'This
Is Not a Question of Authority; It Is a Question of Will'
The Washington Post, Tuesday, March 18, 2003
The text of President Bush's address to the nation last
night:
My fellow citizens, events in Iraq have now reached the
final days of decision. For more than a decade, the United States and other
nations have pursued patient and honorable efforts to disarm the Iraqi regime
without war. That regime pledged to reveal and destroy all of its weapons of
mass destruction as a condition for ending the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
Since then, the world has engaged in 12 years of
diplomacy. We have passed more than a dozen resolutions in the United Nations
Security Council. We have sent hundreds of weapons inspectors to oversee the
disarmament of Iraq.
Our good faith has not been returned. The Iraqi regime
has used diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage. It has uniformly defied
Security Council resolutions demanding full disarmament.
Over the years, U.N. weapons inspectors have been
threatened by Iraqi officials, electronically bugged and systematically deceived.
Peaceful efforts to disarm the Iraq regime have failed again and again because
we are not dealing with peaceful men.
Intelligence gathered by this and other governments
leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of
the most lethal weapons ever devised. This regime has already used weapons of
mass destruction against Iraq's neighbors and against Iraq's people.
The regime has a history of reckless aggression in the
Middle East. It has a deep hatred of America and our friends and it has aided,
trained and harbored terrorists, including operatives of al Qaeda.
The danger is clear: Using chemical, biological or, one
day, nuclear weapons obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorists could
fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of
innocent people in our country or any other.
The United States and other nations did nothing to
deserve or invite this threat, but we will do everything to defeat it. Instead
of drifting along toward tragedy, we will set a course toward safety.
Before the day of horror can come, before it is too
late to act, this danger will be removed.
The United States of America has the sovereign
authority to use force in assuring its own national security. That duty falls to
me as commander of chief by the oath I have sworn, by the oath I will keep.
Recognizing the threat to our country, the United
States Congress voted overwhelmingly last year to support the use of force
against Iraq.
America tried to work with the United Nations to
address this threat because we wanted to resolve the issue peacefully. We
believe in the mission of the United Nations.
One reason the U.N. was founded after the Second World
War was to confront aggressive dictators actively and early, before they can
attack the innocent and destroy the peace.
In the case of Iraq, the Security Council did act in
the early 1990s. Under Resolutions 678 and 687, both still in effect, the United
States and our allies are authorized to use force in ridding Iraq of weapons of
mass destruction.
This is not a question of authority; it is a question
of will.
Last September, I went to the U.N. General Assembly and
urged the nations of the world to unite and bring an end to this danger. On
November 8th, the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441, finding
Iraq in material breach of its obligations and vowing serious consequences if
Iraq did not fully and immediately disarm.
Today, no nation can possibly claim that Iraq has
disarmed. And it will not disarm so long as Saddam Hussein holds power.
For the last 41/2 months, the United States and our
allies have worked within the Security Council to enforce that council's
long-standing demands. Yet some permanent members of the Security Council have
publicly announced that they will veto any resolution that compels the
disarmament of Iraq. These governments share our assessment of the danger, but
not our resolve to meet it.
Many nations, however, do have the resolve and
fortitude to act against this threat to peace, and a broad coalition is now
gathering to enforce the just demands of the world.
The United Nations Security Council has not lived up to
its responsibilities, so we will rise to ours.
In recent days, some governments in the Middle East
have been doing their part. They have delivered public and private messages
urging the dictator to leave Iraq so that disarmament can proceed peacefully.
He has thus far refused.
All the decades of deceit and cruelty have now reached
an end. Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their
refusal to do so will result in military conflict commenced at a time of our
choosing.
For their own safety, all foreign nationals, including
journalists and inspectors, should leave Iraq immediately.
Many Iraqis can hear me tonight in a translated radio
broadcast, and I have a message for them: If we must begin a military campaign,
it will be directed against the lawless men who rule your country and not
against you.
As our coalition takes away their power, we will
deliver the food and medicine you need. We will tear down the apparatus of
terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and free. In
free Iraq there will be no more wars of aggression against your neighbors, no
more poison factories, no more executions of dissidents, no more torture
chambers and rape rooms.
The tyrant will soon be gone. The day of your
liberation is near.
It is too late for Saddam Hussein to remain in power.
It is not too late for the Iraq military to act with honor and protect your
country, by permitting the peaceful entry of coalition forces to eliminate
weapons of mass destruction. Our forces will give Iraqi military units clear
instructions on actions they can take to avoid being attacked and destroyed.
I urge every member of the Iraqi military and
intelligence services: If war comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not
worth your own life.
And all Iraqi military and civilian personnel should
listen carefully to this warning: In any conflict, your fate will depend on your
actions. Do not destroy oil wells, a source of wealth that belongs to the Iraqi
people. Do not obey any command to use weapons of mass destruction against
anyone, including the Iraqi people. War crimes will be prosecuted, war criminals
will be punished, and it will be no defense to say, "I was just following
orders."
Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the
American people can know that every measure has been taken to avoid war and
every measure will be taken to win it.
Americans understand the costs of conflict because we
have paid them in the past. War has no certainty except the certainty of
sacrifice. Yet the only way to reduce the harm and duration of war is to apply
the full force and might of our military, and we are prepared to do so.
If Saddam Hussein attempts to cling to power, he will
remain a deadly foe until the end. In desperation, he and terrorist groups might
try to conduct terrorist operations against the American people and our friends.
These attacks are not inevitable. They are, however, possible.
And this very fact underscores the reason we cannot
live under the threat of blackmail. The terrorist threat to America and the
world will be diminished the moment that Saddam Hussein is disarmed.
Our government is on heightened watch against these
dangers. Just as we are preparing to ensure victory in Iraq, we are taking
further actions to protect our homeland.
In recent days, American authorities have expelled from
the country certain individuals with ties to Iraqi intelligence services.
Among other measures, I have directed additional
security at our airports and increased Coast Guard patrols of major seaports.
The Department of Homeland Security is working closely with the nation's
governors to increase armed security at critical facilities across America.
Should enemies strike our country, they would be
attempting to shift our attention with panic and weaken our morale with fear. In
this, they would fail. No act of theirs can alter the course or shake the
resolve of this country. We are a peaceful people, yet we are not a fragile
people. And we will not be intimidated by thugs and killers.
If our enemies dare to strike us, they and all who have
aided them will face fearful consequences.
We are now acting because the risks of inaction would
be far greater. In one year, or five years, the power of Iraq to inflict harm on
all free nations would be multiplied many times over. With these capabilities,
Saddam Hussein and his terrorist allies could choose the moment of deadly
conflict when they are strongest. We choose to meet that threat now where it
arises, before it can appear suddenly in our skies and cities.
The cause of peace requires all free nations to
recognize new and undeniable realities. In the 20th century, some chose to
appease murderous dictators whose threats were allowed to grow into genocide and
global war.
In this century, when evil men plot chemical,
biological and nuclear terror, a policy of appeasement could bring destruction
of a kind never before seen on this earth. Terrorists and terrorist states do
not reveal these threats with fair notice in formal declarations. And responding
to such enemies only after they have struck first is not self-defense. It is
suicide. The security of the world requires disarming Saddam Hussein now.
As we enforce the just demands of the world, we will
also honor the deepest commitments of our country.
Unlike Saddam Hussein, we believe the Iraqi people are
deserving and capable of human liberty, and when the dictator has departed, they
can set an example to all the Middle East of a vital and peaceful and
self-governing nation.
The United States with other countries will work to
advance liberty and peace in that region. Our goal will not be achieved
overnight, but it can come over time. The power and appeal of human liberty is
felt in every life and every land, and the greatest power of freedom is to
overcome hatred and violence, and turn the creative gifts of men and women to
the pursuits of peace. That is the future we choose.
Free nations have a duty to defend our people by
uniting against the violent, and tonight, as we have done before, America and
our allies accept that responsibility.
Good night, and may God continue to bless America.
THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE