banking system in Kuwait. Such a situation would require the international community to remain in Saudi Arabia, the senator said. "That is an unsatisfactory condition," he added.

"The bottom line is aggression can not be rewarded. Kuwait has to be independent. Beyond that, Saddam Hussein has to be dealt with," Lugar stressed.

GE 2 nea202 If Iraq's aggression in the Gulf is not reversed, the potential for global economic and political instability is great, he said.

The invasion of Kuwait has given Iraq "control over the price and availability" of a large amount of the world's supply of oil, he said. In turn, Saddam Hussein now has the "ability to blackmail others to give him the resources he needs to terrorize not only in Saudi Arabia but, at some range, some portions of Europe, Soviet Union and Asia," the senator said.

Iraq's aggression in the Gulf will not only affect the price and supply of oil, Lugar said, it will undermine the international banking system, which could destabilize economically and politically weak countries.

The international reverberations of Iraq's actions make it clear that all nations "ought to be playing their part" and join in the United Nations network, Lugar said. "We should be relentless in asking each nation to step up to that situation," he added.

Asked about Jordan's participation in the United Nations sanctions against Iraq, Lugar called it "still a porous point." The U.S. Congress would consider aid to Jordan as a way "to seal that boundary and to get Jordan solidly with us, as they should be," Lugar said, adding that the Congress at this point seeks to better understand Jordan's logic on this issue.

Asked about the expense incurred in deterring Iraq's aggression, Lugar said "the costs are likely to be substantial." Lugar noted that while the budget and savings-and-loan crisis are important domestic issues to contend with, "nothing could be more important now than our national security."

Lugar said he supports the military build-up of U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia "because a certain number of troops and equipment are required to be a deterrent against aggression." He said he expected President Bush would discuss the situation in the Gulf during his meeting with members of Congress later that same day.

Asked about the perception of the Middle East crisis during his trip to the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea, Lugar said "the conflict was perceived as a United Nations effort" and not as "a United States-against-Iraq affair."

He pointed out that the Philippines, which imports 63 percent of its energy resources and presently has 40,000 nationals in Kuwait and 5,000 in Iraq, "would support the United Nations sanctions." NNNN

File Identification:  08/28/90, NE-202; 08/29/90, NA-302
Product Name:  Wireless File
Product Code:  WF
Languages:  Arabic
Keywords:  LUGAR, RICHARD; HUSSEIN, SADDAM; IRAQ/Politics & Government; IRAQ-US RELATIONS; IRAQ-KUWAIT RELATIONS; FORCE & TROOP LEVELS; MILITARY CAPABILITIES
Thematic Codes:  1NE
Target Areas:  NE
PDQ Text Link:  152463