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September 1999

• TEXT OF SEN. KERREY'S REMARKS TO THE WILSON CENTER Iraq News 29 September 1999 - During the question period, Sen. Kerrey was asked whether his vigorous support for the implementation of the ILA didn't also imply the potential or likely use of US forces. Sen. Kerrey replied that if he were president, he would be prepared to use U.S. forces. He explained that we are already engaged in a serious military confrontation. Peoples lives are at risk. The danger is that we are not committed enough and not getting done what has to be done.
• Text: Lifting Sanctions on Iraq Will Only Help WMD Program, Helms Says USIA 28 September -- "Lifting sanctions on Iraq will do nothing more thanenable Saddam Hussein to import the building blocks for weapons ofmass destruction," Senator Jesse Helms emphasized at a ForeignRelations Committee hearing with Richard Butler, the recent executivechairman of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), on September 28.
• Former UNSCOM Chief Wants WMD Inspections Back in Iraq USIA 28 September -- Former UNSCOM chief Richard Butler rejected the idea that the United Nations should lift economic sanctions on Iraq because Baghdad still refuses to cooperate with United Nations resolutions mandating inspections forweapons of mass destruction. Butler, an Australian diplomat now withthe Council on Foreign Relations, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee September 28.
• Text: Former UNSCOM Chief Butler's Senate Testimony on Iraq Sept. 28USIA 28 September 1999 -- Richard Butler, former chief of the United Nations Special Commissionon Iraq (UNSCOM), called upon the permanent members of the UN Security Council to "stand together in insisting to Iraq that it return tocompliance with the law."
• Former UNSCOM Chief Wants WMD Inspections Back in IraqUSIA 28 September 1999 --Former UNSCOM (United Nations Special Commission onIraq) chief Richard Butler rejected the idea that the United Nationsshould lift economic sanctions on Iraq because Baghdad still refusesto cooperate with United Nations resolutions mandating inspections forweapons of mass destruction. Butler, an Australian diplomat now withthe Council on Foreign Relations, testified before the Senate ForeignRelations Committee September 28.
• BUTLER-IRAQ Voice of America 28 September 1999 -- The former head of the U-N weapons inspection commission (UNSCOM) is urging the world community to keep pressure on Iraq's government. But he says the suffering of the Iraqi people should be eased.
• U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council Joint Statement Press Statement released September 27, 1999 -- The U.S. and its GCC partners are unanimous in calling for re-establishing UNSC consensus on Iraq based on the principles in the British/Dutch draft resolution that would provide for the resumption of effective weapons inspections, address the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people and increase pressure on Iraq to account for Gulf War prisoners and detainees from Kuwait and other countries, and to return Kuwaiti property.
• ONW Aircraft Respond to Iraqi AAA Fire UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND (27 Sep 99) -- Coalition aircraft responded in self-defense, dropping precision-guided-munitions (PGMs) on AAA sites in Iraq.
• COALITION AIRCRAFT REACT TO IRAQI PROVOCATIONS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND September 27, 1999 -- Air Force F-16 "Falcons," U.S. Navy F/A-18 "Hornets" and F-14 "Tomcats," and British Royal Air Force GR-1 "Tornadoes" used precision guided munitions to strike Iraqi military communications sites near the cities of Al Amarah and Al Kut and a radar site in the vicinity of Tallil.
• Impact of Air Strikes on UN Operations in Iraq, 1 January 1999-15 September 1999 Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq 26 Sept 1999
• RFE/RL Iraq Report, Volume 2, Number 35 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 26 September 1999 -- UNSC PERMANENT MEMBERS SEEK AGREEMENT ON IRAQ / THE DEBATE OVER WEAPONS INSPECTIONS INTENSIFIES / INC TO HOLD CONGRESS IN NEW YORK / MILOSEVIC RECEIVES NEW IRAQI AMBASSADOR / BRITISH EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT PAPAL VISIT TO IRAQ / KDP-PUK HIGHER COORDINATION COMMITTEE MEETS / KPD ASKS PKK TO WTHDRAW FROM IRAQ
• Operation Northern Watch AFEM eligibility expands (AFPN) 23 September 1999 -- The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced expansion of the area of eligibility for the award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Operation Northern Watch for the period of Jan. 1, 1997 through a date to be determined.
• Text: Statement by UN Security Council's Perm Five, September 23, 1999USIA 24 September 1999 -- The five permanent members of the Security Council September 23 issued a statement affirming their desire to adopt a comprehensive resolution dealing with Iraq's disarmament and humanitarian issues.
• UN/IRAQ Voice of America 23 September 1999 -- Foreign Ministers from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have been meeting in New York to decide how to get weapons inspectors back into Iraq and under what conditions.
• U.S. Will Not Compromise on Iraqi Weapons Inspections, Albright SaysUSIA 23 September 1999 -- The United States is eager to have a new Security Council resolution that will put weapons inspectors back in Iraq but "not at any price," U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said September 22.
• U-N/IRAQ SANCTIONS Voice of America 22 September 1999 -- The five permanent members of the UN Security Council are trying to find agreement on a resolution that would authorize a return weapons inspectors to Iraq in exchange for a slight easing of the sanctions that have been in place against Baghdad since the end of the Gulf War. The United States and Britain are having a hard time gaining the full support of key council members.
• Press release by Denis Halliday re: NYT Story Iraq Action Coalition 21 September 1999 -- It is appalling that we have an Office financed by Iraq that is so weak and disinterested to keeping things straight - in presenting both sides of the story. This is an office without leadership, without vision and without the kind of initiative that the UN Secrtetariat owes to its member states.
• Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and U.K. Foreign Secretary Robin Cook Press Remarks Prior to their Meeting September 21, 1999 -- We are concerned about the fact that Saddam Hussein should not be in a position to be able to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction. And it's important to get a monitoring team on the ground so that we can tell what is going on.
• DoD News Briefing Tuesday, September 21, 1999 -- He continues this pattern, this rope-a-dope that he has done for several months, probably to lure our aircraft into SAM traps because he's looking for an opportunity for a trophy and has offered rewards for his crews to shoot down a coalition aircraft.
• Statement on Free Iraqi Leaders Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, September 20, 1999 -- We particularly agreed on the need for Saddam Hussein to comply fully with UNSCR 688, among the other obligations imposed by the world community for the protection of the Iraqi people and their neighbors.
• Albright Meets With Iraqi Opposition LeadersUSIA 21 September 1999 -- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met with Iraqi opposition leaders September 20 discussing possible ways the international community can ease the suffering of the Iraqi people while ensuring that the country's wealth is not used by Saddam Hussein to build palaces and weapons.
• Text: Albright on Conversation with Free Iraqi Leaders, September 20USIA 20 September 1999 -- "The Baghdad regime has tried hard to silence the Iraqi people, and to hide the evidence of its crimes against them. This courageous group,visiting New York for the opening of the [U.N.] General Assembly, has shown that Saddam Hussein has failed," Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said September 20.
• ALBRIGHT/IRAQ Voice of America 20 September 1999 -- Leaders of Iraq's opposition in exile are urging the United States and its allies to find ways to get more humanitarian relief to the Iraqi people while maintaining sanctions against the government of President Saddam Hussein. Members of the Iraqi National Congress met with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in New York Monday where diplomatic efforts are underway to find agreement within the United Nations Security Council on a way to get U-N weapons inspectors back in the country.
• IRAQI WAR CRIMES Voice of America 14 September 1999 -- A non-governmental organization that hunts down alleged Iraqi war criminals says it is tightening its net around some of Saddam Hussein's closest advisers and family members. Last month, the group came close to organizing the arrest of two senior Iraqi officials in Italy and Austria. The United States and Britain are strongly backing the effort to hunt down Iraqi war criminals.
• A brave Congresswoman speaks out (McKinney, who else) Iraq Action Coalition 14 September 1999 -- Nine years of UN sanctions are doing nothing to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein, but are succeeding fully at denying the Iraqi people the basic necessities of life: clean water, adequate food, decent health care, and education.
• Silent Decimation--A must read Iraq Action Coalition 14 September 1999 -- The following article from the September 3 issue of Middle East International is a sharp, factual and sobering rebuttal of the propaganda and spin that has been deployed to explain away the recent findings in UNICEF's report on conditions in Iraq.
• COALITION AIRCRAFT RESPOND TO PROVOCATION UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND September 14, 1999 -- U.S. Air Force F-16 "Fighting Falcons," U.S. Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 "Hornets," and F-14 "Tomcats," enforcing the Southern No-Fly Zone used precision guided munitions to strike two military radar sites in southern Iraq near the town of Qalat Salih and on the Al Faw peninsula near the Arabian Gulf coast.
• Iraqis again attack ONW aircraft UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND (13 Sep 99) Coalition aircraft dropped precision-guided-munitions (PGMs) on an air-defense-warning site south of the city of Mosul and an AAA site northwest of that city.

• Saddam Hussein's Iraq
  Prepared by the U.S. Department of State Released September 13, 1999
• Report on Saddam Hussein's Iraq Martin S. Indyk, Assistant Secretary Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, James P. Rubin, Department of State Spokesman Briefing, Washington, DC, September 13, 1999 -- Saddam Hussein continues to violently repress his own people; continues to neglect the needs of his own people by obstructing the Oil-For-Food program, while his regime exports food and diverts resources for resorts and palaces for family members and close supporters; and thirdly, that he maintains his goal of rebuilding his weapons of mass destruction, so that he can threaten his neighbor.

• ARAB LEAGUE Voice of America 12 September 1999 -- The Arab League Foreign Ministers' meeting opened (Sunday) in Cairo with calls for unity and for healing divisions among Arab countries. These appeals may be put to the test during the two-day meeting, the first to be chaired by Iraq since the Persian Gulf war.
• IRAQ - ARAB LEAGUE Voice of America 11 September 1999 -- Foreign ministers of Arab League countries gather in Egypt Sunday for their twice-yearly meeting at the League's Cairo headquarters. One thing will be far from normal: this time, for the first time since the Persian Gulf War, Iraq is chairing the meeting.
• RFE/RL Iraq Report, Volume 2, Number 34 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 10 September 1999 -- IRAQ DENIES PRESENCE OF KUWAITI PRISONERS (AGAIN) / JORDAN-KUWAIT RAPPROCHEMENT SPARKS IRAQI REACTION / U.S. WANTS MEETING ON IRAQ STRATEGY / SADDAM'S HALF-BROTHER LEAVES IRAQ / BARZANI ON BAGHDAD, PKK, PUK, ASSYRIANS, AND TURKMENS / ASSYRIANS CLOSER TO CONSENSUS / 'NATIONAL INTEREST' VS. 'EXTERNAL FACTORS' IN IRAQ / ASSYRIAN AMERICAN NATIONAL FEDERATION ON IRAQ
• IRAQ BOMBING Voice of America 10 September 1999 -- Iraq is leading Sunday's Arab League meeting in Cairo and officials say Baghdad wants to put the rift between Iraq and the United States high on the agenda.
• Iraqis attack ONW aircraft again UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND (10 Sep 99) -- Coalition aircraft dropped precision-guided-munitions (PGMs) on an air-defense-warning site south of the city of Mosul. Today's action was in the vicinity of Tall-Afar.
• Iraqis resume attacks on ONW aircraft UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND (9 Sep 99) - Coalition aircraft dropped precision-guided-munitions (PGMs) on a surface-to-air missile (SAM) support site west of the city of Mosul. All action took place north of the 36th parallel.
• COALITION AIRCRAFT STRIKE TARGETS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND September 9, 1999 -- U.S. Air Force F-16 "Fighting Falcons," U.S. Navy F/A-18 "Hornets," and F-14 "Tomcats," and British GR-1 "Tornado" aircraft enforcing the Southern No-Fly Zone used precision guided munitions to strike Anti-Aircraft Artillery sites in southern Iraq near the cities of Tallil, Al Basrah and As Samawah.
• IRAQ DEFECTION (L-ONLY) Voice of America 08 September 1999 -- Iraqi opposition and Arab media report that a close relative of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has defected. President Saddam's half-brother reportedly fled Baghdad after disagreements with the Iraqi president's politically-powerful sons.
• IRAQ REBUILDING PROSCRIBED WEAPONS Iraq News SEPTEMBER 7, 1999 On Aug 25, the White House released a report to Congress on Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction. The classified version is reportedly much sharper than the unclassified version, which said, "We are concerned by activity at Iraqi sites known to be capable of producing WMD and long-range ballistic missiles." Thus, informed speculation is that the US will try to secure UNSC approval of the UK/Dutch draft, but it is not likely to succeed. And when that happens, the US will set out to bomb Iraq, or try to do so.
• RFE/RL Iraq Report, Volume 2, Number 33 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 3 September 1999 -- IRAQ INCREASES RANGE OF ITS SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES / SADDAM PUSHES FOR 'RAPID DEPLOYMENT FORCE.' / PROJECTED PAPAL VISIT SPARKS CONTROVERSY / IRAQ OIL EXPORTS FALL AT END OF AUGUST / IRAQI JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES REWARDS, PENALTIES / LIBYAN-IRAQI RELATIONS HEAT UP / MEDYA-TV ON PKK-KDP CONFLICT / PUK MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF IRBIL INVASION
• IRAQ WEAPONS Voice of America 03 September 1999 -- Weapons expert John Pike studies Iraq for the American Federation of Scientists, a non-government group. He says there is good reason for worry.
• Iraqis continue to fire at ONW aircraft UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND (3 Sep 99) -- Coalition aircraft dropped munitions directly on the AAA site that was firing at them destroying some of the artillery. Precision guided munitions were also dropped on an aircraft warning installation south of the Saddam Dam.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing 02 September 1999 -- We are concerned by activity at Iraqi sites known to be capable of producing weapons of mass destruction, as well as long-range ballistic missiles, as procurement activity by Iraq's long-established practice of procurement activity that would include dual-use items. In the absence of UN inspectors on the ground carrying out the existing Security Council mandate, our uncertainties about the meaning of these activities will persist and, as time passes, of course, our concerns increase.
• Iraqis continue to fire at ONW aircraft UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND (2 Sep 99) -- Operation Northern Watch (ONW) aircraft dropped precision-guided-munitions on a radar site south of the city of Mosul, located in the northern no-fly zone.
• Iraqis continue to fire at ONW aircraft UNITED STATES EUROPEAN COMMAND (1 Sep 99) -- Operation Northern Watch (ONW) aircraft dropped precision-guided-munitions on a military surface-to-air attack support site west of the city of Mosul, located in the northern no-fly zone.
• U.S. SUPPORTS UN APPROVAL OF IRAQI OIL DONATIONS TO TURKEY USIA 01 September 1999 -- The United States supports the United Nations Sanctions Committee's decision to approve Iraq's offer to donate oil to Turkey's earthquake victims.
• Caught Between Iraq And A Hard Place European Stars And Stripes Sept. 1, 1999 -- It may not qualify as full-scale combat, but eight years after the Persian Gulf War, U.S. fighters are still dropping bombs on Iraqi military targets an average of 15 times a month and drawing barely a flicker of reaction anymore.
• PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF DANGEROUS WEAPONS TO IRAQ AND IRAN Bruce O. Riedel USIA - U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda, September 1999 - Allowing weapons of mass destruction to spread to Iraq and Iran undermines security and stability throughout the Middle East.