March 13,2003

Baucus Floor Statement Regarding Iraq


I rise today to pledge my support for our brave men and women who are on thefront lines protecting America as we work to eliminate terrorism . . . To pledge mysupport for the United States and all that our country represents: democracy, freedom ofspeech and religion, independence of thought. . . And to pledge my support for ourleaders and our free and open elections that allow democracy to thrive.

I also rise today to urge and insist that throughout the ongoing situation with Iraq,we remember our underlying goal: To protect our country from weapons of massdestruction and terrorist threats and stop those who provide assistance to terroristoperations. In order to fully accomplish these goals, we need the support and assistanceof the broadest possible worldwide coalition of our allies.

It’s not in our nation’s interest to establish arbitrary deadlines to force us to actwithout the support of others. This is not the time to isolate our country by moving into aunilateral war against Iraq. A war that could result in massive casualties and long termdevastation. A war that has the likely potential of increasing terrorist threats against ournation.

There is no question that the United States has the ability and the right to takenecessary action to protect our country. But we should not burn bridges -- bridges thatwe will surely need down the road -- in our rush to war with Iraq.

There is no debate that the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein must come to an end.He has a long history of attacking and murdering his own people, employing chemicaland biological weapons, and continually defying the limits set forth by the UN. Therehave been reported links between Iraq and terrorist activity, although no link has beenestablished between Iraq and the events of September 11. The Iraqi people and the globalcommunity deserve to be free from a cruel dictator and the threat to safety that herepresents. The credibility of the United Nations and of America is on the line.

But we must take the time to fully weigh the risks and costs associated withunilateral action against the results we will achieve. The threat Iraq poses is notimminent. At least not so imminent that we can’t continue with another week, or anothermonth, of negotiations to garner the support of members of the United Nations SecurityCouncil.

The clock is ticking, but the alarm has not yet rung. I encourage theAdministration to continue inspections beyond their self-imposed March 17 deadline. Inthese final critical minutes, we have the opportunity to lay out hard and fast, mutuallyagreed upon benchmarks for Hussein to meet—or not meet— to determine his fate.

Britain laid out definitive steps yesterday, such as allowing Iraqi scientists to beinterviewed abroad, destroying banned weapons and providing documentary evidence ofany such destruction in the past.

While support for their resolution has not been overwhelming, it is important tocontinue along this path. Indeed, it is critical. We must both provide assistance toBritain, our strongest ally, while employing every resource at our command to garnerSecurity Council support.

As the world’s superpower, it is not only our responsibility, but it is in our bestinterest to lead. It’s our responsibility to walk with and secure the support of our allies.The decisions we make in the coming days will have global reverberations and I amhopeful we won’t have to endure the impacts alone.

In the case that unilateral military action is decided upon, the ramifications,lengthy reconstruction process and costs involved must be addressed. There arenumerous reports that a war with Iraq will be a relatively short operation. But whatfollows…in a month…in six months…in a year?

If the United States chooses to go into Iraq alone and forsakes the support of amajority of our allies, the hurdles and pitfalls will be numerous. And the likelihood oflong term success and stability will be diminished. If we are successful in our mission toremove Saddam, a successor will need to be determined. The likelihood of Iraq becominga democracy in our lifetime is unlikely. Even with the ousting of Saddam, we must beprepared and accepting of a moderate Arab government similar to others in the region.

The cost of rebuilding the country will be enormous, both in terms of money andmanpower. From ensuring the Iraqi children can obtain clean water to establishing aforum for a free and open government to thrive. Are we willing to take those costs solelyupon ourselves?

We must also be ready to focus our resources on the stability of the entire MiddleEast region and Muslim world. We need a comprehensive policy of economicengagement, one that includes expanded trade. We should consider a trade benefitsprogram similar to what we currently do for Africa, the Caribbean, and the Andeancountries. In order to achieve long-term stability and reduce the terrorist threat, we willneed to engage the entire region. And we will need our allies to assist in thisengagement.

It’s time to face facts. Our country is facing a troubling economy, unemployment,low growth, large national debt. Interest rates can’t go much lower. If we continue todisregard the concerns of other Security Council members and move forward with only asmall band of countries that support immediate military action, the lion’s share of thecosts and military burden will fall on America’s shoulders. Where will this money comefrom? How long must our troops be away from their families? Months? Years?

Decades? We must be fully prepared for this scenario before we move forward.

Iraq must be dealt with, but in order for our country to reach a safer place, weneed to go beyond Saddam Hussein. We must create a long-term strategy for facing notonly the Iraqi threat, but threats across the globe. Are we prepared to address the nuclearthreat that we are facing from North Korea and Iran? Our current disengagement withNorth Korea -- which will only grow if we’re at full scale war against Iraq -- will lead tomore overt acts to test our limits. Are we also prepared for the additional terrorist threatswe may face following a unilateral invasion of Iraq? This is a situation that will require agreat deal of resources and world support.

We are all in agreement that Saddam Hussein is a bad man and the threat he posescannot be disregarded. While I unequivocally support removing Hussein from power,knowing that he is a peril to the region and the world, I urge that we move forward with astrong coalition of support. The clock is running down, but there is still time to gatherour allies. Our long term interests -- on every front -- will be best achieved by standingtogether, united behind our common goal of eliminating terrorism and keeping ourcountries safe.