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“WILL WE WIN THE PEACE?” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2914 on April 8, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WILL WE WIN THE PEACE?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, due to the bravery and the magnificent performance of American troops, our Armed Forces will soon win a resounding victory over Saddam Hussein, disarming him and eliminating the threat of his regime. Now that we are on the verge of winning the war, we must now turn our attention to winning the peace.
The morning after our military victory over Saddam, we will wake up to four challenges in Iraq: peacekeeping, humanitarian relief, reconstruction, and governance. How we face those challenges will determine whether we win the peace, win the battle for the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq, enhance our status in the Muslim world, and maintain our credibility as the leader of free and democratic nations.
I fear we could fail to meet those challenges if we pursue an aggressive, antagonistic diplomacy that makes demands of our allies, but does not listen to them. We could fail if we embrace unilateralism and abandon our traditional reliance on multinational action. We could fail if we allow the reality or even the appearance of an American military colonial government in Iraq.
To meet these challenges and best serve American national interests, as well as the best interests of the citizens of Iraq, I suggest eight steps:
First, the State Department, not the Defense Department, must be in charge of American policy after the military victory.
Second, whenever and wherever possible, we must internationalize the stabilization and reconstruction operations and not try to do it all ourselves.
Third, American troops in the field will be needed to keep the peace, but we should move quickly to spread the burden of peacekeeping by giving NATO the task. NATO is a robust military alliance that defeated one tyrant in Kosovo and surely could keep order in a post-Saddam Iraq.
Fourth, emergency relief authority must begin with the State Department and USAID, but there is no better chief administrator for the humanitarian challenges than the United Nations. Its vast resources, experience and expertise are unparalleled.
Fifth, we must engage expert multilateral organizations like the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank in the reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure. A debt restructuring is needed to deal with Iraq's financial burden of $383 billion including foreign debt, compensation claims, and pending contracts.
Sixth, we should convene a donor's conference soon after the military victory. Funds will be needed right away for quick start reconstruction projects. This could provide a funding opportunity for the Arab League.
Seven, Iraqis must establish corruption-free control over their own oil. We should advocate for a transparent and reformed industry that accounts for oil revenues and devotes profits to rebuilding the country.
Eight, we should urge the United Nations to sponsor a conference on the formation and direction of a transitional Iraqi-based government. Iraqi provisional leaders, internal Saddam opponents, exiles and the international community should be brought together to establish a stable representative government of Iraqis.
We must seize this opportunity to stabilize and unify Iraq and demonstrate to the entire world our commitment to democratic values, personal liberties, and social justice. That is how we win the peace in Iraq.
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