Speech #1020030322

The best estimates were that between 400 to 1.000 people were being lost each day in the Turkish border areas alone. To help alleviate this crisis. the administration devised a threephase plan. with which our delegation fully concurred. The first phase was to deliver humanitarian relief to the refugees in their remote mountain locations to help stabilize the situation. The second phase. now underway. is to convince the refugees to come down from the mountains to temporary camps in lower lying areas as in northern Iraq where they can be better cared for. The final phase will be to persuade the people to return to their homes. Essential to the success of phase 1 has been the use of our military forces. Clearly. the President made the right decision in authorizing American forces to undertake this job with the help of other coalition military personnel. They have been doing an . ..ordinary job under daunting co. .itlons. and there can be no doubt that many more refugees would have died without their intervention. Traditional relief agencies. as well as neighboring governments. were simply incapable of coping with the massive numbers that gathered in a matter of days in areas that were virtually inaccessible to any but our military. It is also clear that our military forces will also be critical in implementing phase two and possibly phase three. This is because the refugees will not leave their mountain retreats and ultimately return home without some credible guarantee of security. At the moment. our forces represent the only credible assurance they have. They do not trust the Iraqi Government. and the coalition forces are all that stand between the refugees and Saddam Husseins military. This poses a real dilemma for us. because while we are willing to provide both relief and security in the short term. it is not in Americas interests to be in northern Iraq indefinitely or to be seen as an occupying force. Our delegation concluded that responsibility for the relief effort should be assumed as soon as possible by the United Nations and other traditional relief agencies. This is a role they are fully capable of performing once the refugees are off the mountains. hopefully within the next few weeks. They have said that they will undertake this responsibility so long as they receive adequate financial support. With respect to security. we also believe that the international community should assume responsibility if necessary.