**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact:

March 20, 2003 Dave Yonkman, press secretary

\(202\) 225-4928 office

\(202\) 226-0779 fax

dave.yonkman@mail.house.gov

# The Case for War with Iraq

*By Congressman Pete Hoekstra*

By now most Americans are well aware of military operations launched by
U.S. and allied forces to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from
power and to liberate the Iraqi people.

War has always been a last resort, never something I nor any
constituents in the 2^nd^ Congressional District wanted to see happen.
Our nation's leaders relentlessly pursued diplomatic efforts through the
United Nations to disarm Saddam until it became clear that such measures
wouldn't result in the removal of this threat against the United States
and the world.

After squandering a final opportunity to comply with an agreement he
made with the world, he defied an ultimatum by the President that gave
him 48 hours to leave the country or face military action.

Last year I voted in favor of H.J. Res. 114, Authorization for the Use
of Force Against Iraq, which gave the President Congress' consent to use
force to compel Saddam to comply with disarmament demands imposed by the
United Nations. It was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever
made. We are sending men and women \-- some of whom are our friends and
family in West Michigan \-- into battle to risk their lives for the
cause of promoting peace and stability in the world.

I wish they were safe at home, but the actions they now take are
necessary.

Saddam turned U.N. disarmament requirements into a game of deception
designed to buy more time to increase his stockpile of chemical and
biological weapons even as 250,000 U.S. troops were stationed at his
border.

I remain convinced that he plans to use these weapons against the United
States. He has launched these weapons against his neighbors and his own
people, and there is no reason to believe he would not use them against
his sworn enemy, the United States.

For more than a decade Saddam has defied the world and ignored orders
issued by the United Nations, which under a 1991 cease fire agreement
allowed Saddam to remain in power after his retreat from Kuwait. That
agreement was made under the condition that he disclose a list of his
weapons of mass destruction and destroy them. Large stockpiles of these
weapons \-- capable of killing millions \-- have yet to be acknowledged
or accounted for.

The burden of proof has always rested on Saddam to account for these
weapons, not on inspectors employed to verify his claims.

Saddam made only the slightest effort toward disarmament when the United
States began massing troops at Iraq's border. Only as pressure by the
world increased would he bring a sample of his arsenal out of hiding.

While the United States has applied the pressure, we are far from alone
in our efforts.

A list of countries that includes Albania, Azerbaijan, Columbia,
Ethiopia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Britain, Denmark, Estonia,
Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Oman, Portugal, Eritria,
Afghanistan, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates,
Uzbekistan, Japan, Australia, Spain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Costa Rica,
Bulgaria, Latvia, the Philippines, Bahrain, Qatar and Poland among
others have endorsed the actions of the United States, and many are
contributing militarily, diplomatically or are supplying intelligence.

Along with the United States, these countries are helping to carry out
measures specified in U.N. resolution 1441, which gave Saddam one last
chance to disarm peacefully and threatened "serious consequences" if he
refused.

Above all else, we need to remember this simple, irrefutable truth:
Saddam is a dictator guilty of torturing political dissidents,
systematically slaughtering his own people and murdering his own
relatives. No amount of political spin or rhetoric can dispute this.

In addition to amassing weapons of mass destruction against U.N. orders,
Saddam has buried thousands of Iraqis alive, wiped out entire villages
with mustard gas and nerve agents, "cleansed" the country of its Kurdish
population, failed to account for all missing Kuwaitis abducted during
the Gulf War and supported terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda,
Hamas and Islamic Jihad that are responsible for killing thousands of
innocent people throughout the world.

He has shown little regard for the rule of law and no respect for human
life.

We need to keep in mind that we live in a world vastly different than
before Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists killed more than 3,000 innocent
people on our soil. This was only the deadliest in a series of terrorist
attacks against Americans at home and abroad over the past decade. The
events of Sept. 11 made every American realize that terrorist threats
are very real inside of our own borders and a big component of
protecting ourselves from attacks is preventing them.

We have stood by for too long as Saddam has flouted the law, killed
innocent people and posed a threat to peace-loving people around the
world.

I hope this war will end quickly and without much bloodshed. Our
President has committed to supplying humanitarian aid to the Iraqi
people and helping them rebuild a nation of self-governance after
decades of enduring a brutal dictatorship.

Our thoughts should now be with our troops and the people of Iraq as we
pray that God watches over them and protects them. The time has come to
show leadership and act decisively to protect our country by removing
the threat that is Saddam.

He has left us no other choice.

*Pete Hoekstra is the U.S. Representative in Congress for Michigan's
Second Congressional District*