Hyde: Attack on Iraq possible

This story, republished from our archives, first ran Feb. 9, 2002.

A U.S. military attack on Iraq to stop the spread of nuclear weapons cannot be ruled out as an option, Congressman Henry J. Hyde said Friday.

Speaking in Chicago, the Wood Dale Republican who chairs the House International Relations Committee said allowing weapons inspectors back into Iraq could ease mounting tensions and "reassure the world."

But the possibility of a military invasion also exists. Hyde said he could not say such a move was out of the question.

"I wouldn't rule it out," the 27-year House veteran told the City Club of Chicago Friday.

President Bush in his State of the Union speech called Iraq, Iran and North Korea an "axis of evil" that would not be allowed to develop weapons of mass destruction. That comment led to global concerns about an expanding war against terrorism, but Hyde said no one should assume more invasions are coming.

After his speech, Hyde told reporters he didn't know if the administration was using the statements as a way to brace the American people for an invasion.

"But they are saying it's not unthinkable," he said. "It won't hurt to think about things like that. And it sends a very strong message to Saddam Hussein."

Defending a label that has drawn criticism because of its World War II parallels, Hyde said Bush was right to use the "axis" tag.

"President Reagan called the Soviet Union an evil empire, and everyone was shocked," he said. "That's just what it was. And there is an axis of evil - Iran, North Korea and Iraq are part of it. Calling it that is not dishonest or harmful.

"We can stop pussyfooting around," he continued. "If Iraq is developing bombs of mass destruction and the means to deliver them, it doesn't do any good to use euphemisms about it. Let's call it what it is until the world wakes up. We shouldn't have to do this all by ourselves."

The theme of Hyde's speech Friday was "Why Don't They Love Us: A New Direction in Foreign Policy." He spoke of an envy-driven dislike for American success harbored in some parts of the world, and what is being done to fight it.

New initiatives, he said, include filming documentaries for world distribution that show Muslims thriving in the United States, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for international broadcasts and translating government anti-terror Web sites into seven languages.

"I think we're on the move in public diplomacy," he said. "We're trying to tell the world what we're about."

Hyde, 77, took the reins of the international relations committee last year after several years of chairing the House Judiciary Committee. In his new role, he has met with foreign leaders, diplomats and dignitaries. His sense, he said, is that even if Americans are not liked, the country is going about its foreign policy the right way.

"Our foreign aid. Our student exchanges. Our loans. Our support for the international financial institution. Our military training. I think we do everything humanly possible towards the cause of freedom, democracy and tolerance around the world," he said."...There's no country left behind if they're in dire need and we can help. And we do. And we get no credit or darn little credit for it."

On another topic Friday, Hyde addressed the issue of the sometimes bitter three-way Republican race for governor. He warned that if the negative tactics in the race between Jim Ryan, Corinne Wood and Pat O'Malley keep up, it could help the Democrats get their candidate elected in November.

"Negative campaigning turns people off," he said, "and puts a plague on all three of their houses."