05 August 2002
Senators Air Views about Use of Force Against Iraq
(Iraq issue focus of August 4 Sunday talks shows) (1240) By Phil Kurata Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- Several prominent U.S. senators and a former national security advisor aired differing views on the threat posed by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein and how to deal with it on Sunday morning television interviews August 4. On the CBS "Face the Nation" program, Democrat Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Chuck Hagel of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Brent Scowcroft, the former national security adviser under the first President Bush during the Gulf War in 1991 and currently the chairman of the second President Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, argued for a cautious approach in dealing with Iraq. All three agreed that Saddam Hussein poses a threat, but they questioned whether a U.S. military invasion was the proper course of action. Levin said he thought it was unlikely that Saddam Hussein would initiate an attack with weapons of mass destruction because such an action would draw a devastating response that would drive him from power. "The key question is whether or not Saddam is more interested in his own survival -- does he love himself more than he hates us? And I think the answer is probably yes. And if that's true, then it would be unlikely that he would initiate an attack with weapons of mass destruction because it would be certain that he would be destroyed in response," Levin said. Levin said initiating military action against Iraq could cause the very thing that the United States most fears -- the use of weapons of mass destruction. He said containment was an effective policy in dealing with the former Soviet Union and North Korea. There is a serious split in opinion between uniformed military officers, who are arguing for caution, and some civilians in the Defense Department, who favor a preemptive attack against Iraq, Levin said. Hagel said an attack on Iraq would establish a new military doctrine of "preemption" that would have a far-reaching impact on international relations. "If we would move in a preemptive way against Iraq, that would change a doctrine that this country has had as long as we have existed, and that would set in motion, or certainly could set in motion, a change in world military doctrine on a preemptive basis," Hagel said. Hagel listed other issues that have to be addressed in deciding whether or not to attack Iraq: What happens after Saddam? Could we further destabilize the Middle East? How long would the military operation take? At what cost? Would U.S. troops have to engage in house to house action in Baghdad? He noted that U.S. troops are still stationed in Germany, Japan and South Korea decades after the end of hostilities. Scowcroft said an attack on Iraq at this time could turn the Middle East into a "cauldron and thus destroy the war on terrorism." Scowcroft advised that the United States would be better served by seeking progress on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, pursuing the campaign against terrorists and persuading the United Nations to insist on an unrestricted weapons inspection regime for Iraq. Appearing on the Fox News Sunday, Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman said he supports military action to remove Saddam Hussein from power. He said he hopes before the end of the year that the U.S. Congress will grant President Bush the authority to carry out such an action. Lieberman said every day that Saddam Hussein remains in power is another day of danger for the American people. "We have the strength to remove him. We can put together a plan to replace him with a unified Iraqi government. Let's get on with it, and let's give the president the authority to do what we elect commanders-in-chief to do," he said. Senate Democratic majority leader Tom Daschle and Senate Republican minority leader Trent Lott commented on the Iraq issue on ABC's "This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts." Daschle said he would vote for a Senate resolution that would demand that the president obtain congressional authorization before launching military action against Iraq. Daschle said no one in Congress doubts that regime change in Iraq would be in the U.S. interest, but there are a lot of questions that have to be addressed. "Do we have the support from our allies? Do we have an appropriate plan for what happens once the regime change takes place? Do we have the ability to do this logistically? Is the military supportive of the efforts overall?" Daschle asked. Lott commented that he thought that there is justification to invade Iraq but the United States needs to be united on the issue. "America needs to be united. We need to understand what our problem is or what our goals are. We need to try to bring the world in. I think we're going to have to eventually do something about Saddam Hussein and Iraq," Lott said. He praised Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph Biden and the ranking Republican on the committee, Richard Lugar, for holding hearings aimed at examining the Iraq issue thoroughly. Biden gave his views on the Iraq issue on the NBC program, "Meet the Press," in which he said that "Saddam either has to be separated from his weapons of mass destruction or taken out of power." He said a lot of work has to be done to convince the American people, U.S. allies and the countries in the Middle East of the need to eliminate the threat posed by Saddam. Biden said if President Bush decides that military action is necessary, the president has an obligation to seek congressional approval. "We should make the case straight out -- straight out as to the nature of the danger, the nature of the threat. And the president should in my view, when the time comes, come to the United States Congress and say, 'I want authority. I want you with me to go in after Saddam and take him out, and here's why. Here's the justification. I want your support.' He needs that support under the Constitution," Biden said. Biden said if the case for military action against Saddam is convincing, U.S. allies will support the Bush administration. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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