| For Immediate Release | Contact: Rear Adm. Eugene Carroll, Jr., USA (Ret.) |
| December 17, 1998 | Colonel Daniel Smith, USA (Ret.) |
| (202) 332-0600 |
The U.S. and British attacks on Iraq that began December 16 should once again impel the American public to demand clear answers to some basic questions about what lies ahead.Striking Baghdad Some Questions and Answers
Q. Did Iraq make any efforts to comply with its solemn undertakings
of February 23rd and November 14th to cooperate with
the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) and with the International Atomic Energy
Commission (IAEA)?
A. Yes. Although the promised "full cooperation" with UNSCOM was not
forthcoming, Ambassador Richard Butler's report on UNSCOM activities since
November did note that inspectors were not completely shut out by Saddam's
tactics. Further, the IAEA's chief said that Iraq has pledged to resolve
the remaining questions about Iraq's past nuclear weapons program.
Q. Will cruise missiles and bombing open any doors now closed or produce
greater cooperation from the Iraqis?
A. We can confidently expect that the immediate result of the bombing
will be the total exclusion of remaining UNSCOM and IAEA monitors. Short
of occupying Iraq with ground forces, there will be no way to determine
if Iraq is complying with its obligations to the UN - let alone compel
it to comply. The bombing will not end Iraq's efforts to develop weapons
of mass destruction; as good as our intelligence might be, we simply do
not know where all Iraqi scientific and engineering facilities are located,
and we will not be successful in destroying all of those that have been
targeted.
The "best" we can hope for from the bombing, as President Clinton acknowledged, is to "degrade and delay" Iraq's efforts to build weapons of mass destruction. But this raises serious questions: how many more times will we have the "degrade and delay"? What will be the cost in lives and money? What constitutes "degrade and delay"?