02 December 2002
Bush, Cheney Warn Iraq to Report Fully on Weapons of Mass Destruction
(President says "signs are not encouraging" so far) (870) By Wendy S. Ross Washington File White House Correspondent Washington -- President Bush and Vice President Cheney in separate venues December 2 warned Saddam Hussein to provide a full accounting of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs by December 8 as required by the recent United Nations Security Council resolution or face the consequences. "On or before the 8th of December, Iraq must provide a full and accurate declaration of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs," Bush said in a speech at the Pentagon. That declaration, he said, "must be credible and complete, or the Iraqi dictator will have demonstrated to the world once again that he has chosen not to change his behavior." "In the inspections process, the United States will be making one judgment: Has Saddam Hussein changed his behavior of the last 11 years? Has he decided to cooperate willingly and comply completely, or has he not?," Bush said. "So far the signs are not encouraging. A regime that fires upon American and British pilots is not taking the path of compliance. A regime that sends letters filled with protests and falsehoods is not taking the path of compliance," the president said. "Saddam Hussein's regime has a long history of aggression against his neighbors and hostility towards America. It has a long history of ties to terrorists. The dictator has a long history of seeking biological and chemical and nuclear weapons -- even while U.N. inspectors were present in his country. Now the world has told him the game is over. The U.N. Security Council, the NATO Alliance and the United States are united -- Saddam Hussein will fully disarm himself of weapons of mass destruction. And if he does not, the United States will lead a coalition to disarm him," the president said. Cheney, speaking in Denver, Colorado to some 1,500 Air National Guard leaders, said "under the terms of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Saddam must disclose the extent of his chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons by December 8th. And this time deception will not be tolerated. This time, as the president has said, delay and defiance will invite the severest consequences. The demands of the world will be met, or action will be unavoidable. Either Saddam Hussein will fully comply with the United Nations resolution, or the United States and a coalition of other nations will disarm" him. "We will not permit Saddam Hussein to blackmail and terrorize freedom-loving nations," Cheney said. "Last month, Saddam's regime said it would deal with U.N. inspections. Saddam has made such pledges before and he has violated them all -- time and time again," the vice president said. "We have now called an end to Saddam's game." Cheney said confronting the threat imposed by Iraq is not a distraction from the war on terror but, rather, "is absolutely crucial to winning the war on terror. The war on terror will not be won until Iraq is completely and verifiably deprived of weapons of mass destruction," he said. Bush, in his remarks, said war is his last option for confronting threats. "Yet the temporary peace of denial and looking away from danger would only be a prelude to broader war and greater horror," he said. "America will confront gathering dangers early, before our options become limited and desperate. By showing our resolve today, we are building a future of peace." "In the decisions and missions to come, our military will carry the values of America and the hopes of the world. The people of Iraq, like all human beings, deserve their freedom," Bush said; he noted that the people of Afghanistan -- with the help of the United States armed forces -- have gained their freedom. Bush spoke at the Pentagon before signing the 2003 defense authorization bill into law. That legislation authorizes $355.5 billion for defense department spending in this fiscal year -- the largest increase in military spending since the Reagan administration. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters at his daily noon briefing that December 8th will mark the beginning of "a process of verification" to find out whether or not Saddam Hussein is indeed telling the truth and whether or not he has indeed disarmed. The United Nations inspectors "will continue to increase their numbers and their efforts. And the President has not reached any conclusions; it's too early to reach any conclusions," Fleischer said. He said he could offer no estimate of how long the verification process would be. Asked to comment on an estimate by Congress' General Accounting Office GAO) estimate that it would cost $200 billion to fight a war in Iraq, Fleischer said no one can know with certainty what expenses would be incurred in a potential war with Iraq. "It all depends on the nature of the war and how events unfold," he said. "And I have not seen anything in the White House that's any type of reliable estimate. "Too, I think the question in the president's mind is, what is the price of failure to act if, indeed, Saddam Hussein has the weapons that we fear he has -- and we know he does have them, what is the price of failure to act in terms of protecting the American people. And that's how the president approaches this." (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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