IN the ghostly green light of a soldier’s night vision binoculars, British troops in Kuwait move stealthily towards the Iraqi border.

The men of 16 Air Assault Brigade prepared for war as US President George Bush today issued a 48-hour deadline for dictator Saddam Hussein to flee the country or face death.

The sombre US leader set the clock ticking for war in a dramatic ultimatum beamed around the world.

He delivered a stark message giving Saddam just two days to go into exile — and warned he must take his bloodthirsty sons and top generals with him to prevent war.

Saddam has already vowed never to go into exile, meaning conflict is now just hours away.

War experts predicted the air bombardment of Baghdad would begin almost immediately after the deadline runs out at 1am UK time on Thursday.

Speaking from the Cross Hall in the White House, grim-faced Mr Bush told the world that diplomacy was at an end.

He said: "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.

"Our good faith has not been returned. The Iraqi regime has used diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage. It has defied Security Council resolutions demanding full disarmament.

"Over the years, UN weapons inspectors have been threatened, 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.

"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 harboured terrorists, including operatives of al-Qa’ida.

"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.

"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.

"Recognizing the threat to our country, the United States Congress voted overwhelmingly last year to support the use of force against Iraq."

Mr Bush said America had tried to work with the UN to resolve the issue peacefully through Security Council resolution 1441 ordering Saddam to fully disarm.

He went on: "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 4½ 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.

"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.

"All the decades of deceit and cruelty have now reached an end. Saddam Hussein and his sons (Uday and Qusay) must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict commenced at a time of our choosing.

"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, prosperous and free Iraq.

"In free Iraq there will be no more wars of aggression against your neighbours, 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."

The President urged the Iraqi military not to fight for a “dying regime” and warned against actions like destroying oil wells vital to future prosperity of their country.

He added: "Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the American people can know every measure has been taken to avoid war and every measure will be taken to win it.

"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.

"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 Saddam Hussein is disarmed."

"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.

"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."

President Bush warned against the appeasement which helped some of the “murderous dictators” of the 20th Century to create havoc across the world:

He said: "In this century, when evil men plot chemical, biological and nuclear terror, appeasement could bring destruction of a kind never seen before.

"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 defence.

"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 honour 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 finally departed, they can set an example to all the Middle East of a vital, 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.”

Created: Mon Mar 17 21:38:16 EST 2003

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EAT IT, LEFTIES!

3 posted on 03/17/2003 7:45:37 PM PST by Dont Mention the War ("Quinnipiac" - Native American for "Big Smelly Compost Heap of RAT Dung")

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