18 September 2002
Rumsfeld Says Issue in Iraq is Disarmament, Not Weapons Inspections
(Secretary urges swift action in House Armed Services appearance) (1030) By Ralph Dannheisser Washington File Congressional Correspondent Washington -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld issued another call for tough action against the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein September 18, but continued to insist that President Bush has not yet decided whether to launch a military strike. The Pentagon chief outlined the case for ousting the Iraqi leader from power in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, as the administration continued its all-out push to consolidate support behind its Iraq policy. President Bush seeks swift approval -- before congressional elections in early November -- of a resolution authorizing him to use "all appropriate means" to oust Hussein. Rumsfeld presented a litany of Iraq's actions in the past decade which, he said, demonstrate that no nation "poses a greater and more immediate threat to the security of our people, and the stability of the world, than the regime of Saddam Hussein." And he was dismissive of Iraq's agreement -- announced earlier in the week by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan -- to a resumption of UN weapons inspections, with no restrictions to be placed on the inspectors. "The issue is not inspections. The issue is disarmament. The issue is compliance" with a host of prior UN resolutions, he told committee members. Rumsfeld's opening statement to the panel was briefly interrupted by a pair of protestors in the hearing room, who unfurled banners reading, "UN Weapons Inspectors, Not War," and chanted "Inspections, not war!" The women were soon escorted from the room by Capitol police officers. Representative Duncan Hunter (Republican, California), chairing the hearing, evoked chuckles when he commented, "Mr. Secretary, we're going to put them down as undecided." But Rumsfeld used the occasion to reinforce his point on U.S. insistence on disarmament. "There is obviously a misunderstanding on the part of those who think that the goal is inspections," he said. And he asserted again that Hussein's possession of chemical and biological weapons and his steady steps toward developing a nuclear capability demand swift action, without waiting for the indisputable evidence -- or "smoking gun" -- sought by some. "The last thing we want to see is a smoking gun. A gun smokes after it's been fired.. If someone waits for a smoking gun, it's certain we will have waited too long," he declared. "I suggest that any who insist on perfect evidence are back in the 20th century and still thinking in pre-9/11 terms," Rumsfeld said. Waiting for full evidence before acting, against the background of last year's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, cannot be justified "unless we are willing and comfortable accepting the loss of not thousands of lives, but potentially tens of thousands of lives," he argued. Rumsfeld ticked off the administration's reasons for singling out Iraq for action, while acknowledging that other nations -- he cited North Korea, Iran, Libya and Syria by name -- also present a serious threat to the United States and the world. "Iraq is unique," he said. "No other living dictator matches Saddam Hussein's record of waging aggressive war against his neighbors; pursuing weapons of mass destruction; using WMD against his own people and other nations; launching ballistic missiles at his neighbors; brutalizing and torturing his own citizens; harboring terrorist networks; engaging in terrorist acts, including the attempted assassination of foreign officials; violating his international commitments; lying, cheating and hiding his WMD programs; deceiving and defying the express will of the United Nations over and over again." Rumsfeld's presentation won apparent support from many committee members, but also drew pointed questions from some. The secretary rejected speculation raised by Representative Jim Hansen (Republican, Utah) that ousting the present Iraqi regime could leave a vacuum that would allow Iran to step in. "The small clique of clerics that are running that country have their hands full right now," Rumsfeld said. "The likelihood of what you are suggesting is somewhat less than modest," he concluded. Representative Marty Meehan (Democrat, Massachusetts) asked the secretary whether disarmament could be achieved "short of declaring war on Iraq." "Sure. Saddam Hussein could decide that his future is limited and he'd decide to leave," Rumsfeld replied. When Meehan then asked, "How would we know we have a regime that wants to disarm?" Rumsfeld said that would require the presence in Iraq of representatives of "the international community" to physically impose disarmament. Again, Representative Tom Allen (Democrat, Maine) asked, hypothetically, whether convincing evidence that an unfettered inspection regime had forced Iraq to give up its weapons of mass destruction would be enough to "satisfy the administration's goals." "That's a reach," Rumsfeld said, dismissing that as a likely outcome. But in any event, he said, "The Congress . has adopted a policy for the United States of regime change," and the question at such a point would be, "Would the Congress then want to back away from the law" and change it? "That, of course, is a judgment not for the Secretary of Defense, it's a judgment for the president of the United States and the Congress," he said. The exchange spurred Allen to ask what possible incentive Saddam Hussein would have to cooperate in any way if he was convinced the United States was intent on removing him in any case. "He always has the opportunity to flee," Rumsfeld responded. Rumsfeld expressed misgivings when Representative John Hostettler (Republican, Indiana) said he hoped that Bush would seek a declaration of war from Congress before proceeding with military action against Iraq. Such a declaration has been deemed "either not necessary, or inappropriate, or both" in every U.S. conflict since World War II, the secretary said, and he suggested that could well be true in this case as well. But he repeated assurances, at several points during the hearing, that Bush has not yet decided on the use of military force. "No one with any sense rushes into war," he said. Air Force General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared with Rumsfeld before the committee, and assured members that U.S. troops are prepared for a strike if that is decided upon as the proper course of action. "Our military forces are ready and able to do whatever the president asks of them," he said. (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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