The War Begins In Iraq

FLOOR STATEMENT: "THE WAR BEGINS IN IRAQ"

Mr. President, last night we began a war that will end Saddam Hussein's threat to his own people, to the Middle East, and to this country. It was a time we chose, and a historic moment for the United States, the Middle East and the world.

Today, as we vote in support of Senate Resolution 95, our prayers go with our brave soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors. I am proud to say that this includes over 3,000 of my fellow Utahns.

Every attempt was made to find a diplomatic way to disarm Iraq, to make Iraq comply with commitments it began to violate shortly after the first Gulf War in 1991.

And so, in many ways, the war with Iraq never ended in 1991. A condition of ending the conflict was full and transparent disarmament, and Saddam Hussein has never - never - complied with that condition. Iraq never complied, over a decade of insistence by the international community, over a decade of frustrated inspections regimes, over a decade of resolutions by the U.N., all of which have been ignored by Iraq. All of them.

Throughout this time, the United States has worked with the United Nations. We supported all 17 resolutions. We supported not just what was written, but was intended. We supported not just the words, but the actions they demanded. We wanted resolutions with resolve.

As I said, I believe this Administration made every attempt to find a solution without resorting to force. Every attempt, that is, except a commitment to perpetuating the dangerous belief that force would never be an option.

Another nation, France, declared that it would veto any resolution requiring the use of force now. That nation did so, arguing it rejected the "logic of war." Mr. President, I have read the history of Saddam Hussein and his dictatorship in Iraq. I have concluded that Saddam Hussein has never - never - changed his behavior unless confronted with the threat of force. For France to reject the "logic of war" in trying to compel Saddam Hussein's disarmament, it was willfully ignoring this fundamental fact of Saddam Hussein. France is ignoring history; it is ignoring logic.

President Bush said on Monday night that "We are now acting because the risks of action would be far greater." I support the President, and I support this rationale.

In Saddam Hussein's Iraq, there remain unaccounted vast amounts of chemical and biological weapons. This is a fact documented, not by some hawks in or out of the U.S. government, but by the international community.

In Saddam Hussein, there is a long and established history of association with, and support for, terrorists. All those within reach of a television or newspaper saw, within the past weeks, Palestinian terrorist groups doling out Saddam's largesse. Saddam has trained terrorists, funded suicide operations, and allowed members of Al-Qaeda to live in his tightly controlled Iraq.

Some opponents of the President's policy have suggested that the he failed to make the case that Saddam Hussein caused the attacks on September 11. These critics are disingenuous: The Administration has never made this claim. It has asserted, and I believe them, that elements of Al-Qaeda have been in Iraq since September 11. As we learn more, I also believe that the history of Al-Qaeda will reveal a long association with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, going back years, and being developed in Iraq, Sudan and Pakistan.

I have said this before. Association is not causation, I know. But when it comes to regimes hiding weapons of mass destruction and harboring terrorist organization dedicated to our doom, Mr. President, I say this: Association is reason enough for alarm, reason enough for action. The President said it clearly last on Monday night: "Responding to such enemies only after they have struck first is not self-defense, it is suicide."

I commend this his Administration for searching for every possible solution short of war. That this was not possible does not mean that they did not work earnestly and assiduously to avoid conflict. The effort does not guarantee the result. It does not guarantee support of the U.N. Security Council.

On that Security Council, China would rather see a nuclear Korean peninsula than a passive U.S. presence in South Korea. I have seen how Russia would rather see genocide in the Balkans - and Chechnya - than NATO success there. France would rather reject the "logic of war" in responding to a dictator who has never been motivated by anything other than the threat of force. These countries have their own self-interest, whether we like it or not. They stand down when outlaw regimes stand defiant with their illicit weapons of mass murder.

I thank God for the patience, wisdom and courage of this Administration.

I believe I join all my colleagues as we offer our thoughts and prayers for the members of the American military, their families, our allies and the people of Iraq, who will soon be free of a despicable, murderous regime that has kept the world fearful for far too long.

And last night, I prayed God that our mission in Iraq is blessed with providence and His protection. To our brave military I say: Godspeed and safe home.