• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

16 March 2003

Bush Says March 17 "Moment of Truth" for the World

(Leaders of Britain, Spain, Portugal concur at joint press conference
in Azores) (5500)
President Bush says the diplomatic track to disarm Iraq's Saddam
Hussein is ending, and "crucial days lie ahead" for the world.
"Tomorrow is the day that we will determine whether or not diplomacy
can work," Bush said at a joint press conference March 16 in the
Azores, following an hour-long summit on Iraq with the Prime Ministers
of Britain, Spain and Portugal.
A draft resolution before the United Nations Security Council --
co-sponsored by the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain --
would give Iraq's Saddam Hussein one final opportunity to completely
disarm by March 17. That resolution has been on the table for ten
days. It refers back to November's Resolution 1441 that says Saddam
Hussein is in material breach of Gulf War Security Council resolutions
and must disarm or face serious consequences.
Bush noted that the Security Council unanimously approved Resolution
1441. That resolution, he said, declared Iraq in material breach of
its longstanding obligations, and demanded "once again Iraq's full and
immediate disarmament, and promised serious consequences if the regime
refused to comply." The logic of that resolution, Bush said, "is
inescapable; the Iraqi regime will disarm itself, or the Iraqi regime
will be disarmed by force."
"And we sat and visited about this issue, about how best to spend our
time between now and tomorrow. ... [W]e'll be working the phones and
talking to our partners and talking to those who may now clearly
understand the objective, and we'll see how it goes tomorrow," the
president said.
"Saddam Hussein can leave the country, if he's interested in peace.
... [T]he decision is his to make. And it's been his to make all along
as to whether or not there's the use of the military," Bush said.
"[W] concluded that tomorrow is a moment of truth for the world. Many
nations have voiced a commitment to peace and security, and now they
must demonstrate that commitment to peace and security in the only
effective way: by supporting the immediate and unconditional
disarmament of Saddam Hussein," the president said.
Military action would liberate Iraq and "would be the beginning, not
the end, of our commitment to its people," Bush said. "We will supply
humanitarian relief, bring economic sanctions to a swift close, and
work for the long-term recovery of Iraq's economy. We'll make sure
that Iraq's natural resources are used for the benefit of their
owners, the Iraqi people.
"Iraq has the potential to be a great nation," he said. "Iraq's people
are skilled and educated. We'll push as quickly as possible for an
Iraqi interim authority to draw upon the talents of Iraq's people to
rebuild their nation. We're committed to the goal of a unified Iraq,
with democratic institutions of which members of all ethnic and
religious groups are treated with dignity and respect.
"To achieve this vision, we will work closely with the international
community, including the United Nations and our coalition partners. If
military force is required, we'll quickly seek new Security Council
resolutions to encourage broad participation in the process of helping
the Iraqi people to build a free Iraq."
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said "we have reached the point of
decision, and we make a final appeal for there to be that strong,
unified message on behalf of the international community that lays
down a clear ultimatum to Saddam that authorizes force if he continues
to defy the will of the whole of the international community set out
in 1441."
Blair said "there's not a single person on the Security Council that
doubts the fact he is not fully cooperating today. Nobody, even those
who disagree with the position that we have outlined, is prepared to
say there is full cooperation, as 1441 demanded."
Blair said he and the other three leaders at the Azores summit "will
do all we can in the short time that remains to make a final round of
contacts, to see whether there is a way through this impasse. But we
are in the final stages, because after 12 years of failing to disarm
him, now is the time when we have to decide."
Blair said "Europe and America should stand together on the big issues
of the day. I think it is a tragedy when we don't. And that
transatlantic alliance is strong and we need to strengthen it still
further."
Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said "I would like to remind
you that we all said before we came here that we were not coming to
the Azores to make a declaration of war, that we were coming after
having made every possible effort, after having made this effort,
continuing to make this effort, to working to achieve the greatest
possible agreement, and for international law to be respected and for
U.N. resolutions to be respected."
Aznar said it up to Saddam Hussein whether he wants to disarm and
avoid the serious consequences of which he has been warned about by
the United Nations.
Portugal's Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, who hosted the
summit, said "We have joined this initiative and we organized it here
in the Azores because we thought this was the last opportunity for a
political solution -- and this is how we see it, this is the last
possibility for a political solution to the problem. Maybe it's a
small chance, a small possibility, but even if it's one in one
million, it's always worthwhile fighting for a political solution. And
I think this is the message that we can get from this Atlantic
summit."
Following is the White House transcript of the Azores press
conference:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(The Azores, Portugal)
March 16, 2003
PRESS AVAILABILITY WITH PRESIDENT BUSH, PRIME MINISTER BLAIR,
PRESIDENT AZNAR, AND PRIME MINISTER BARROSO
Community Activity Center Ballroom
Lajes Field
Terceira, The Azores, Portugal
5:30 P.M. (Local)
PRIME MINISTER BARROSO: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am
very pleased to welcome here in the Azores the leaders of three
friends and allied countries, the United States, Spain and United
Kingdom. President Bush, Prime Minister Aznar, and Prime Minister Tony
Blair.
This meeting in the Azores also shows the importance of transatlantic
relations, and also shows the solidarity among our countries.
Actually, these agreements have approved two statements, one statement
on transatlantic relations, and a declarative statement on Iraq.
We have joined this initiative and we organized it here in the Azores
because we thought this was the last opportunity for a political
solution -- and this is how we see it, this is the last possibility
for a political solution to the problem. Maybe it's a small chance, a
small possibility, but even if it's one in one million, it's always
worthwhile fighting for a political solution. And I think this is the
message that we can get from this Atlantic summit.
As I was saying, for my English-speaking guests, I'll speak English
now. First of all, let me say, welcome, George Bush, to Europe. I
think it's important that we meet here, in a European country, in
Portugal, but in this territory of Azores that is halfway between the
continent of Europe and the continent of America. I think it's not
only logistically convenient, it has a special political meaning --
the beautiful meaning of our friendship and our commitment to our
shared values.
So welcome to all of you. Welcome to you. And I now give the floor to
President George Bush.
THE PRESIDENT: Jose, thank you very much for your hospitality. You've
done a great job on such short notice. And I'm honored to be standing
to here with you and two other friends as we work toward a great
cause, and that is peace and security in this world.
We've had a really good discussion. We've been doing a lot of phone
talking and it was good to get together and to visit and to talk. And
we concluded that tomorrow is a moment of truth for the world. Many
nations have voiced a commitment to peace and security. And now they
must demonstrate that commitment to peace and security in the only
effective way, by supporting the immediate and unconditional
disarmament of Saddam Hussein.
The dictator of Iraq and his weapons of mass destruction are a threat
to the security of free nations. He is a danger to his neighbors. He's
a sponsor of terrorism. He's an obstacle to progress in the Middle
East. For decades he has been the cruel, cruel oppressor of the Iraq
people.
On this very day 15 years ago, Saddam Hussein launched a chemical
weapons attack on the Iraqi village of Halabja. With a single order
the Iraqi regime killed thousands of men and women and children,
without mercy or without shame. Saddam Hussein has proven he is
capable of any crime. We must not permit his crimes to reach across
the world.
Saddam Hussein has a history of mass murder. He possesses the weapons
of mass murder. He agrees -- he agreed to disarm Iraq of these weapons
as a condition for ending the Gulf War over a decade ago. The United
Nations Security Council, in Resolution 1441, has declared Iraq in
material breach of its longstanding obligations, demanding once again
Iraq's full and immediate disarmament, and promised serious
consequences if the regime refused to comply. That resolution was
passed unanimously and its logic is inescapable; the Iraqi regime will
disarm itself, or the Iraqi regime will be disarmed by force. And the
regime has not disarmed itself.
Action to remove the threat from Iraq would also allow the Iraqi
people to build a better future for their society. And Iraq's
liberation would be the beginning, not the end, of our commitment to
its people. We will supply humanitarian relief, bring economic
sanctions to a swift close, and work for the long-term recovery of
Iraq's economy. We'll make sure that Iraq's natural resources are used
for the benefit of their owners, the Iraqi people.
Iraq has the potential to be a great nation. Iraq's people are skilled
and educated. We'll push as quickly as possible for an Iraqi interim
authority to draw upon the talents of Iraq's people to rebuild their
nation. We're committed to the goal of a unified Iraq, with democratic
institutions of which members of all ethnic and religious groups are
treated with dignity and respect.
To achieve this vision, we will work closely with the international
community, including the United Nations and our coalition partners. If
military force is required, we'll quickly seek new Security Council
resolutions to encourage broad participation in the process of helping
the Iraqi people to build a free Iraq.
Crucial days lie ahead for the world. I want to thank the leaders here
today, and many others, for stepping forward and taking leadership,
and showing their resolve in the cause of peace and the cause of
security.
Jose Maria.
PRESIDENT AZNAR: Good evening everyone. I would firstly like to thank
the Prime Minister, Jose Durao, for his hospitality and welcome, which
I particularly am grateful for. And I'm very pleased to be in the
Azores once again.
I have short remarks on our debate on this situation and on the
documents we've agreed on during today's meeting. I'd first like to
refer to our document on Atlantic solidarity. We have renewed Atlantic
commitment on our common values and principles, in favor of democracy,
freedom and the rule of law.
We understand that the expression of this commitment is essential, by
way of guarantee of peace, security and international freedom. And I
honestly believe that there is no other alternative to the expression
of the Atlantic commitment in terms of security. We are committed on a
day-to-day fight against new threats, such as terrorism, weapons of
mass destruction, and tyrannic regimes that do not comply with
international law. They threaten all of us, and we must all act,
consequently.
This transatlantic link, this transatlantic solidarity has always
been, is, and should continue to be, in my opinion, a great European
commitment, and as such, amongst other things, we express it this way
-- without this commitment, today's Europe could not be understood.
And without that commitment, it would be very difficult to picture the
Europe of tomorrow.
So I would like to invite our friends, our allies, to leave aside any
circumstantial differences and to work together seriously for that
commitment of democracy, freedom and peace, so that this becomes a
commitment of us all.
We've agreed on launching, on boosting the Middle East peace process,
and on our vision that that peace process has to accommodate with all
necessary security guarantees and putting an end to terrorism. And
this should end with the peaceful coexistence of two states, an
independent Palestinian state and the Israeli state.
In view of the situation created by Iraq, with their continued
non-compliance of international law, I would like to remind you that
we all said before we came here that we were not coming to the Azores
to make a declaration of war, that we were coming after having made
every possible effort, after having made this effort, continuing to
make this effort, to working to achieve the greatest possible
agreement, and for international law to be respected and for U.N.
resolutions to be respected.
And we would like to say that we are aware of the fact that this is
the last opportunity -- the last opportunity expressed in Resolution
1441, adopted unanimously by the Security Council, and that being
aware that this is the last opportunity, we are also making the last
effort. And we are ready to make this last effort of the very many
efforts we've been making throughout these last weeks and months.
We are well aware of the international world public opinion, of its
concern. And we are also very well aware of our responsibilities and
obligations. If Saddam Hussein wants to disarm and avoid the serious
consequences that he has been warned about by the United Nations, he
can do so. And nothing in our document, nor in our statement, can
prevent him from doing so, if he wants to. So his is the sole
responsibility.
Tony.
PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Thank you, Jose Maria. Thank you, Jose, for
hosting us today. And I think it's just worth returning to the key
point, which is our responsibility to uphold the will of the United
Nations set out in Resolution 1441 last November. And for four and a
half months, now, we've worked hard to get Saddam to cooperate fully,
unconditionally, as that resolution demanded.
Even some days ago we were prepared to set out clear tests that
allowed us to conclude whether he was cooperating fully or not, with a
clear ultimatum to him if he refused to do so. And the reason we
approached it in that is that that is what we agreed in Resolution
1441. This was his final opportunity; he had to disarm
unconditionally. Serious consequences would follow if he failed to do
so.
And this is really the impasse that we have, because some say there
should be no ultimatum, no authorization of force in any new U.N.
resolution; instead, more discussion in the event of noncompliance.
But the truth is that without a credible ultimatum authorizing force
in the event of noncompliance, then more discussion is just more
delay, with Saddam remaining armed with weapons of mass destruction
and continuing a brutal, murderous regime in Iraq.
And this game that he is playing is, frankly, a game that he has
played over the last 12 years. Disarmament never happens. But instead,
the international community is drawn into some perpetual negotiation,
gestures designed to divide the international community, but never
real and concrete cooperation leading to disarmament.
And there's not a single person on the Security Council that doubts
the fact he is not fully cooperating today. Nobody, even those who
disagree with the position that we have outlined, is prepared to say
there is full cooperation, as 1441 demanded.
Not a single interview has taken place outside of Iraq, even though
1441 provided for it. Still, no proper production or evidence of the
destruction, or, for example, -- just to take one example, the 10,000
liters of anthrax that the inspectors just a week ago said was
unaccounted for. And that is why it is so important that the
international community, at this time, gives a strong and unified
message.
And I have to say that I really believe that had we given that strong
message sometime ago, Saddam might have realized that the games had to
stop. So now we have reached the point of decision, and we make a
final appeal for there to be that strong, unified message on behalf of
the international community that lays down a clear ultimatum to Saddam
that authorizes force if he continues to defy the will of the whole of
the international community set out in 1441.
We will do all we can in the short time that remains to make a final
round of contacts, to see whether there is a way through this impasse.
But we are in the final stages, because, after 12 years of failing to
disarm him, now is the time when we have to decide.
Two other points, briefly, on the documents that we've put before you.
The first is the -- President Aznar was just saying to you a moment
ago on the transatlantic alliance is, I think, very important. Some of
you will have heard me say this before, but let me just repeat it. I
believe that Europe and America should stand together on the big
issues of the day. I think it is a tragedy when we don't. And that
transatlantic alliance is strong and we need to strengthen it still
further.
And secondly, we've set out for you that should it come to conflict,
we make a pledge to the people of Iraq. As President Bush was just
saying to you a moment or two ago, it is the people of Iraq who are
the primary victims of Saddam: the thousands of children that die
needlessly every year; the people locked up in his prisons or executed
simply for showing disagreement with the regime; a country that is
potentially prosperous reduced to poverty; 60 percent of the
population reliant on food aid.
And what we say is that we will protect Iraq's territorial integrity;
we will support representative government that unites Iraq on the
democratic basis of human rights and the rule of law; that we will
help Iraq rebuild -- and not rebuild because of the problems of
conflict, where if it comes to that, we will do everything we can to
minimize the suffering of the Iraqi people, but rebuild Iraq because
of the appalling legacy that the rule of Saddam has left the Iraqi
people -- and in particular, Iraq's natural resources remain the
property of the people of Iraq. And that wealth should be used for the
Iraqi people. It is theirs, and will remain so, administered by the
U.N. in the way we set out.
Finally, on the Middle East peace process, I welcome very much the
statement that President Bush made the other day. I think it's
important now. He said he wanted a partner on the Palestinian side. I
think the coming appointment of Abu Mazen is so important there. It
allows us to take this process forward. The road map give us the way
forward. The appointment of Abu Mazen gives us the right partner to
take this forward. And I believe that that will demonstrate, and it's
important to demonstrate, in particular at this time, that our
approach to people in the Middle East, in that troubled region is
indeed even-handed. And all of us will work to make sure that that
vision of the Middle East, two states, Israel confident of its purity,
a Palestinian state that is viable, comes about and is made reality.
Thank you.
Q: (Inaudible.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes.  They couldn't hear the question.
Q: I was asking the Portuguese Prime Minister, how does he see the
result of this summit. Does the Prime Minister think that starting
now, Portugal has more responsibilities with this war that seems to be
inevitable?
PRIME MINISTER BARROSO: The results of the summit, as I described them
and as all the other heads of state and government said it, too, this
summit is -- this is the last opportunity for a political solution to
this very serious problem for the international community. This has
been said here. It's been said here that tomorrow -- tomorrow we'll
start with these last initiatives towards a political solution. And
it's for that reason I am very, very happy with the results of this
summit.
Now, coming to our responsibility in case there is a conflict, I must
say that the responsibility falls entirely on the dictator Saddam
Hussein. He bears the entire responsibility because he has not
respected for all of these years international law and consistently
violated the U.N. resolutions. And in that case, if there is a
conflict, I want to repeat it once more, Portugal will be next -- side
by side with his allies. And the fact that we are here today in the
Azores with the United States, with Spain and with the UK, this is
very significant.
As it's been said here before, the transatlantic relationship is very,
very important, not only for Europe and for the U.S., but it's very
important for the whole world. I remember a few days ago, Kofi Annan
in the European conference in Brussels, said the same thing -- he said
this is very important. It's very important for Europe and the U.S. to
remain united and not separate, because the world needs the U.S. and
Europe working together towards the same direction, in the same sense
-- not only about the security, but also fighting under-development
and all the other tasks that fall to the international community.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Ron Fournier.
Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Before I ask my question I just want to
nail down one thing so there's no confusion. When you talk about
tomorrow being the moment of truth, are you saying that is the --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Is this the question, or are you trying to work in two
questions?
Q: Yes, sir. (Laughter.) Because there's one thing we need to make
clear. When you say tomorrow is the moment of truth, does that mean
tomorrow is the last day that the resolution can be voted up or down,
and at the end of the day tomorrow, one way or another the diplomatic
window has close?
PRESIDENT BUSH: That's what I'm saying.
Q: Thank you, sir.  And now for the question  -- 
PRESIDENT BUSH: And now for your question?
Q: That being the case, regardless  -- 
PRESIDENT BUSH: That being my answer  -- 
Q: Regardless of whether the resolution goes up or down or gets
withdrawn, it seems to me you're going to be facing a moment of truth.
And given that you've already said you don't think there's very much
chance Saddam Hussein is going to disarm, and given that you say you
don't think there's very much chance he's going to go to go into
exile, aren't we going to war?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Tomorrow is the day that we will determine whether or
not diplomacy can work. And we sat and visited about this issue, about
how best to spend our time between now and tomorrow. And as Prime
Minister Blair said, we'll be working the phones and talking to our
partners and talking to those who may now clearly understand the
objective, and we'll see how it goes tomorrow.
Saddam Hussein can leave the country, if he's interested in peace. You
see, the decision is his to make. And it's been his to make all along
as to whether or not there's the use of the military. He got to decide
whether he was going to disarm, and he didn't. He can decide whether
he wants to leave the country. These are his decisions to make. And
thus far he has made bad decisions.
Q: I understand that if tomorrow is the day for taking the final
decision, that means that you consider that there's no possible way
out through the United Nations because a majority does not support a
war action. I would like to know, Mr. Blair, Mr. Bush, whether in that
military offensive you count on many countries, whether it's going to
be the UK and the U.S. carrying out the military offensive? I
understand from what Mr. Blair that you're counting on the U.N. for
the reconstruction. Are you going to look for other countries through
the United Nations?
And for Mr. Aznar, what is Spain's participation in that military
offensive, in addition to your political support?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Resolution 1441, which was unanimously approved, that
said Saddam Hussein would unconditionally disarm, and if he didn't,
there would be serious consequences. The United Nations Security
Council looked at the issue four and a half months ago and voted
unanimously to say: Disarm immediately and unconditionally, and if you
don't, there are going to be serious consequences. The world has
spoken. And it did it in a unified voice.
Sorry.
PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: The issue is very simply this, that we cannot
have a situation where what happens through the United Nations, having
agreed to 1441, having said there would be serious consequences if he
does not cooperate fully and unconditionally, what we cannot have is a
situation where we simply go back for endless discussion.
Now, we have provided the right diplomatic way through this, which is
to lay down a clear ultimatum to Saddam: Cooperate or face disarmament
by force. And that is entirely within the logic, the letter, the
spirit of 1441. And that is why -- all the way through we have tried
to provide a diplomatic solution. After over four and a half months
since we passed Resolution 1441, we're now three months on from the
declaration that Saddam on the 8th of December that not a single
person in the international community -- not one -- believes was an
honest declaration of what he had. And yet, 1441 said, the first step
of cooperation was to make an honest declaration.
So when people say haven't we exhausted all the diplomatic avenues, we
tried exhausting. But understand from our perspective and from the
perspective of the security of the world, we cannot simply go back to
the Security Council, for this discussion to be superseded by that
discussion, to be superseded by another discussion. That's what's
happened for 12 years. That's why he's still got the weapons of mass
destruction. We have to come to the point of decision. And that really
is what the next period of time is going to be about.
PRESIDENT AZNAR: Well, I would like to say that this statement we're
making today, as we've all said, it's a last chance, one last attempt
to reach the greatest possible consensus amongst ourselves. And I can
assure all of you that we've made -- we have all made -- enormous
efforts, and we're going to continue making these efforts in order to
try to reach an agreement, to reach a solution.
We have our own worry, our own responsibility to make U.N. resolutions
be abided by. If the Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution
-- Resolution 1441 -- giving one last opportunity to disarm to someone
who has weapons of mass destruction and we know he has used them, the
Security Council cannot, one year after the other, wait for its
resolutions to be implemented. That would be the best way to do away
with it altogether. And it could do away with all the United Nations'
credibility. And we honestly don't want that to happen.
To me, there is no -- you cannot have the same distance between
illegality and impunity. And neither Saddam Hussein, nor any other
tyrant with weapons of mass destruction can set the rules for
international law and the international community.
Q: I'm from the BBC. Can I ask, first of all, Prime Minister Blair --
you said that you want a second resolution to be put down and voted
on. Could we be clear; is that what's going to happen tomorrow, under
all circumstances?
And either way -- also, if I may, for President Bush -- if you don't
get that second resolution, what is the future for the United Nations?
You talked about Saddam Hussein dividing world community. Surely, he
succeeded.
PRIME MINISTER BLAIR: Well, on your last point, I think this is one of
the things that is tragic about this situation, that Saddam plays
these games and we carry on allowing him to play them. Now, we will
do, in the next period of time, with respect to the resolution, what
we believe to be in the interest of the U.N.
But I would say why I think it is so important that even now, at this
late stage, we try to get the United Nations to be the root of
resolving this -- because the threat is there and everyone accepts it:
the threat of weapons of mass destruction, the threat of weapons of
mass destruction in the hands of terrorists who will cause maximum
damage to our people. Everybody accepts the disarmament of Saddam has
to happen. Everybody accepts that he was supposed to cooperate fully
with the inspectors. Everybody accepts that he is not doing so.
So, whatever the tactics within the U.N. -- and that's something we
can decide -- whatever those tactics, the key point of principle is
this: that when we came together last November and laid down
Resolution 1441, now is the moment when we decide whether we meant it
and it was his final opportunity to disarm, or face serious
consequences -- or whether, alternatively, we're simply going to drag
out the diplomatic process forever. And that's why I say it's the
point of decision.
Q: Vote or not?
PRESIDENT BUSH: I was the guy that said they ought to vote. And one
country voted -- at least showed their cards, I believe. It's an old
Texas expression, show your cards, when you're playing poker. France
showed their cards. After I said what I said, they said they were
going to veto anything that held Saddam to account. So cards have been
played. And we'll just have to take an assessment after tomorrow to
determine what that card meant.
Let me say something about the U.N. It's a very important
organization. That's why I went there on September the 12th, 2002, to
give the speech, the speech that called the U.N. into account, that
said if you're going to pass resolutions, let's make sure your words
mean something. Because I understand the wars of the 21st century are
going to require incredible international cooperation. We're going to
have to cooperate to cut the money of the terrorists, and the ability
for nations, dictators who have weapons of mass destruction to provide
training and perhaps weapons to terrorist organizations. We need to
cooperate, and we are. Our countries up here are cooperating
incredibly well.
And the U.N. must mean something. Remember Rwanda, or Kosovo. The U.N.
didn't do its job. And we hope tomorrow the U.N. will do its job. If
not, all of us need to step back and try to figure out how to make the
U.N. work better as we head into the 21st century. Perhaps one way
will be, if we use military force, in the post-Saddam Iraq the U.N.
will definitely need to have a role. And that way it can begin to get
its legs, legs of responsibility back.
But it's important for the U.N. to be able to function well if we're
going to keep the peace. And I will work hard to see to it that at
least from our perspective, that the U.N. is able to be -- able to be
a responsibility body, and when it says something, it means it, for
the sake of peace and for the sake of the security, for the capacity
to win the war of -- the first war of the 21st century, which is the
war against terrorism and weapons of mass destruction in the hands of
dictators.
Thank you all.
PRIME MINISTER BARROSO: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
This is the end of the conference. Have a good trip.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)