Cohen Says Iraqi Compliance is Bottom Line
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service - 12 Nov 1998
NORFOLK NAVAL BASE, Va. -- Defense Secretary William S.
Cohen told sailors here an air campaign against Iraq would
be "significant, and not a pinprick."
"Compliance is the bottom line," he said. Cohen said the
United States would rather have U.N. arms inspectors back
to work in Iraq peacefully, but it will use force if
necessary.
One pilot told Cohen he believed the United States was
being "jerked around" by Saddam Hussein. "When are we going
to stop being the puppet?" the sailor asked. "Last
deployment, we spent five months in the Gulf doing the same
thing."
Cohen said he understood the sailors were frustrated by the
situation. But, he said, their very presence in the Gulf
meant that earlier confrontations were resolved peacefully.
"You're like the cop on the beat," Cohen said to sailors
aboard the amphibious landing ship USS Bataan. "The 'bad
guys' are not going to attempt something if the cop is
there."
Earlier this year, Saddam Hussein saw the force arrayed
against him and gave in, allowing U.N. inspectors to do
their jobs, Cohen said. Hussein faces the same situation
today -- he must comply with all U.N. Security Council
resolutions before sanctions are lifted.
"[Hussein] agreed in February 1991 [at the end of the Gulf
War] to allow U.N. inspectors to oversee the dismantling of
his weapons of mass destruction and his means of producing
them," Cohen said. "He must comply with U.N. resolutions.
If he does not, and we do nothing, the United Nations will
lose all credibility."
Cohen said during a press conference on the Bataan's hangar
deck that there is no timetable for force. He said the
United Nations will give time for diplomacy to work. In the
meantime, the United States and its allies will be ready in
case force is needed.
Cohen told aviators the threat of force is real. He said
"pinprick attacks" won't work on the Iraqi president. "He
is more than willing to kill his own people," Cohen said.
He said any use of force must be sustained and aimed at
driving Iraq back to cooperating with the United Nations.
He said U.N. inspectors must have Iraq's cooperation and
detailed the difficulty inspectors face in ensuring Iraq's
weapons of mass destruction program is ended. About 100
inspectors have to cover an area the size of California.
"They have to find documents, computer discs, production
points, ammunition areas in an area that size," he said.
"Hussein has said, 'We have no [weapons of mass
destruction] program now.' We're saying, 'Prove it.' He
says he has destroyed all his nerve agent, we're asking
'where, when and how?'
"The onus for this is firmly on Saddam Hussein," Cohen
continued. This is not a case of the United States making a
unilateral decision to persecute Iraq, he said. Rather, the
entire world wants Hussein to honor his agreements.
Cohen said his recent 11-nation trip to the Gulf and Europe
to give the U.S. position on the situation was fruitful. He
said recent decision to send service members to the region
just gives more options.
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