U.S. doubts Iraq's efforts
Posted on 12/03/2002 2:35:59 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
U.S. doubts Iraq's efforts
'Path of action' planned if Hussein doesn't comply with inspections
12/03/2002
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Monday the "signs are not encouraging" in Iraq that Saddam Hussein will fully comply with the new U.N. weapons inspections.
And Vice President Dick Cheney, in separate, carefully coordinated remarks, emphasized that the United States stood ready to "take the battle to the enemy" in its international war against terrorism.
"The only path to safety is the path of action," Mr. Cheney declared, reiterating the administration's doctrine of pre-emptive strikes. "The United States of America will act."
The vice president spoke first in Monday's one-two administration punch, addressing a leadership conference of the Air National Guard in Denver, followed by the president at a Pentagon ceremony to sign legislation authorizing $355.5 billion in military spending this fiscal year.
Both men pointedly noted next Sunday's U.N. deadline for Mr. Hussein to declare all his weapons of mass destruction. They warned Mr. Hussein that only full compliance could avert a military strike.
"The demands of the world will be met," Mr. Cheney said, "or action will be unavoidable."
Mr. Hussein must provide a "credible and complete" accounting of his chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs - and any missile system being developed to deliver them, Mr. Bush said, or face what he called his "last option."
"The temporary peace of denial and looking away from danger would only be a prelude to broader war and greater danger," he said.
Not playing games
The U.N. weapons inspections under way in Iraq for the last week will "only work if Iraq fully complies," Mr. Bush said, adding that the inspectors were not in Iraq to "play hide and seek" with Mr. Hussein.
"In the inspections process, the United States will be making one judgment: Has Saddam Hussein changed his behavior of the last 11 years? Has he decided to cooperate willingly and comply completely, or has he not?" Mr. Bush said.
"So far," he said, "the signs are not encouraging."
AP President Bush, signing legislation at the Pentagon authorizing $355.5 billion in military spending, said Monday that Iraq's cooperation with inspections would be assessed. |
The continuing Iraqi attacks on U.S. and British military jets patrolling the no-fly zones are not in the "path of compliance," he said. And neither is a regime that answers U.N. mandates with "protests and falsehoods."
Deadline looms
Looking to Sunday's deadline, the administration sought to remind the nation of the ongoing war against terrorism and to tie Iraq to it.
"Saddam Hussein is harboring terrorists and the instruments of terror," Mr. Cheney said. "He is pressing forward with weapons of mass destruction."
And Mr. Cheney declared flatly: "His regime has had high-level contacts with al-Qaeda going back a decade and has provided training to al-Qaeda terrorists."
He provided no details, however. Mr. Bush never mentioned any, either, during his remarks at the Pentagon.
At the White House and the State Department, administration officials noted that U.N. inspections were just beginning and urged the Iraqis, who have steadfastly denied having any weapons of mass destruction, to cooperate.
"It's a long process," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, "and their cooperation is needed on a consistent basis, day after day.
"It's still too early to determine how long it will take. But the burden rests squarely on Iraq to fully comply."
Nonetheless, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Sunday's deadline looms as an "important milestone."
"The president is skeptical that Saddam Hussein will comply," Mr. Fleischer said. But he offered no definitive guidelines as to how the administration might proceed after the deadline.
Sunday will "mark the beginning of a process," Mr. Fleischer said, "a process of verification, to find out whether or not Saddam Hussein is indeed telling the truth or whether or not he had indeed disarmed."
If Mr. Hussein declares he has no weapons of mass destruction, Mr. Fleischer said, "then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world."
"We have intelligence information about what Saddam Hussein possesses," he asserted.
Pressed by reporters for details, Mr. Fleischer provided none.
"It's no secret," he said, "we've said many times, you've heard the president say it repeatedly - that he [Mr. Hussein] has chemical and biological weapons, and he has missiles that can reach in excess of 150 kilometers - all three of which are violations of his sworn commitments to the United Nations."
Monday's remarks by Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, coming after the long Thanksgiving weekend, were their first since U.N. inspectors began work in Iraq, moving from one installation to another.
So far, though, the inspectors have not publicly reported finding any trace of any weapons of mass destruction.
It's difficult work, made more difficult by a regime that in the past has been able to quickly move key elements of its weapons programs to new hiding places, Mr. Fleischer said.
"The president wants to make certain the inspectors have every tool available so they can do their job," he said, "because the history of Saddam Hussein is the will to do everything in his power to lie, to deceive, to deny, to hide."
E-mail bhillman@dallasnews.com
That's why the inspectors (who are a joke in themselves) are a farce! The whole process is meaningless & the U.N. resolution is worthless!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
