H.Doc.108-24 PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO TERRORISTS ...

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108th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 
108-23
 
 REPORT ON MATTERS RELEVANT TO THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY 
                 FORCE AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 A REPORT ON MATTERS RELEVANT TO THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY 
       FORCE AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002, PUBLIC LAW 107-243

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


January 28, 2003.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed








                                           The White House,
                                      Washington, January 20, 2003.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: Pursuant to the Authorization for Use of 
Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-
243) and as part of my effort to keep the Congress fully 
informed, I am providing a report prepared by my Administration 
on matters relevant to that Resolution including on the status 
of efforts to obtain Iraq's compliance with the resolutions 
adopted by the United Nations Security Council. Information 
required by section 3 of the Authorization for Use of Military 
Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1) is and will be 
included in this and subsequent reports.
            Sincerely,
                                                    George W. Bush.







Report to Congress on Matters Relevant to the Authorization for Use of 
             Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002

                                 SCOPE

    This report is made pursuant to the Authorization for the 
Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public 
Law 107-243). It reports on matters relevant to that Resolution 
including on the status of efforts to obtain Iraq's compliance 
with the resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security 
Council. Information required by section 3 of the Authorization 
for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 
102-1) is included in this report. The report covers events up 
to December 15, 2002.

                                OVERVIEW

    As long as Saddam Hussein remains remains in power and in 
defiance of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, 
he threatens the well-being of the Iraqi people, the peace and 
security of the region, and vital U.S. interests. Before the 
United Nations General Assembly on September 12, the President 
challenged the U.N. to address Iraq's systematic violations of 
UNSC resolutions and to compel Iraq's disarmament of weapons of 
mass destruction (WMD).
    In response to the President's address, on November 8, the 
UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution 1441, which declares that 
``Iraq has been and remains in materials breach of its 
obligations under relevant resolutions,'' sets up ``an enhanced 
inspection regime with the aim of bringing to full and verified 
completion the disarmament process,'' affords Iraq a ``final 
opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations,'' and 
recalls that the UNSC has repeatedly ``warned Iraq that it will 
face serious consequences as a result of its continued 
violations of its obligations.''
    Under UNSCR 1441, weapons inspections resumed in Iraq on 
November 27, the first inspections since 1998, when Iraqi 
noncompliance made it impossible for them to carry out their 
duties. If is not, however, the United Nations' burden to prove 
Iraq's non-compliance. On the contrary, the burden is on Iraq 
to provide verifiable evidence of its disarmament as required 
by numerous UNSC resolutions. As UNMOVIC Executive Director 
Hans Blix has said, ``I have consistently taken the view that 
Iraq must either present existing proscribed items and 
programmes for elimination or provide credible evidence that 
they have been eliminated. It is not enough just to open doors 
to inspectors.'' Thus, the United Nations Monitoring 
Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the 
International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Iraq Action Team 
cannot fulfill their disarmament mission unless Iraq cooperates 
fully and immediately by bringing forward verifiable evidence 
of disarmament.
    While we hope that Iraq will comply with UNSC resolutions 
requiring WMD disarmament, we are prepared, if necessary to 
lead a coalition to use force to ride Iraq of its WMD 
capabilities. In order to allow the President to retain as much 
flexibility as possible in dealing with this situation, we are 
continuing to build up our forces in the region.
    We continue to support the Iraqi opposition as part of our 
program to back transition to a more representative government 
in Iraq. As part of that effort, the Iraqi National Congress 
(INC) and other groups continue to be funded for a variety of 
activities by the State Department, and continue to receive 
training under the drawdown authority of the Iraq Liberation 
Act (ILA).
    We continue to help maintain No-Fly Zones over northern and 
southern Iraq to uphold vital UNSC resolutions and to ensure 
the safety of Iraq's persecuted ethnic and religious groups and 
Iraq's neighbors.
    Ambassador Yuli Vorontsov, the Secretary General's high-
level coordinator for Kuwait issues, presented his periodic 
report on Kuwaiti and third-country national prisoners and 
stolen Kuwaiti property in December. This report demonstrates 
Iraq's continuing failure to comply fully with its obligations 
under relevant UNSC resolutions. The Iraqi Government, in a 
departure from its standard practice of denying Ambassador 
Vorontsov entry to the country, has invited him to Baghdad in 
January for consultations.
    The Iraqi regime continues to undermine the Oil for Food 
(OFF) program, which the Security Council designed to provide 
for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people and to keep 
Iraq's oil revenues out of Saddam Hussein's control. Baghdad 
smuggles large amounts of oil outside theprogram in order to 
obtain unregulated funds to support WMD programs, rebuild its military, 
reward regime supporters, and maintain Iraq's extensive security 
apparatus. The Iraqi regime has also on occasion ceased oil sales under 
the program and has repeatedly demanded illegal surcharges from oil 
lifters. The United States, with the United Kingdom, has been 
responsible for the institution of a retroactive pricing policy that 
has effectively curtailed Baghdad's ability to demand a surcharge, and 
maintains a naval presence in the Gulf to interdict oil smugglers (see 
below).

UNMOVIC/IAEA: Weapons of Mass Destruction

    Iraq's continued defiance of the international community's 
will, as demonstrated by its failure to comply with relevant 
UNSC resolutions, caused a four-year absence of weapons 
inspectors and no progress in addressing Iraq's outstanding 
disarmament obligations. Iraq remains in violation of its 
obligations to end its programs to develop WMD and ballistic 
missiles with ranges exceeding 150 kilometers. Since 1998, Iraq 
has maintained its chemical weapons effort, energized its 
missile program, and invested more heavily in biological 
weapons; most analysts assess that Iraq is reconstituting its 
nuclear weapons program.
    Following President Bush's address to the U.N. General 
Assembly and the unanimous passage of UNSC Resolution 1441, 
Iraq accepted the return of U.N. weapons inspectors, who 
resumed their work in Iraq on November 27. We continue to 
consult regularly with UNMOVIC's Dr. Hans Blix and IAEA's Dr. 
Mohamed Al Baradei, and Mr. Jacques Baute and their staffs to 
provide the best support possible. The President and other high 
officials have met with UNMOVIC and IAEA leadership and we 
maintain working-level and higher-level contacts. Both UNMOVIC 
and the IAEA reaffirmed their requests for United States 
Government assistance, particularly technical, logistical, and 
information support.
    At the President's direction, we are actively providing 
intelligence, technical, and personnel and training support. 
Intelligence support has included briefings on Iraq's WMD 
programs, inspection concepts and strategies, 
counterintelligence information, and meeting specific requests 
from inspectors, such as the provision of maps. Technical 
support has included offers of aerial surveillance, lab 
equipment and services, sampling equipment, and communications 
equipment. We have offered training to the inspectors as well 
as suggested candidates for hire and provided others for 
temporary duty.
    So far, however, there are no signs that the regime has 
taken the decision to make a strategic shift in its approach 
and to give up its WMD. Indeed, there are many troubling and 
serious signs that it has no intention to disarm at all.
    The first day inspections resumed, air raid sirens sounded 
in Baghdad, apparently to warn that the inspectors had begun 
their work. Indeed, the first inspection was delayed by the 
actions of an Iraqi ``minder.''
    Even more serious is Iraq's response to UNSCR 1441's 
requirement that Iraq make a ``currently accurate, full, and 
complete'' declaration of its weapons of mass destruction 
activities. Iraq's declaration was incomplete and inaccurate. 
The December 7, 2002 declaration was padded with reams of 
extraneous material, but failed to address scores of questions 
pending since 1998. It seeks to deceive when it says that Iraq 
has no ongoing WMD programs. Illustrative examples--but not a 
complete list--of Iraq's omissions identified as issues by 
UNSCOM include: 550 artillery munitions filled with mustard 
agent; 400 R-400 aerial bombs capable of delivering biological 
agent; tons of unaccounted for chemical weapons precursors; 
30,000 empty chemical munitions; tens of thousands of liters of 
unaccounted biological agents.
    The report also failed to deal with issues which have 
arisen since 1998, including: mobile biological weapons 
laboratories; missiles and associated facilities which violate 
the U.N.-mandated 150km range limit; unmanned aerial vehicle 
programs associated with WMD; and attempts to acquire uranium 
and the means to enrich it.
    In short, we have not seen anything that indicates that the 
Iraqi regime has made a strategic decision to disarm. On the 
contrary, we believe that Iraq is actively working to disrupt, 
deny, and defeat inspection efforts.
    Given the false Iraqi declaration, the inspectors should 
focus their efforts on auditing the gaps and inaccuracies of 
the Iraqi declaration using all the tools at theirdisposal 
including: the right to ``immediate, unimpeded, unrestricted, and 
private access to all officials or other persons * * * inside or 
outside Iraq;'' the right to ``free and unrestricted use'' of aerial 
reconnaissance vehicles; and the right to ``immediate, unimpeded, 
unconditional, and unrestricted access'' to any and all buildings, 
equipment, and records.
    The United States stands ready to support the inspectors in 
this effort.

U.S. and Coalition Force Levels in the Gulf Region

    Saddam Hussein's record of aggressive behavior necessitates 
the continued deployment of an increasingly capable force in 
the region in order to deter Baghdad and respond to its 
reconstitution of its WMD programs, respond to any movement 
against the Kurds in northern Iraq or the Shia in southern 
Iraq, and respond to any threat it might pose to its neighbors. 
We are continuing to build up our forces in the region to 
support our diplomatic effort to convince the Iraqi regime to 
disarm voluntarily and to ensure that the President has as much 
flexibility as possible in the event that Iraq must be disarmed 
by force.
    While we hope that Iraq will comply voluntarily with UNSC 
resolutions concerning WMD disarmament, we are prepared, if 
necessary, to lead a ``coalition of the willing'' to use force 
to rid Iraq of its WMD capabilities. In this regard, we have 
received offers of support from many other nations, to include 
military assistance both during and after a possible conflict, 
as well as humanitarian and economic aid in helping to rebuild 
Iraq.

The Iraqi Opposition

    We continue to support the Iraqi opposition, helping Iraqis 
inside and outside Iraq to become a more effective voice for 
the Iraqi people, and working to build support for the forces 
of change inside the country. They are working toward the day 
when Iraq has a government worthy of its people--a government 
prepared to live in peace with its people and its neighbors.
    The Iraqi opposition held a broad-based conference in 
London from December 14 to 17, 2002. The Administration was in 
close touch with a wide range of opposition groups as planning 
for this event moved forward, and during the conference itself. 
Over 340 Iraqi delegates attended and included representatives 
of almost all major Iraqi opposition groups. The conference 
produced a political statement and a statement on the post-
Saddam transition period, and formed a 65-member Advisory 
Committee that plans to hold its initial meeting in early 2003.
    In November, the INC signed a new grant agreement with the 
Department of State that will fund INC headquarters operations 
and satellite offices in Tehran, Prague and Damascus, increase 
funding for the INC's satellite television broadcasting into 
Iraq, increase funding for the production and distribution of 
the INC's newspaper, plan for the delivery of humanitarian 
relief to Iraqis in need, cover June and July expenses for the 
INC's Information Collection Program, and manage assistance 
provided to the INC under the ILA. The grant will cover INC 
expenses from June 2002 to January 2003.
    The President has directed the drawdown of the remaining 
$92 million available in assistance under the ILA. In addition, 
the United States has designated six new opposition groups as 
authorized recipients of drawdown assistance under the ILA, and 
removed one opposition party from the list.

Future of Iraq

    Should it become necessary for the United States and 
coalition armed forces to take military action against Iraq, 
the United States, together with its coalition partners, will 
play a role in helping to meet the humanitarian, 
reconstruction, and administrative challenges facing the 
country in the immediate aftermath of a conflict. We will also 
be responsible for securing the elimination of WMD capabilities 
and stockpiles. We will work to transfer authority as soon as 
practical to the Iraqis themselves, initially in an advisory 

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