Washington: United States President George W Bush has warned that he would give Iraq
only "weeks, not months" to disarm peacefully, even as he said Washington
would "welcome" Saddam Hussein going into exile.
However, Bush reiterated that the "goal" of disarming Iraq would remain the same
regardless of who was in power in Baghdad.
"Hopefully, the pressure of the free world will convince Saddam Hussein to
relinquish power. And should he choose to leave the country, along with a lot of the
other henchmen who have tortured the Iraqi people, we would welcome that, of
course," Bush told reporters on January 30.
He said the use of military to disarm Saddam Hussein would be his "last choice and
not the first". But "no matter how Saddam is dealt with, the goal of disarming Iraq
stays the same, regardless of who is in charge of the government."
Bush was addressing a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi.
In an Oval Office meeting with Berlusconi, Bush said he was meeting world leaders as
part of a final diplomatic thrust that is "a matter of weeks, not months. For sake
of peace, this issue must be resolved".
Earlier, White House spokesman Ari Fleisher said, "Let's hope it (exile for Saddam)
happens, but plans are being made on the likelihood that it won't."
"The more pressure on Saddam Hussein and the more unified the world is, the more the
likelihood of this being resolved peacefully – as a result, for example, of his
going into exile," Fleisher said.
PTI
