Bush Speaks on Iraqi Threat, American Aid
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 1, 2003 - The safety of the American people depends on ending the threat that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction poses, President Bush said during his radio address today.
But beyond ending the threat, America will advance the cause of freedom and opportunity in the region, he said.
Bush said that Iraqi lives do not matter to Saddam Hussein, "but they matter to us."
While the president has not decided on whether to use force against Iraq, he spoke of what the United States would provide to help rebuild a post-Saddam country, and what a free and democratic Iraq would mean to the region and world.
If it comes to war with Iraq, the United States and its coalition partners stand ready to provide vital help. "We will deliver medicine to the sick, and make sure that Iraq's 55,000 food distribution sites, operating with supplies from the oil-for-food program, are stocked and open as soon as possible," he said. "We are stockpiling relief supplies, such as blankets and water containers, for 1 million people. We are moving into place nearly 3 million emergency rations to feed the hungry."
In addition, Bush said, the United States and the United Kingdom would provide millions of dollars to the World Food Program, a United Nations group that calls itself "the frontline agency in the battle against global hunger," and UNICEF, a major worldwide U.N. children's support organization. The two countries will also work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The United States would lead efforts to find a destroy Saddam Hussein's stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction and ensure that groups do not take advantage of the chaos to further their own ends, he said.
Bush pointed out that rebuilding Iraq would require a sustained effort from many nations. If it comes to war, the United States will not stay in Iraq one day longer than it needs to. "America has made and kept this kind of commitment before -- in the peace that followed World War II," he said. "After defeating enemies, we did not leave behind occupying armies; we left constitutions and parliaments. We did not leave behind permanent foes; we found new friends and allies."
The United States will not dictate the precise form of Iraq's new government, he said. The Iraqi people will make that choice. "Yet we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another," the president said. "All Iraqis must have a voice in the new government, and all citizens must have their rights protected."
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2003/n03012003_200303011.html
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