Washington: Reiterating his stand on disarming Saddam Hussein if he does not comply
with UN demands, US President George W Bush has warned the United Nations that it is
a "moment of truth" for the world body with regard to Iraq.
"It's a moment of truth for the United Nations. The United Nations gets to decide
shortly whether or not it is going to be relevant in terms of keeping the peace,
whether or not its words mean anything," Bush told a Republican party retreat
reception at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, on February 9.
Ignoring reports from Baghdad that the chief weapons inspectors now feel that Saddam
Hussein appears to have had a "change of heart" on co-operating with them, Bush
insisted that "it is clear that not only is Saddam Hussein deceiving, it is clear he
is not disarming".
"For the sake of peace and for the sake of security, the United States and our
friends and allies, we will disarm Saddam Hussein if he will not disarm himself," he
said.
He said he is glad that history has called the US into action at this point in time,
because "there is no doubt in my mind, when we make our mind up, we can achieve a
lot".
"As we work to make the world a safer place," said Bush, "we will also work to make
the world a freer place."
The Iraqi leader "wants the world to think that hide-and-seek is a game that we
should play. It's over… and so you'll see us over the next short period of time
working with friends and the United Nations to bring that body along," the President
said.
PTI
