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Results Of The Attack On Iraq: What Have We Discovered 19 June 2003 HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, June 19, 2003 2003 Ron Paul 67:1 Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, (1) After more than two months of searching, no Weapons of Mass Destruction have been discovered in Iraq. While it is not impossible that something may be discovered, the fact that no WMD were used during the war and none have yet been discovered afterward indicates that Iraq did not pose a threat to the United States. 2003 Ron Paul 67:2 (2) Assuming that no WMD are discovered in Iraq, it appears that Iraq may have actually been following the various UN resolutions that demanded the destruction of this weapons material. 2003 Ron Paul 67:3 (3) Before the attack on Iraq, it was claimed that Iraq would destroy its oil wells. Though some explosives may have been found at some sites, it is clear that there was no coordinated Iraqi effort to demolish its oil facilities. 2003 Ron Paul 67:4 (4) Before the attack, it was claimed that the Iraqi government would blow up dams to slow down invading troops. It did not do so. 2003 Ron Paul 67:5 (5) Despite claims before the attack, there is no evidence of sustained, high-level contacts between the Iraqi government and the Al- Qaeda terrorist network. 2003 Ron Paul 67:6 (6) US troops and defense planners were shocked that the Iraqi army simply melted away as the US attack pressed toward Baghdad. An army that cannot even defend its own territory is hardly a threat to its neighbors — or to the United States 6,000 miles away. 2003 Ron Paul 67:7 (7) Considering the apparent lack of WMD and the total failure of the Iraqi army, claims that Iraq was a threat to United States national security appear to have been inaccurate. I publicly doubted such claims before the attack. 2003 Ron Paul 67:8 (8) Ending Saddam Hussein’s rule over Iraq hasn’t solved much. Even with Saddam removed from power, we are told that that “regime change” as such is not enough: there must be a “process” of regime change where the end-goal is to remake Iraq and Iraqi society in our own image. This is otherwise known as “nation-building.” 2003 Ron Paul 67:9 (9) Chaos and lawlessness prevails across Iraq. There is no functioning police force other than American troops. Anger toward the United States occupying force continues to increase. 2003 Ron Paul 67:10 (10) There is little chance of anything resembling democracy emerging in Iraq any time soon. Any real “democracy” that emerges will likely have a fundamentalist Islamic flavor and will be hostile to other religious and ethnic groups in Iraq. 2003 Ron Paul 67:11 (11) American soldiers are still getting killed on a regular basis. More organized forces seeking to kill American troops appear to be springing up across Iraq. Frustration with the American occupation of Iraq seems to be adding to the ranks of these organized anti-occupation forces, multiplying the threat to American troops. 2003 Ron Paul 67:12 (12) There are more US troops being sent to Iraq now that major hostilities have ended. Troops that were supposed to be coming home have been told they must remain in Iraq because of the continued chaos and danger to American forces. 2003 Ron Paul 67:13 (13) Though it was claimed before the US attack that proceeds from the sale of Iraqi oil would be sufficient to rebuild the country, it is now obvious that this will not be the case. The brunt of the burden of Iraqi reconstruction will therefore fall on the American taxpayer. Much of the damage is the result of our own bombing of that country. 2003 Ron Paul 67:14 (14) At a time when the US economy continues to falter, costs of occupation and reconstruction of Iraq have skyrocketed. Money spent rebuilding Iraq is money not available to help the US economy recover. 2003 Ron Paul 67:15 (15) The credibility of the United States overseas is at an all time low. 2003 Ron Paul 67:16 (16) The US intelligence community is being increasingly questioned over the quality of intelligence provided, while others suspect that the intelligence provided had been manipulated somewhere in the process to support a pre-determined policy. 2003 Ron Paul 67:17 (17) Hatred toward the United States is on the increase in the Arab world, making terrorism more likely against us than before the attack — as the CIA predicted. 2003 Ron Paul 67:18 (18) Nation-building — from creating a healthcare system to organizing trash pick-up to running the Iraqi media — has become our number one goal in Iraq. 2003 Ron Paul 67:19 (19) Yet, supporters of this war are already planning for the next war — possibly against Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba . . . or who knows where . . . 2003 Ron Paul 67:20 (20) In Washington, a foreign policy of noninterventionism, as advanced by the Founders and supported by the Constitution, is not considered a reasonable option, though millions of Americans would welcome it.

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