A rchive Date
[ 06-08-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/world/1521447
Senator: War on Iraq is likely
Bush is urged to collect full support in U.S.and abroad
By PATTY REINERT
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
Aug. 5, 2002, 9:51AM
WASHINGTON - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden predicted Sunday that the United States eventually will go to war against Iraq, but he urged the Bush administration to "talk less and plan more" before committing U.S. troops and money to oust Saddam Hussein.
"I believe there probably will be a war with Iraq," Biden, D-Del., said on NBC's Meet the Press. "The only question is, is it alone, is it with others, and how long and how costly will it be?"
Iraq, which has barred U.N. weapons inspectors from entering the country for nearly four years, last week invited U.N. officials to Baghdad to negotiate. The Bush administration dismissed the offer as a delaying tactic, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has refused to send the chief weapons inspector until Iraq agrees to resume inspections.
Biden, whose committee last week held hearings on Iraq, said it is clear that Saddam has biological and chemical weapons. Less clear, he said, is whether the Iraqi leader has the means to use them effectively.
Biden said he knows of no direct link between Saddam and al-Qaida terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks against the United States. But he said a strong case could be made that the United States has "no choice" but to eliminate the threat that Saddam himself could launch an attack using weapons of mass destruction.
"This is a guy who's an extreme danger to the world," Biden said.
Biden said the U.S. military might be able to invade Iraq on its own and topple Saddam, but he said it would be shortsighted to do so without the support of the American people and U.S. allies.
He and other Democrats emphasized that President Bush must go to Congress for the authority to carry out any plan to go after Saddam.
If Congress consents, Biden said, the American people should be prepared to commit an estimated 75,000 U.S. troops for a costly military operation that could last anywhere from 18 months to 20 years, according to defense experts. Biden estimates the cost of an initial assault at $80 billion to $100 billion, plus up to $18 billion a year after Saddam is removed from power.
"This is very difficult to do by yourself," he said. "There's a lot to do after he's taken down."
He urged Bush not to set any deadline for Iraq to resume U.N. weapons inspections, saying he should instead concentrate on preparing for a virtually inevitable war.
"I would talk less and plan more," he said, adding that the American people and U.S. allies around the world will support military action against Iraq if the president takes the time to gather information and lay out his case.
Democratic and Republican Senate leaders agreed.
"We all support strongly a regime change," Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said on ABC's This Week. "But I think we have to get our ducks in order. Do we have the support of our allies? Do we have an appropriate plan?"
Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., appearing on the same program, noted that both the CIA and the FBI have said there is no evidence linking Saddam to al-Qaida, but he added, "I suspect there are al-Qaida elements in Iraq."
Lott said he expects an eventual resolution will be put before Congress to authorize Bush to use the military to oust Saddam, and he said he "probably would" vote for it. But Lott agreed that "America needs to be united" and allies must be on board before the United States attacks.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee, speaking on CBS' Face the Nation, said Saddam would not likely launch a biological or chemical attack unless the United States provokes him.
"Does he love himself more than he hates us?" he asked. "I think the answer is probably yes."
Biden, however, said that trying to determine Saddam's intentions is like trying to read "the entrails of goats." What matters, he said, is whether Saddam has the ability to launch the weapons, regardless of whether he has immediate plans to do so.
Bush has invited members of the Iraqi opposition to Washington, possibly as early as this month, to discuss how to get rid of Saddam.
Ahmed Chalabi, who heads a London-based opposition group, the Iraqi National Congress, said on Fox News Sunday that thousands of "lightly armed" opposition troops are in place and want to move on Saddam, but they need equipment and training.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., told Fox News Sunday that granting Bush the authority to move against Iraq is "clearly in the security interest of the United States." But he urged the president to stop the administration's leaks to the press about potential attack scenarios.
"I think we're at a point where it's critically important for the president, as commander in chief, to take hold here," he said. "He's got obvious disagreement within his administration."
But Lieberman also said senators should submit to polygraph exams to show they are serious about stemming leaks of sensitive security information.
"I know they are not 100 percent accurate," he said. But he added that "no one, members of Congress included," should be allowed to compromise U.S. security.
Daschle and Lott balked at taking lie-detector exams, saying requiring the tests of lawmakers is a bad idea. But both urged lawmakers to help stop the leaks.
"Members should keep their mouths shut about national security," Lott said.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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