Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2004

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004

AMENDMENT NO. 1281

    Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we have witnessed a parade of Democrats coming to the floor to lob accusations against the President about the war in Iraq. Ostensibly, they are concerned about a potentially mistaken piece of intelligence regarding Iraq's efforts to procure uranium from abroad. In their zeal to score political points, they have sacrificed the national interest on the altar of partisan politics and are making accusations that are grossly offensive against the President and those of us who believe—and continue to believe—that our liberation of Iraq was the right thing to do.

    Senator Conrad, only hours ago, said:

    This administration told the world Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, that they are trying to develop nuclear capability, there is a connection to al-Qaida, and each and every one of those claims is now in question, every one of them. It is not just 16 words in the State of the Union. It is far more serious than that.

    Mr. President, that charge is stunning. It is an accusation that all of us who voted for the war, who viewed classified intelligence about Iraq and who believe this war was just, should repudiate. Perhaps the Senator should tell the family of the Kurdish woman and her child that Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction and that we were wrong to have liberated his oppressed people. They will not be so sanguine as these Senators, because she and hundreds of fellow villagers were murdered in a gas attack ordered by Saddam Hussein. This attack occurred in 1987. She won't be able to defend this because she is deceased as a result of an attack using weapons of mass destruction.

    There were two victims of the town of Halabja, where some 5,000 died from a chemical attack in 1987. And 3,000 died that year from a similar chemical attack in Sumar. Another 5,000 died from mustard gas in Al Basrah also in that year. In fact, there are documented 10 different occasions upon which Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against his own people.

    So it is not in doubt that Iraq was using weapons of mass destruction. No one has doubted that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. I don't doubt we will find further evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The French didn't doubt it; the Germans didn't doubt it; the Russians don't doubt it; the U.N. weapons inspectors never claimed Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. There may have been a dispute over the best way to uncover and dispose of these weapons, but no responsible expert—I repeat, no responsible expert—said Iraq doesn't have a weapons-of-mass-destruction program. No one said that, Mr. President.

    No responsible country confirmed that Iraq didn't have a weapons-of-mass-destruction program, because it was glaringly apparent that Saddam was vigorously committed to obtaining and maintaining an arsenal of chemical, biological and, yes, nuclear weapons.

    That is why the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441, which declared Iraq in material breach of its obligations under numerous previous resolutions, which declared that Iraq failed to account for weapons of mass destruction that it previously admitted having stockpiled. That is why Saddam Hussein never let inspectors have unfettered and free access to the suspect sites. Why would he have done all of that had he not had weapons of mass destruction? That is why he led inspectors on a wild goose chase through the Iraqi desert for 12 long years. That is why he buried research facilities, why he intimidated scientists, why he removed the tongues of those who questioned his regime. That is why he built the mobile biological weapons labs we uncovered in the Iraqi desert. He did all of those things because he had weapons of mass destruction.

    It is amazing that the very individuals who were willing to give U.N. inspectors up to 12 years to conduct these "Keystone Cops" inspections are now unwilling to give the United States military 10 weeks—not 12 years, but 10 weeks—to search for weapons of mass destruction while simultaneously hunting Baath party loyalists and restoring order to a nation wrecked by decades of misrule.

    There are thousands of suspect sites capable of producing weapons of mass destruction and weapons-of-mass-destruction components. There are millions of places in which weapons of mass destruction could be hidden.

    I am confident, the President is confident, the Secretary of State is confident, and the Secretary of Defense is confident that evidence of Hussein's WMD programs will be found. But keep in mind that Iraq is a country the size of California, and that for more than a decade Hussein and his cronies perfected the art of concealment. Still we have already found mobile biological weapons—already found—mobile biological weapons, various centrifuges to process uranium, and shells specifically designated to hold chemical weapons. The programs are there and we will find them.

    I thank the chairman.