17 March 1998
TEXT: DEFENSE SECRETARY COHEN SAYS IRAQI CRISIS IS NOT OVER
(Saddam Hussein must give evidence of what he destroys) (2400) Washington -- Defense Secretary Cohen says the international community must continue to test Iraqi President Saddam Hussein "to see if he intends to fulfill or flout his obligations." Even though United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan concluded a memorandum of understanding with Iraq, Cohen warned, it "is not a question of trust," but of verification. Cohen told members of the National Press Club March 17 that Saddam Hussein "has an affirmative duty to produce hard evidence" of his compliance. The Iraqi leader must "once and for all, make a full, final and complete declaration about what he has and what he has destroyed," the secretary said, and then he "must reconcile his declarations with his deeds." Following is the text of Cohen's remarks as prepared for delivery: (begin text) Today, I want to take stock of where we stand in this continuing crisis. I want to outline in the clearest possible terms what Saddam Hussein's obligations are to the world and what he must do to meet his obligations. I also want to discuss the larger threat of weapons of mass destruction and what the United States is doing about it, not only in Iraq, but here at home. I met with Secretary General Annan twice last week during his visit to Washington. We discussed in detail his memorandum of understanding with Saddam. Secretary General Annan is to be commended for his persistence and patience in securing this agreement. We are already seeing positive results. For the first time, Saddam Hussein has agreed to unconditional, unfettered and unrestricted access to all suspected sites in Iraq. UNSCOM (United Nations Special Commission) inspectors will for the first time have access to so-called "sensitive" sites and to eight so-called "presidential" sites that Iraq once tried to claim were off limits. Under this agreement, nothing is off limits, there are no deadlines and there is no bar against repeat visits to the same site. Last week, an UNSCOM inspection team returned to Iraq for the first time under the agreement and inspected, for the first time, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. This agreement also preserves the integrity and independence of the inspection process. Chairman Richard Butler remains in charge of UNSCOM and continues to report to the Security Council through Secretary General Annan. The special inspection team for the eight so-called "presidential" sites will report to, and remain under the operational control of, Chairman Butler. The diplomats accompanying this team will observe, not interfere. If fulfilled by Iraq, this agreement will at last give the UNSCOM inspectors the access they need to find and destroy Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear materials and munitions; to find and destroy the missiles to deliver these weapons; and to institute a system for long-term monitoring to ensure Iraq does not reconstitute or rebuild more. But even as we note the many positive aspects of this agreement, it is important to remember that it could not have been reached without American-led military muscle. It is also important to remember that it was Saddam Hussein who precipitated this crisis. He tried to dictate to the international community when, where, how and for how long inspections were to occur. He threatened to shoot down the U-2 surveillance flights that bear the U.N. banner and are flown by American pilots. He threatened to attack our forces in the region or those of our allies and he kicked American inspectors out of Iraq. Today, it is clear that Saddam Hussein's strategy of evasion and avoidance has failed. The economic sanctions that have denied him approximately $110 billion to rebuild his military remain in place. The UNSCOM inspectors remain in Iraq with more access than ever. The international community remains in agreement that Saddam must comply fully with his obligations. And the U.N. Security Council has made it clear that he faces the "severest consequences" if he does not. But this crisis is not over. These last seven years have taught us that Iraq cannot be trusted. It has displayed an historical pattern of delay, deception and deceit. After the Gulf War, the Iraqis gave what was supposedly a full, final and complete declaration on each of their weapons of mass destruction programs. They claimed that their weapons had been destroyed and denied ever producing chemical weapons. After the defection of Saddam Hussein's son-in-law in 1995, Iraqi officials confessed to having materials and munitions they had lied about for years. But even today, there is a vast gap between what Iraq professes and what it is required to prove. Iraq claims it destroyed 25 SCUD warheads filled with biological agents such as botulinum toxin, which can kill within three days by paralyzing the lungs. Iraq claims it destroyed 50 warheads filled with sarin, an agent that attacks the nervous system and kills within 15 minutes. But they have failed to provide convincing evidence. While UNSCOM through its own efforts has confirmed the destruction of 30 warheads, Iraq has failed to provide credible evidence that the remainder have been destroyed, and indeed UNSCOM has found Iraq's explanations to be false. Iraq claims it destroyed 157 bombs filled with biological agents like anthrax, a minute quantity of which -- no larger that a speck of dust -- can kill within four or five days. But they offer no credible evidence of this destruction. Iraq claims it destroyed 130 tons of chemical agents and over 15,000 chemical weapons. But they have failed to demonstrate either. Iraq claims it destroyed enough precursor chemicals to manufacture 200 tons of VX, a mere drop of which can kill within minutes. Still, they offer no convincing evidence. Iraq has made declaration after declaration, each one supposedly full, final and complete, but each one has been found to be false. Even the international technical teams that traveled to Baghdad at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz report that Iraq continued to deceive and delay as recently as last month. The bottom line is that Iraq may still be hiding munitions and operational missiles with warheads filled with deadly chemical or biological agents. So judging the success of this memorandum of understanding is not a question of trust. It is a question of verification. President Reagan used to say, "Trust but verify." Now we are saying, "Inspect and verify." The international community must continue to test Saddam to see if he intends to fulfill or flout his obligations. During this testing phase, Saddam is betting that the world will see the initial access given the UNSCOM inspectors, declare victory and bring them home. He is counting on the world to turn its attention elsewhere so he can turn his attention to lifting the sanctions and rebuilding his military machine. But success is not inspectors knocking on doors, walking through empty buildings or finding empty drawers or files that have been cleared by Iraqi search and destroy missions. The key measure of success is not simply the access granted by Iraq nor the discoveries made by the inspectors. The true test is the kind of evidence and proof Saddam offers that he is being truthful. He must, once and for all, make a full, final and complete declaration about what he has and what he has destroyed. He must reconcile his declarations with his deeds. Let me be as clear as I can. Saddam Hussein has an affirmative duty to produce hard evidence: records, names, dates and places describing what was destroyed, how, when and where. Under the U.N. Security Council Resolutions, it is not the inspectors' responsibility to prove that he is guilty of having and hiding these weapons, to find biologically or chemically-tipped missiles in a 170,000-square-mile haystack. It is Saddam's responsibility to provide proof positive that he has not. The burden of proof is on Saddam Hussein. Only when Saddam is in full compliance with all relevant U.N. resolutions will there be sanctions relief for the Iraqi people who have suffered so needlessly for his intransigence. In short, Saddam still has many promises to keep and the inspectors still have miles to go before Iraq can insist on sanctions relief. That's why the international community must remain vigilant. And that's why we will maintain our forces in the region at the ready. One of the greatest dangers in such times of crisis is that, to paraphrase T. S. Eliot, we will have the sudden illumination that we had the experience but missed the meaning. The larger meaning of this moment is that we live in a world where more powerful weapons are in the hands of more reckless people who are more likely to use them. Iraq is one of at least 25 countries that already have or are developing nuclear, biological or chemical weapons and the means to deliver them. Of these, many have ties to terrorists, religious zealots, or organized crime groups who also seek these weapons. Chemical and biological weapons are truly the poor man's atomic bomb, cheaper to buy, easier to build and extremely deadly. America's military superiority also presents a superpower paradox. Potential adversaries know they cannot win a conventional challenge to our forces. So they are more likely to resort to unconventional, asymmetrical methods such as biological and chemical weapons. We cannot let our vulnerability to these weapons become our Achilles heel. This is the reason that I announced in November the creation of a new Threat Reduction Agency to serve as the DOD focal point, not only for our technical work, but for the intellectual analysis required to confront this threat. We recognize that the use of chemical and biological weapons is a likely condition of future warfare. Planning and preparing for their use on future battlefields is therefore a key element of our defense strategy and our war planning. We also recognize that there is no silver bullet, no single response to this threat. Rather, we must prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. We must protect ourselves by deterring their use. And we must prepare for the possibility that these weapons may be used in America. Prevention must be our first and foremost line of defense. Our Cooperative Threat Reduction program, Nunn-Lugar, is helping to destroy and dismantle nuclear and chemical weapons throughout the former Soviet Union. The United States also actively participates in a range of arms control and nonproliferation regimes to lessen the chance of rogue nations or terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Despite our efforts, proliferation is likely to occur. So our second line of defense must be to protect ourselves through deterrence and defense. We have made very clear to Iraq and to the world that if America or U.S. forces are attacked by nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, we have the ability and will to deliver a response that is overwhelming and devastating. We also deter adversaries by making sure our forces are ready to fight and win on any battlefield, even one that is contaminated. In the QDR (Quadrennial Defense Review), I directed that we increase our spending over the coming five years by nearly $1 billion additional to improve the ability of our forces to find and destroy these weapons before they are used against our troops; to arm our forces with the most advanced detection and decontamination equipment; and, to give them new, lighter protective suits. Earlier this month, we started vaccinating our Persian Gulf forces against anthrax and we will continue until all our forces are immunized. We go to such lengths because defense is itself a deterrent. The more prepared our forces are, the less likely an attack against them will succeed and the less likely potential adversaries will try to do so. Yet this season of anniversaries reminds us that the front lines are no longer just overseas, they are also here at home. Five years ago last month, six were killed and thousands were injured in the World Trade Center blast. And three years ago this week, the sarin gas attack in Tokyo's subway killed a dozen and injured thousands. Some believe an even more deadly chemical or biological catastrophe on American soil is inevitable. While nothing is inevitable until it happens, we must be prepared for this potential future, and we are. We are building a third line of defense grounded in domestic preparation. DOD is leading a Federal effort to train the "first responders" in 120 of America's largest cities. These first responders are the police, firefighters and medical technicians who will be first on the scene of a terrorist attack. Today, I am announcing the creation of the military's first-ever rapid assessment teams to ensure the Department of Defense is even more prepared. Ten special National Guard teams will be dedicated to assisting local civilian authorities in the event of a chemical or biological attack. These teams will arrive quickly, assess the scene and help to ensure affected areas get the Federal help they need. I am also announcing that Reserve units already trained to respond to attacks abroad will be given more training and opportunities to assist here at home. In its first year, this entire plan will avail over 3,000 more personnel trained and ready to assist civilian authorities. In future years, our Guard and Reserve will assist even more. This new initiative will be the cornerstone of our strategy for preparing America's defense against the possible use of weapons of mass destruction. At the dawn of the nuclear age, Winston Churchill remarked, "We can be carried back to the stone age on the gleaming wings of science as easily as we can glide into the mysteries of the 21st Century. The choice has always been man's." Churchill's words were true then and they are even more true today in a world where fanatical actors may be rabid in the face of reason. Today, the choice is America's. We can choose to close our eyes to the threat of weapons of mass destruction, one of the greatest threats of our times. Or we can choose to confront this challenge and thus enter the 21st Century stronger and more secure. (end text)
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