13 March 1998
WHITE HOUSE REPORT, FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1998
(Saddam Hussein, Ireland, King Hussein, China trip, week ahead) (890) White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry briefed reporters at early morning and early afternoon sessions. ADMINISTRATION STUDYING SENATE RESOLUTION ON SADDAM HUSSEIN Asked if the Clinton administration regards Saddam Hussein as a war criminal, McCurry said "this administration has not formally joined in any such charges, but especially in light of the Senate resolution that has passed, you certainly could make a good argument that he deserves that designation and we are going to study the resolution passed by the Senate carefully." He said "The Senate can pass a sense of the Senate resolution. It has no practical legal effect. But I think for the United States government to make that declaration, we would most likely want to do it in concert with others. And that's why it deserves a careful review and probably some further diplomatic work, before we do an off-the-top-of-our-head assessment." The Senate March 13 voted 93-0 to declare Saddam Hussein an international war criminal and to urge creation of a United Nations tribunal to indict, arrest and try him. The non-binding resolution was a largely symbolic gesture, even sponsors conceded, although some supporters said it could lay the groundwork for later direct U.S. action to topple the Iraqi president. The resolution, sponsored by Senators Byron Dorgan (Democrat-North Dakota) and Arlen Specter (Republican-Pennsylvania) declares that Saddam used chemical weapons on his enemies, both inside and outside Iraq, waged war against Iran and Kuwait, attacked Israel and plotted the assassination of former President Bush. It accuses Saddam and unnamed other Iraqi officials of "crimes against humanity, genocide and other violations of international law." There is no counterpart measure in the House of Representatives. ....................
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