The White House Briefing Room
August 2, 1999
TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release August 2, 1999
TEXT OF A LETTER FROM
THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND
THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE
August 2, 1999
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
Consistent with the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq
Resolution (Public Law 102-1) and as part of my effort to keep the
Congress fully informed, I am reporting on the status of efforts to
obtain Iraq's compliance with the resolutions adopted by the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC). My last report, consistent with Public
Law 102-1, was transmitted on May 19, 1999.
Overview
We are convinced that as long as Saddam Hussein remains in power, he will
continue to threaten the well-being of his people, the peace of the
region, and vital U.S. interests. We will continue to contain these
threats, but over the long term, the best way to address them is by
encouraging the establishment of a new government in Baghdad. To this
end, we continue to work intensively with the Iraqi opposition. In May,
the Iraqi National Congress (INC) Interim Presidency Committee met with
the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor, and several
Members of Congress in Washington. The Department of State has been
assisting the INC in its preparations for a National Assembly meeting.
Also, the Department has been working with other non-governmental
organizations to develop projects to assist the Iraqi opposition and the
Iraqi people in their efforts to achieve a regime change. In June,
delegations from the two main Kurdish parties traveled to Washington to
discuss the next steps in implementing the reconciliation agreement they
signed in Washington last year.
During the last 60 days, we have also been working with members of the
UNSC to build support to adopt a resolution that would reestablish an
effective disarmament and monitoring presence inside Iraq, better meet
the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, and increase pressure on Iraq
to account for those missing from the Gulf War, and return Kuwaiti
property. The Security Council is currently continuing its discussions
on these matters.
The United States continues to support the international community's
efforts to provide for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people through
the oil-for-food program. On May 21, the Security Council unanimously
adopted Resolution 1242, extending the program for another 180 days.
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U.S. and Coalition Force Levels in the Gulf Region
Saddam Hussein's record of aggressive behavior necessitates the
deployment of a highly capable force in the region in order to deter Iraq
from threatening its neighbors, reconstituting its WMD program, or moving
against the Kurds in Northern Iraq. We will continue to maintain a
robust posture and have established a rapid reinforcement capability to
supplement our forces in the Gulf, if needed.
Our forces are a balanced mix of land and carrier-based aircraft, surface
ships, a Patriot missile battalion, a mechanized battalion task force,
and special operations units. To enhance force protection throughout the
region, additional military security personnel are also deployed.
Operation Northern Watch and Operation Southern Watch
Aircraft of the United States and coalition partners enforcing the no-fly
zones over Iraq under Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch are
regularly illuminated by radar and engaged by anti--aircraft artillery,
and occasionally, by surface-to-air missiles.
As a result of Iraq's no-fly zone violations and attacks on our aircraft,
our aircrews continue to respond with force. United States and coalition
forces are fully prepared and authorized to defend themselves against
Iraqi threats while carrying out their no-fly zone enforcement mission
and, when circumstances warranted, have engaged various components of the
Iraqi integrated air defense system. While threats to our aircraft
continue, actual Iraqi aircraft violations of the no-fly zones have
declined.
The Maritime Interception Force
The multinational Maritime Interception Force (MIF), operating in
accordance with Resolution 665 and other relevant resolu-tions, continues
to enforce U.N. sanctions in the Gulf. The U.S. Navy is the single
largest component of the MIF, but it is frequently augmented by ships,
aircraft, and other support assets from Australia, Bahrain, Belgium,
Canada, Kuwait, The Netherlands, New Zealand, the UAE, and the United
Kingdom. Member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) provide
logistical and personnel support to the MIF, and accept vessels diverted
for violating U.N. sanctions against Iraq.
The smuggling of refined petroleum products through the Gulf has remained
at a low level since Operation Desert Fox. The MIF, and our ability
rapidly to augment it, will continue to serve as a critical deterrent to
both the smuggling of petroleum products out of the Gulf and the
smuggling of prohibited items into Iraq.
UNSCOM/IAEA: Weapons of Mass Destruction
There has been no United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) or
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) presence in Iraq since December
15, 1998. UNSCOM informed the Security Council on June 1 of the status
of UNSCOM's chemical laboratory, biological room, equipment, and
components in the Baghdad Monitoring and Verification Center (BMVC). The
Canal Hotel houses UNSCOM offices along with those of other U.N.
activities in Iraq, such as the Office of the Iraq Programme, which
implements the oil-for-food program. UNSCOM has analytical equipment and
materials it would like to see removed in a straightforward technical
operation as a precaution. The
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samples include less than one kilogram of seized Iraqi mustard agent.
There are no immediate safety concerns. In June, UNSCOM recommended to
the Security Council that UNSCOM send a team of experts to destroy the
conventional lab chemicals, chemical standards, and biological samples,
and request that Iraq cooperate. In July the U.N. Secretariat, in
consultation with UNSCOM, deputized a team of experts to decommission the
lab. UNSCOM provided an operations plan for the mission to the
Secretariat. UNSCOM and U.S. experts trained the U.N. team in Bahrain.
The U.N. team consisted of an UNSCOM administrator, a biologist from a
German university, and four experts from the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Dual-Use Imports
Resolution 1051 established a joint UNSCOM/IAEA unit to monitor Iraq's
imports of allowed dual-use items. Iraq must notify the unit before it
imports specific items that can be used in both weapons of mass
destruction and civilian applications. Similarly, U.N. members must
provide timely notification of exports to Iraq of such dual-use items.
Since the withdrawal of UNSCOM and IAEA monitors, only some limited
monitoring in certain sectors is being conducted by the U.N. Office of
the Iraq Programme inspectors. This situation has presented new
challenges for the U.N. Sanctions Committee and is a factor in the
contract approval process. As a precautionary matter, the United States
has placed holds on a number of dual-use contracts that might otherwise
have been approved.
The U.N. Oil-for-Food Program
We continue to support the international community's efforts to provide
for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people through the oi1-for-food
program. On May 21, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution
1242, extending the program for another 180 days. As in phase five, Iraq
is again authorized to sell up to $5.2 billion worth of oil in the coming
180 days. Because of the increase in world oil prices and increased
exports, Iraq may reach the ceiling during this phase. As of June 14,
U.N. reporting indicates that since the start of the oil-for-food
program, 5,375 contracts for humanitarian goods worth over $7 billion
have been approved with 389 contracts worth $351 million on hold and
approximately 1,000 contracts in various stages of processing in the
United Nations.
Within the oil-for-food program, Resolution 1242 maintains a separate
program for northern Iraq, administered directly by the United Nations in
consultation with the local population. This program, which the United
States strongly supports, ensures that when Iraq contracts for the
purchase of humanitarian goods, 13 to 15 percent of the funds generated
under the oil-for-food program are spent on items for northern Iraq. The
separate northern program was established because of Baghdad's repression
and disregard for the humanitarian needs of the Kurdish, Assyrian,
Yezidi, and Turkoman minorities in northern Iraq.
Humanitarian programs such as oil-for-food have steadily improved the
life of the average Iraqi living under sanctions while denying Saddam
Hussein control over Iraq's oil revenues. Currently, the ration basket
provides over 2,000 calories per day per Iraqi. We will continue to work
with the U.N. Secretariat, the Security Council, and others in the
inter-national community to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the
Iraqi people are met while denying political or economic benefits to the
Baghdad regime. In addition, we are working with the United Nations and
other Security Council members to mitigate the effects of the current
drought in Iraq.
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Northern Iraq: Kurdish Reconciliation
In June, delegations from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) traveled to Washington to discuss the
next steps in implementing the accord they signed in September 1998.
Consensus was achieved on a number of confidence-building measures,
including opening party offices in major cities throughout northern Iraq,
eschewing negative press statements, countering the divisive influence of
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), beginning the return of internally
displaced persons, and creating a voter registration commission for
upcoming elections. The delegations discussed other issues, such as
revenue sharing, internal security, and the formation of an interim joint
regional assembly and administration. They will continue these talks in
northern Iraq and seek to implement steps that were agreed.
The Human Rights Situation in Iraq
The human rights situation in Iraq continues to fall far short of
international norms, in violation of Resolution 688. That resolution
explicitly notes that the consequences of the regime's repression of its
own people constitute a threat to international peace and security in the
region. It also demands immediate access by international humanitarian
aid organizations to all Iraqis in need. However, for over 7 years the
Iraqi government has refused to allow the U.N. Human Rights Commission
Special Rapporteur for Iraq, Max Van der Stoel, to visit Iraq. U.N.
human rights monitors have never been allowed into Iraq.
Severe repression continues in southern Iraq, as the regime works toward
the destruction of the Marsh Arabs' way of life and the unique ecology of
the southern marshes. The regime has repeatedly ignored appeals by Max
Van der Stoel and others for access by human rights monitors to
investigate these reports. The human rights monitors have asked to
investigate the alleged assassination of three of Iraq's most senior
Islamic clerics: Ayatollah Mohammed al-Sader in February 1999, Ayatollah
Borujerdi in April 1998, and Ayatollah al-Gharavi in June 1998.
In the north, outside the Kurdish-controlled areas, the government
continues the forced expulsion of ethnic Kurds and Turkomans from Kirkuk
and other cities.
The Iraqi Opposition
We are deepening our engagement with the forces of change in Iraq,
helping Iraqis both inside and outside Iraq to become a more effective
voice for the aspirations of the people. We will work toward the day
when Iraq has a government worthy of its people, a government prepared to
live in peace with its neighbors, and respects the rights of its
citizens. We believe that a change of regime in Baghdad is inevitable,
and that it is urgently incumbent on the world community to support the
Iraqis who are working to ensure that change is positive. These Iraqis
include the resistance inside the country, and those free Iraqis now in
exile or in northern Iraq, who seek to improve the chances that the next
government of Iraq will truly represent, serve, and protect all the Iraqi
people.
The INC has stepped up its activities since the April 7-8 meeting of the
Executive Council at Windsor. The Interim Presidency Committee visited
Washington from May 24 to May 28 for meetings with the Secretary of
State, the National Security Advisor, and several Members of Congress.
In a demonstration of the growing cohesion among the Iraqi opposition,
the INC leadership was accompanied by other key Sunni opposition leaders.
The INC also sent a delegation to the United Nations in May to discuss
humanitarian and human rights issues.
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Over the last several weeks, the INC Executive Committee met again in
London and the Interim Presidency Committee has worked on preparations
for their National Assembly. The Department of State assisted the INC in
these efforts by funding conference planning services with Economic
Support Funds. Using these same funds, the Department of State worked
with other nongovernmental organizations to develop projects to assist
the Iraqi opposition and the Iraqi people in their efforts to achieve
regime change.
The United Nations Compensation Commission
The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), established pursuant
to Resolutions 687, 692, and 1210, continues to resolve claims against
Iraq arising from Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The
UNCC has issued over 1.3 million awards worth approximately $10 billion.
Thirty percent of the proceeds from authorized oil sales are allocated to
the Compensation Fund to pay awards and finance UNCC operations. The
UNCC Governing Council has determined that certain small claims by
individuals will receive initial payments of $2,500, before paying larger
claims of either individuals or businesses and government agencies. In
June, the Governing Council established the rules for making payments on
the remaining small claims and the larger individual, corporate, and
government claims. To date, the U.S. Government has received funds from
the UNCC for initial installment payments for approximately 2,288 U.S.
claimants.
Conclusion
Iraq remains a serious threat to international peace and security. I
remain determined to see Iraq fully comply with all of its obligations
under Security Council resolutions. The United States looks forward to
the day when Iraq rejoins the family of nations as a responsible and
law-abiding member. I appreciate the support of the Congress for our
efforts and shall continue to keep the Congress informed about this
important issue.
Sincerely,
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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