Date: 2002-10-09
Speaker: GARY G. MILLER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. as Saddam Hussein continues to defy the United States and the world. the avenue of options available in dealing with Hussein shrinks with every step he takes toward attaining nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. It is clear that Hussein does- not aspire to acquire these weapons for the sake of selfdefense. The goal of these weapons is aggression. This is not a man of peace. This is a man of war. He has made a mockery of the agreement ending the first Persian Gulf War. and now he holds out hope that he can continue to manipulate the world to hold on to power. And he intends to hold power and use it till he is successful in acquiring weapons of mass destruction and with it. the ability to bully and destabilize the Gulf region. Hussein intends to use the currency of these weapons to hold hostage the entire region. What then? Some argue that if the attack is not on the U.S. (which we cannot guarantee). we should not get involved. But who believes that if he again invades another country that the United States will be able to sit on its hands as the stability of the Middle East unravels? If he uses these weapons against his neighbors. where will this nation be on moral ground to allow him to continue without reprisal? Appeasement will not be an option. Further. who believes that our country is better positioned fighting a nuclear armed Hussein than one that is currently without that capability? Who believes that the welfare of our men and women in uniform is better served in having them face an enemy with nuclear weapons than one who has not yet been successful in doing so? The answer is no one. With that being said. the urgency of dealing with Hussein is ever increasing. If Hussein attacks. the most brilliant diplomatic minds combined will not be able to bring a peaceful end. However well intended those hopes may be. eleven years of defiance have shown that peaceful talks and negotiations are not an option for Hussein. Rather. they are an opportunity to a man who does not deserve to lead the Iraqi people and who we cannot continue to appease. Between 19871989. he ordered the deaths of the.Kurdish population by the tens of thousandsndescriminately spraying their villages with poisonous gas. He has proven his imperialist nature through a path of destruction against Kuwait. He las allowed the Iraqi people to starve in favor of diverting resources to maintaining his grip on ruling Iraq. He has engaged in the periodic shakeup of his own administration. brutally eliminating threats to his reign of power. He has suppressed every effort of democracy and change in Iraq with bloodied and unremorseful hands. Saddam Hussein has committed acts so far beyond the pail of decency and acceptability that it leaves one to wonder in shock why we have waited so long to end this madmans career of carnage. Our nation stands for freedom and humanity and because it does. we had hoped we could reason with Hussein. We. hoped he would comply with the conditions of the peace agreement ending the Persian Gulf War. In the 1990s. we hoped he would end the shenanigans of denying access to inspection teams and end his lies and deceit by ending his weapons program. In all these things. Saddam Hussein failed. Through no lack of effort. we have given diplomacy a chance. No Saddam Hussein wants to fool the world again. And it is the job of this body to ensure that he does not. We have exhausted all reasonable efforts to deal with an unreasonable madman. We have risked all too much in the hope of peace. only to have these efforts manipulated by a illusional director. It has not been our President. but Saddam Hussein himself that has made the most compelling case for the need for his removal. Saddam Hussein has in his actions. told the world that he is a threat. that he is dangerous. and that he will never be able to be held accountable unless removed. We can wait no longer as with each passing day. Saddam Hussein draws closer to attaining unclear weapons and he exponentially increases the threat he poses to this nation. our allies. and peace and stability. We owe to the future generations not to make the mistake of holding out hope for Hussein. We must act with diligence to protect this country and we must act decisively. Let this be clear that this country loves freedom and loves peace. We deserve (and the Iraqi people deserve) more than to be held in fear by a ruthless dictator whose actions have been unconscionable and continue to pose a threat to humankind. We know what Hussein is capable of and it is time to end the nightmare that he has unleashed on his people and bring a complete end to his imperialist aspirations. Therefore. I strongly urge an aye on this resolution.