20 February 2003
Trusting Saddam Hussein Not an Option, Bush Says
(Administration concerned by Iraq's continued "defiance" of U.N. demands) (940) 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, the United States with other willing nations will act to "defend the peace against an aggressive tyrant," President Bush said February 20. "If war is forced upon us, we will liberate the people of Iraq from a cruel and violent dictator," Bush told a gathering of small business owners in Kennesaw, Georgia, where he stopped to discuss his tax reform proposals before continuing on to his ranch in Texas. "Military action is this nation's last option," Bush said, but "trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not an option. Denial and endless delay in the face of growing danger is not an option," he said. "America and our allies are called once again to defend the peace against an aggressive tyrant, and we accept this responsibility," he said. "The Iraqi people today are not treated with dignity," Bush declared, "but they have a right to live in dignity. The Iraqi people today are not allowed to speak out for freedom, but they have a right to live in freedom. "We don't believe freedom and liberty are America's gift to the world; we believe they are the Almighty's gift to mankind," Bush said, "and for the oppressed people of Iraq, people whose lives we care about, the day of freedom is drawing near." Meanwhile, en route to Georgia, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters on Air Force One that the Bush administration continues to be "concerned about Iraqi defiance on the ground and their refusal to comply with the United Nations." Six days after chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix requested that Iraq provide a list of individuals who oversaw and were involved in the destruction of Iraq's biological and chemical weapons, Iraq has provided the United Nations "with nothing," Fleischer said. In addition, "Private interviews with inspectors have dried up," Fleischer said, and Iraq "has insisted on a 48-hour advance notification of the U-2 flights, making U-2 spy missions, designed to determine what is happening, predictable, thereby diminishing the value of such flights, which, per [U.N. Security Council Resolution]1441, are supposed to be unconditional rights to fly the U-2." "And, of course, Iraq has indicated that it will not destroy the LSUB-II missiles, which Hans Blix reported to the United Nations are, in fact, proscribed weapons. So the situation on the ground is not good, which is a cause for concern," Fleischer said. And State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said at his daily press briefing that "the situation is quite clear at this point. Iraq has failed to comply. All the evidence is that Iraq is continuing to deceive the Security Council and failing to comply. "Many of the things that were promised last week to the inspectors have not come through. No more scientists have appeared for private interviews. The famous Iraqi commission that was scouring the countryside for documents and weapons hasn't produced a thing. The Iraqis haven't produced any new documents. "It turns out the decree that they issued on weapons of mass destruction, when you actually read it, it says that private individuals and companies can't have weapons of mass destruction; it doesn't mention the government, doesn't mention any cooperation by government officials, doesn't require any effort on the part of government officials to come clean about all their holdings of dangerous weapons," Boucher said. "So I think we're at a point now a week or so from Iraq's last set of promises, and as with Iraq's previous promises and the promises before that, even the little that they promised on process has not come true," he said. Asked whether any progress is being made on an additional U.N. resolution on Iraq, to back up Resolution 1441 that was approved unanimously by the council in November, Boucher said "We're working with other countries about the wording of the resolution, the timing of the resolution. We would expect a resolution soon, probably next week. "We want to see a resolution that, as the president said, makes clear that the council stands by its demands; that the U.N. Security Council will stand up for itself and for its own resolutions, its previous resolutions. " On the question of whether Turkey will permit U.S. forces to use its bases for military action in Iraq, Boucher said, "We've been talking to Turkey about how to proceed together in terms of military preparations and also economic assistance ... but we're not there yet." And Fleischer said, "There is nothing new to report on Turkey, except for the passage of time, and there is not a lot of time that can pass. This is not a bluff. The United States is preparing for war in case a decision is made to go to war. We have to deal with realities, and we will. And if basing is not allowed in Turkey, we have no choice, we will pursue other options." According to news reports, Turkey is asking for an increase in the economic aid package the United States is proposing it. The U.S. has said it will not alter the original figure, which reports say amounts to $6 billion in grants and guarantees for $20 billion in loans. Turkey is reported to be seeking a package of more than $30 billion. (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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