Speech #1020022378

We flexed our muscles and showed the world that aggression will not be tolerated. Now we need to open our hearts and show the world that we will fulfill our responsibilities in peacetime as well as in war. It is past time that the United States lift its full part to aid these refugees and begin providing humanitarian aid with the same enthusiasm with which we provided military aid. Madam President. by March 27 Iraqi forces had defeated the Shiite rebels in the south and begun attacks against Kurds in the north. By April 1 the Kurdish rebels had been forced into retreat. On April 5 the United Nations adopted Resolution 688 calling upon Iraq to stop its attacks against Kurds and seek a dialog with the rebels. the same day that the first of the refugees began crossing the Turkish border. The trickle of refugees during the first few days of April quickly became a flood. yet little was done to assist them. As of last Monday. April 8. Turkey and a handful of other countries had provided $67 million in aid to the refugees. which presumably included the $11 million in aid President Bush proposed on April 6. On April 8 Secretary of State Baker saw firsthand the terrible conditions In which the refugeees are living. at the same time an assistant to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees was describing the U.N. relief efforts to that point to be totally inadequate. The European Community responded by immediately pledging $180 million in aid. The United States. also. has undertaken a relief effort over the last 2 days. The U.S. Air Force has been active in air dropping supplies provided by the international relief effort. and efforts are under way to identify more supplies that could be gathered and air dropped to the refugees. The United States is responding to the plight of the Kurds. but it is late. and it is simply not enough. A reported 1.5 million Kurdish refugees have entered or are trying to enter Turkey and Iran. As the numbers swell. the U.N. relief effort remains inadequate. and the U.S. response continues to be dwarfed by the magnitude of the suffering. Madam President. if the United States can mount an international effort to oust Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. surely we can mount an international effort to provide food and shelter to helpless refugees. We can help these people. and we must help these people. but to do that requires leadership. a leadership that we have not seen from the administration. We must lead by example. as we did in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. An immediate. largescale effort to provide aid must begin now. We must begin now to bring the international community together to focus on the plight of the refugees. just as we brought the international community together to focus on the plight of the Kuwaitis. This is where the new world order begins. Madam President.