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07 November 2002

Bush: If Iraq Does Not Disarm, U.S., Friends Will Move to Do Job

(Predicts UNSC will vote November 8 on Iraq resolution) (740)
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent
Washington -- If Saddam Hussein does not disarm Iraq of its weapons of
mass destruction as required by the United Nations, then for the sake
of peace in the world, the United States and its friends "will move
swiftly to do the job," President Bush said November 7.
Speaking at the White House at his first solo news conference in many
months, Bush said if it becomes necessary, "the United States, with
friends, will move swiftly with force to do the job. You don't have to
worry about that. We will do...what it takes militarily to succeed."
Bush said he "is optimistic" that the United Nations Security Council
will vote November 8 on the draft resolution on Iraq disarmament
presented to it November 6 by the United States and Great Britain.
"The resolution we put down," Bush said, "is a tough new resolution,"
that talks about "material breach" and inspections and serious
consequences if Saddam Hussein continues to defy the world and not
disarm.
Bush said he had talked by phone earlier in the day about Iraq with
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and France's President Jacques
Chirac and said he is "optimistic we'll get the resolution vote
tomorrow.
"The only way, in my judgment, to deal with Saddam Hussein is to bring
the international community together to convince him to disarm," said
Bush.
"But if he's not going to disarm, we'll disarm him, in order to make
the world a more peaceful place. And some people aren't going to like
that, I understand. But some people won't like it if he ends up with a
nuclear weapon and uses it. We have an obligation to lead, and I
intend to assume that obligation, to make the world more peaceful.
"War is not my first choice," Bush said, "it's my last choice. But
nevertheless, it is an option in order to make the world a more
peaceful place."
Bush assured the people of Iraq that the United States has no
intention of conquering anybody. The Iraqi people, he said, "can have
a better life than the one they have now."
He also warned Iraqi generals that there will be consequences for
their behavior.
"Should they choose, if force is necessary, to behave in a way that
endangers the lives of their own citizens, as well as citizens in the
neighborhood, there will be a consequence. They will be held to
account," Bush said.
Asked about why his policy towards Iraq is different from his policy
towards North Korea, Bush said that in the war against terrorism "each
threat requires a different type of response. You've heard my strategy
on dealing with Iraq. I've been very clear on the strategy all along.
And tomorrow it looks like part of that strategy is coming to
fruition.
"With North Korea, we're taking a different strategy initially, and
it's this: that we're going to work with countries in the neighborhood
to convince North Korea that it is not in the world's interests that
they develop a nuclear weapon through highly enriched uranium."
Discussing the November 5 midterm elections, Bush refused to take
credit for how well the Republican Party did, saying it was the
candidates themselves who deserve the credit.
In those elections the Republican party kept control of the House of
Representatives and gained control of the Senate in the new 108th
Congress that convenes in early January 2003.
Bush said he wants the current 107th Congress, when it returns to
Washington for its post-election conclusion, to approve legislation
setting up in the federal government a Department of Homeland Security
as well as legislation providing for government payment of insurance
claims arising from terrorist attacks.
"This will spur construction and create thousands of good hard-hat
jobs that are currently on hold because projects without insurance
cannot be built," he said.
Asked if he sees the midterm election results as a mandate for his
programs, Bush responded that "the way to look at this election is to
say the people want something done. They see the risks are high, the
risk of being able to find a job or the risk of keeping the homeland
secure. And they want people to come together to work on it, and
that's what I intend to do."
Bush also told reporters that if he decides to run for a second term
as president, he would again choose current Vice President Dick Cheney
as his running mate, and is "confident" Cheney would agree to be on
the ticket.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)