26 August 2002
Cheney Warns of Dangers of Saddam Hussein Regime in Iraq
(Bush has made no decision on military option, White House says) (1040) By Wendy S. Ross Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- Vice President Cheney devoted an August 26 speech largely to the dangers posed by the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. "There is no doubt," Cheney said, "that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction; there is no doubt that he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us." Speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Nashville, Tennessee, Cheney listed the times in the past Saddam had not done what he promised the international community he would do, and said even if U.N. inspectors were allowed to return to Iraq, their presence "would provide no assurance whatsoever of his compliance with U.N. resolutions. "On the contrary, there is a great danger that it would provide false comfort that Saddam was somehow back in his box. Meanwhile, he would continue to plot," the Vice President said. "Nothing in the last dozen years has stopped him [Saddam]; not his solemn agreements; not the discoveries of inspectors; not the revelations by defectors; not criticism or ostracism by the international community; and not four days of bombing by the United States in 1998," Cheney said. "What he wants is time, and more time to husband his resources to invest in his ongoing chemical and biological weapons program, and to gain possession of nuclear weapons," the Vice President said. "Should all his ambitions be realized, the implications would be enormous for the Middle East and the United States and for the peace of the world," Cheney said. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, asked about Cheney's remarks at his daily briefing, responded that they "echoed what the President has said about American doctrine of preemption, given the fact that we can face enemies who, in an age of terrorism, can unleash attacks on us and it would be too late for us to respond." Briefing in Texas, where Bush is on vacation, Fleischer said Cheney "did not make the case for preemptive attack; he made the case for the preemptive doctrine." That doctrine, Fleischer said, "reinforces the fundamental and moral precepts of America's foreign policy, which has kept the world free and safe, which is an American doctrine that at its core and in its heart is guided by peace, in an effort to protect lives, and to protect lives especially against those who we saw on September 11th will use whatever means they have at their disposal to kill American citizens." The war on terrorism, Fleischer said, presents the United States "with a very different set of reflections, a very different calculus about when it's appropriate for the United States to use force than we previously were confronted in the wars that our country had been used to, and the deterrence that our country was used to that kept the peace through the Cold War." "There's no question that Saddam Hussein possesses chemical weapons. We know that he's used them on his own people," Fleischer said. "We have an ongoing concern about whether or not Saddam Hussein will be able to acquire nuclear weapons. There's no question that he is in pursuit of them. And this is why the Vice President was making the case this morning that some would argue that the best policy is to let him (Saddam) obtain weapons that make him stronger. And the President and the Vice President do not share that approach," Fleischer said. President Bush, the Press Secretary reminded reporters, has said that time is not on our side. "We will continue to be patient and deliberative, but there are those who simply think we can wish our problems away. And the President and the Vice President are much more realistic than that," Fleischer said. But Fleischer clearly said that the President "has not made any decisions" about military action to remove the Saddam regime. "The President will continue to consult with our allies abroad; the President will continue to consult with Congress. That's a sine qua non. The President knows that in a democracy it's vital to have the support of the public, if he reaches any points where he makes decisions about military action. He has not made those decisions at this time, but the President understands the fundamental importance in a democracy of public support. And of course, every time the President has made the case to the American people, the American people have rallied," the Press Secretary said. Fleischer confirmed that "the White House Counsel's Office is of the opinion, it is their determination that there are three factors which give the President the authority to engage in military action if he were to make that decision. "And those are, one, the Constitution of the United States which vests in the President authorities as Commander in Chief; the 1991 Persian Gulf War resolutions; and three, the 2001 resolutions in the Congress pertaining to the war against terrorism. That is the determination of the White House Counsel." But, if the President makes a decision about the use of force, he will make a decision about a vote by Congress "on more than legal factors alone," Fleischer said. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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