Date: Monday, March 17,
2003 21:39:47
Subject: Iraq Address
by President Bush
President Bush's Remarks to the
Nation
THE PRESIDENT: 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 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,
U.N. weapon inspectors have been threatened by Iraqi officials, electronically
bugged, and systematically deceived. Peaceful efforts to disarm the Iraqi regime
have failed again and again -- because we are not dealing with peaceful men.
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 neighbors 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 harbored 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.
Recognizing 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 U.N. 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 authorized 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 U.N.
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 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
a 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 Iraqi 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 attacked 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 action. 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
defense 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
terrorists 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 of 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're 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 recognize 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 terror 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
honor 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.
