21 March 2003
White House: Coalition Making Progress in Campaign to Free Iraq
("No concrete facts" on location of Saddam Hussein and his sons) (608)
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent
Washington -- Progress is being made in the coalition campaign to
disarm Saddam Hussein's regime and to free the people of Iraq from a
brutal dictator, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told
reporters March 21.
He spoke in the early afternoon soon after the "shock and awe" part of
the military campaign had begun with the intense bombardment of
military targets in Baghdad.
Asked if President Bush is satisfied with the progress being made by
coalition forces, the press secretary said, "The president believes
that progress is being made. The president has tremendous confidence
in the men and women of our military, and the leadership of the
military, and in the plan that has been written to disarm Saddam
Hussein's regime and to liberate the people of Iraq."
"The use of force is being pursued to help make this get settled in
the most peaceful way possible. We shall see what the ultimate outcome
is," Fleischer said.
"There are all kinds of rumors" about what has happened to the Iraqi
dictator and his two sons, Fleischer told questioning reporters, "but
there are no concrete facts to report."
Asked about civilian casualties, Fleischer pointed out that the United
States has "a modern military that is capable of engaging in precision
strikes, so that the targets are indeed the military targets. But he
made clear that, as always in war, there is risk that innocents will
be killed. "And the president deeply regrets that Saddam Hussein has
put innocents in a place where their lives will be lost," Fleischer
said.
President Bush had given Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave the country
to avoid military conflict, Fleischer reminded reporters. "The
President wishes Saddam Hussein had left the country so that this
would not have come to pass. Saddam Hussein made his choice."
Asked how the Bush administration expects coalition forces to be
greeted on the ground in Baghdad, Fleischer said, "That remains to be
seen. The president believes, as a result of much of the information
that he has heard, that the Iraqi people are yearning to be free and
to be liberated. The Iraqi people have lived under a brutal
dictatorship led by Saddam Hussein, and the history of mankind shows
that people want to be free. And given the chance to throw off a
brutal dictator like Saddam Hussein, people will rejoice."
"As the military effort continues," he said, "I think you will see
information develop for yourself, firsthand. This is one of the
reasons that there are so many reporters present with the military. In
many ways, you will have these answers yourselves. You are there, you
are on the ground. And you will find the answers and they will speak
volumes themselves."
Fleischer repeated that "we have evidence and information that Iraq
has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly.
This was the reason that the president felt so strongly that we needed
to take military action to disarm Saddam Hussein, since he would not
do it himself."
Fleischer said President Bush is spending the weekend at Camp David,
the presidential retreat in the Maryland mountains. He is scheduled to
meet there the morning of March 22 with the National Security Council,
including Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell,
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Director of Central Intelligence
George Tenet, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
Fleischer pointed out that Camp David is a Marine facility and "has
every modern communication."
(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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