Bush to address nation on Iraq

[HeXp£Øi±]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush, during a Monday night national address, will make clear "time is very short" for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to avoid military action, an administration official told CNN. A 72-hour ultimatum "is in the right ballpark," the official said.

Bush, in a televised address set for 8 p.m. ET, will demand that Saddam yield power and leave the country, the White House said.

Saddam has a "very small opening, several days at best," a second senior administration official told CNN.

The president also was scheduled to meet with congressional leaders Monday at 5:45 p.m. ET, officials said.

Word of the televised speech came just moments after United Nations representatives from the United States, Britain and Spain said they would not seek a vote on a second Security Council resolution aimed at disarming Iraq of alleged weapons of mass destruction.

Saddam, in a statement read by an Iraqi television announcer, reiterated his stance that Iraq once had weapons of mass destruction but has since destroyed them.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was expected later Monday to inform the council that he is withdrawing U.N. weapons inspectors from Iraq. The United States had advised the United Nations to remove its inspectors from Iraq, and offered to help ensure their safe passage.

After a Sunday summit with British and Spanish leaders in the Azores, President Bush said that Monday would be a "moment of truth" -- a final day for the United Nations to work out a diplomatic solution to the Iraqi crisis acceptable to the U.S.-led coalition.

Senior British Cabinet member Robin Cook Monday resigned in protest over the Iraq crisis. Cook, a former foreign secretary and the government's leader in the House of Commons, met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair prior to an emergency Cabinet meeting on Iraq this afternoon.

Along the Kuwait-Iraq border, the U.N. Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission on Monday pulled its remaining staff from both sides of the demilitarized zone separating the two nations. (Full story)

Meanwhile, unnamed U.S. officials in Washington told CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr on Monday there was "more chatter in the system" pointing to the possibility that Iraq may be preparing to use chemical weapons in a possible U.S.-led war. Chatter is usually defined as monitored, yet unspecified, intelligence messages.

The U.S. State Department urged all U.S. citizens to leave Kuwait due to the threat of war. The warning followed Sunday's notice for all U.S. Embassy nonemergency staff and family members to depart.

Germany and Russia have already urged their citizens to leave Iraq and to avoid traveling there. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Moscow continues to support a peaceful resolution of the crisis only and "any other option would be a mistake."

There are 60 inspectors remaining in Iraq out of about 140 international staff. Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix has said inspectors will need 24 to 48 hours to clear out of the country.

The Iraqi government has had no immediate reaction about the possible pullout, but an Iraqi official stressed that the country has cooperated with the Security Council.

Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Sa'eed al-Sahaf said: "We've done everything, and we will continue to cooperate with the Security Council..."

The continued threat of a U.S.-led war on Iraq came as a newly released CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll said 64 percent of Americans favor sending U.S. ground forces to remove Saddam from power -- up five percentage points from a similar survey earlier this month. The telephone poll interviewed 1,007 adults on Friday and Saturday.http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/17/sprj.irq.main/index.html

 

[Gonz]

Strong, well worded & pointed speech. One of the better since his adress to Congress 2 Octobers ago. It helps there wasn't any diplomatic double speak.

 

[Squiggy]

Gonz, you must've got out on the 'right' side of the bed....Doublespeak? How about the way he backed off on the UN and others? Does that count? Or is that allowable? One day the UN is all but the culprit behind all this and the next.....?

 

[Gonz]

Right this minute, the UN is a non-entity. We've a war to wage. Tomorrow is another day.

 

[Squiggy]

Uh...Gonz....He made a point of supporting the UN. He didn't say they were a nonentity. Quite the opposite, in fact. This is starting to sound like ...whats that stuff?....Oh...Yeah....DOUBLESPEAK!!!!!

 

[unclehobart]

That all depends on what the definition of 'is' is.

 

[Squiggy]

'is" is what it was when it was "is" .....Isn't it?

 

[unclehobart]

*looks up the definition of every word in human history*

This may take a while.

 

[PT]

I think he did use a little double talk. At one point, he made it sound like it was us and the UN going in to get the job done, then later said something about the UN's failure to resolve the situation. If I didn't know what was going on, I'd have been a little confused by it.

 

[Gonz]

My fellow citizens, events in Iraq have now reached the final days of decision. For more than a decade, the United States and other nations have pursued patient and honorable efforts to disarm the Iraqi regime without war. That regime pledged to reveal and destroy all of its weapons of mass destruction as a condition for ending the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

Since then, the world has engaged in 12 years of diplomacy. We have passed more than a dozen resolutions in the United Nations Security Council. We have sent hundreds of weapons inspectors to oversee the disarmament of Iraq. Our good faith has not been returned. The Iraqi regime has used diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage. It has uniformly defied Security Council resolutions demanding full disarmament.

Over the years, UN weapons inspectors have been threatened by Iraqi officials, electronically bugged and systematically deceived. Peaceful efforts to disarm the Iraq regime have failed again and again because we are not dealing with peaceful men.
'The regime has a deep hatred of America and our friends'

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised. This regime has already used weapons of mass destruction against Iraq's neighbours and against Iraq's people.

The regime has a history of reckless aggression in the Middle East. It has a deep hatred of America and our friends and it has aided, trained and harboured terrorists, including operatives of al Qaeda.

The danger is clear: Using chemical, biological or, one day, nuclear weapons obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country or any other.

The United States and other nations did nothing to deserve or invite this threat, but we will do everything to defeat it. Instead of drifting along toward tragedy, we will set a course toward safety.

Before the day of horror can come, before it is too late to act, this danger will be removed. The United States of America has the sovereign authority to use force in assuring its own national security. That duty falls to me as commander-in-chief by the oath I have sworn, by the oath I will keep.
'Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours'

Recognising the threat to our country, the United States Congress voted overwhelmingly last year to support the use of force against Iraq.

America tried to work with the United Nations to address this threat because we wanted to resolve the issue peacefully. We believe in the mission of the United Nations.

One reason the UN was founded after the Second World War was to confront aggressive dictators actively and early, before they can attack the innocent and destroy the peace.

In the case of Iraq, the Security Council did act in the early 1990s. Under Resolutions 678 and 687, both still in effect, the United States and our allies are authorised to use force in ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.

This is not a question of authority, it is a question of will. Last September, I went to the UN General Assembly and urged the nations of the world to unite and bring an end to this danger. On November 8th, the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441, finding Iraq in material breach of its obligations and vowing serious consequences if Iraq did not fully and immediately disarm.

Today, no nation can possibly claim that Iraq has disarmed. And it will not disarm so long as Saddam Hussein holds power.

For the last four and a half months, the United States and our allies have worked within the Security Council to enforce that council's long-standing demands. Yet some permanent members of the Security Council have publicly announced that they will veto any resolution that compels the disarmament of Iraq. These governments share our assessment of the danger, but not our resolve to meet it.

Many nations, however, do have the resolve and fortitude to act against this threat to peace, and a broad coalition is now gathering to enforce the just demands of the world. The United Nations Security Council has not lived up to its responsibilities, so we will rise to ours.

In recent days, some governments in the Middle East have been doing their part. They have delivered public and private messages urging the dictator to leave Iraq so that disarmament can proceed peacefully. He has thus far refused.

All the decades of deceit and cruelty have now reached an end. Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict commenced at a time of our choosing. For their own safety, all foreign nationals, including journalists and inspectors, should leave Iraq immediately.

Many Iraqis can hear me tonight in a translated radio broadcast, and I have a message for them: If we must begin a military campaign, it will be directed against the lawless men who rule your country and not against you. As our coalition takes away their power, we will deliver the food and medicine you need. We will tear down the apparatus of terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and free.

In free Iraq there will be no more wars of aggression against your neighbors, no more poison factories, no more executions of dissidents, no more torture chambers and rape rooms. The tyrant will soon be gone. The day of your liberation is near.

It is too late for Saddam Hussein to remain in power. It is not too late for the Iraq military to act with honor and protect your country, by permitting the peaceful entry of coalition forces to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. Our forces will give Iraqi military units clear instructions on actions they can take to avoid being attack and destroyed.

I urge every member of the Iraqi military and intelligence services: If war comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not worth your own life.

And all Iraqi military and civilian personnel should listen carefully to this warning: In any conflict, your fate will depend on your actions. Do not destroy oil wells, a source of wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people. Do not obey any command to use weapons of mass destruction against anyone, including the Iraqi people. War crimes will be prosecuted, war criminals will be punished and it will be no defence to say, "I was just following orders."

Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the American people can know that every measure has been taken to avoid war and every measure will be taken to win it. Americans understand the costs of conflict because we have paid them in the past. War has no certainty except the certainty of sacrifice.

Yet the only way to reduce the harm and duration of war is to apply the full force and might of our military, and we are prepared to do so. If Saddam Hussein attempts to cling to power, he will remain a deadly foe until the end.

In desperation, he and terrorist groups might try to conduct terrorist operations against the American people and our friends. These attacks are not inevitable. They are, however, possible. And this very fact underscores the reason we cannot live under the threat of blackmail. The terrorist threat to America and the world will be diminished the moment that Saddam Hussein is disarmed.

Our government is on heightened watch against these dangers. Just as we are preparing to ensure victory in Iraq, we are taking further actions to protect our homeland.

In recent days, American authorities have expelled from the country certain individuals with ties to Iraqi intelligence services. Among other measures, I have directed additional security at our airports and increased Coast Guard patrols of major seaports.

The Department of Homeland Security is working closely with the nation's governors to increase armed security at critical facilities across America.

Should enemies strike our country, they would be attempting to shift our attention with panic and weaken our morale with fear. In this, they would fail. No act of theirs can alter the course or shake the resolve of this country.

We are a peaceful people, yet we are not a fragile people. And we will not be intimidated by thugs and killers. If our enemies dare to strike us, they and all who have aided them will face fearful consequences.

We are now acting because the risks of inaction would be far greater. In one year, or five years, the power of Iraq to inflict harm on all free nations would be multiplied many times over. With these capabilities, Saddam Hussein and his terrorist allies could choose the moment of deadly conflict when they are strongest. We choose to meet that threat now where it arises, before it can appear suddenly in our skies and cities.

The cause of peace requires all free nations to recognise new and undeniable realities. In the 20th century, some chose to appease murderous dictators whose threats were allowed to grow into genocide and global war.

In this century, when evil men plot chemical, biological and nuclear terror, a policy of appeasement could bring destruction of a kind never before seen on this earth.

Terrorists and terrorist states do not reveal these threats with fair notice in formal declarations. And responding to such enemies only after they have struck first is not self defense. It is suicide. The security of the world requires disarming Saddam Hussein now.

As we enforce the just demands of the world, we will also honour the deepest commitments of our country.

Unlike Saddam Hussein, we believe the Iraqi people are deserving and capable of human liberty, and when the dictator has departed, they can set an example to all the Middle East of a vital and peaceful and self-governing nation.

The United States with other countries will work to advance liberty and peace in that region. Our goal will not be achieved overnight, but it can come over time. The power and appeal of human liberty is felt in every life and every land, and the greatest power of freedom is to overcome hatred and violence, and turn the creative gifts of men and women to the pursuits of peace. That is the future we choose.

Free nations have a duty to defend our people by uniting against the violent, and tonight, as we have done before, America and our allies accept that responsibility.

Good night, and may God continue to bless America.

 

[HomeLAN]

He flatly told the UN that it didn't do its job. Then he threw Europe a bone by saying that we still believe in the mission of the UN. Political considerations. Even if they are irrelevent, you still have to nod to 'em.