Federal News Service Transcript - Recent Trip to Iraq

Federal News Service

July 3, 2003 Thursday

HEADLINE: PRESS CONFERENCE WITH SENATOR JOHN WARNER (R-VA); SENATOR CARL LEVIN (D-MI); SENATOR JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV); SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME); SENATOR JACK REED (D-RI); SENATOR BEN NELSON (D-NE); SENATOR PAT ROBERTS (R-KS); AND SENATOR MARK DAYTON (D-MN)
 
TOPIC: RECENT TRIP TO IRAQ
 
LOCATION: SENATE RADIO/TV GALLERY, WASHINGTON, D.C.
SEN. COLLINS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to start with my impressions by picking up where Senator Rockefeller left off. First, let me say I was so proud of our troops. Despite the very harsh conditions that they are experiencing, despite the dangers, their morale is still very high.

I talked to a soldier from Maine about his experience, and he said, Yes, it's been hard and the heat is horrible. But he said, You know, I have helped give the Iraqi people the most precious gift of all, their freedom. And he was so proud of the role that he had played in freeing this country from the breath-taking brutality of Saddam Hussein.

As I traveled around Iraq, I was struck by the disparity, the inequality in wealth. You would go from Saddam's palatial surroundings to virtual slums, with sewer systems that did not work. We learned of one palace compound in the north that has 100 buildings, each of which has more than 10,000 square feet, this in a city without a working sewer. It was extraordinary to see the crumbling infrastructure and realize that it was not due to damage from the war but rather 30 years of looting by Saddam Hussein.

I was also struck by how important it is that we capture or kill Saddam and his two sons. As my colleagues have indicated, there's a pervasive climate of fear that is impeding the recovery, particularly in central and southern Iraq. There is a fear that he will return, that he will come back. And that fear prevents us from making progress as rapidly as we otherwise would, and that fear emboldens those who would attack our troops.

Our troops by night are doing strikes against the pockets of resistance that remain. By day they are renovating schools, helping hospitals, administering measles shots. It truly is an extraordinary effort.

I am convinced that we will be successful in helping the Iraqi people achieve self-government. We saw that in the north in particular, where the north has already taken tentative moves to electing their own mayor in the community of Kirkuk. It was wonderful to see those first tentative steps towards a democratic society. Prior to the war we heard all these reports that Iraq might well fracture into three separate states. That is not going to happen. There is a rising Iraqi nationalism that bodes well for the future. But it is going to take time. It is going to be a long, arduous task, and it is going to take resolve and the continued backing of the American people.