Washington: US President George Bush on February 26 asked Iraqi President Saddam
Hussain to "choose between peace and war".
Bush, who was addressing the Latino Coalition at the White House, said Saddam "gets
to choose between peace and war". The choice, he said, is Saddam Hussein's to make.
It has been his to make all along.
After pointing out that "the mighty United States" and 89 other countries are in a
coalition against al-Qaida, Bush said there is also a threat gathering in Iraq.
It has been gathering for a long period of time. The danger with Iraq is that he can
strike in the neighbourhood, and "he has got the willingness and capacity to train
al-Qaida type organisations and provide them with equipment to hurt America," Bush
said.
The world, he said, has waited for a long time for Saddam Hussein to disarm. "He is
a master of disguise and delay. He'll say, oh, I'm disarming – after he said he has
no arms."
The US, said Bush, will continue to work with its friends, people who understand the
value of freedom. It will insist the UN resolution 1441 be adhered to in its
fullest.
"After all, we want the UN to be a legitimate, effective body. But for the safety of
the American people and for peace in the world, Saddam Hussein will be disarmed, one
way or the other. And this nation does so for the sake of peace."
The use of the military, said Bush, "is the absolute last option. It is the last
alternative for the President. But the risk of doing nothing, the risk of assuming
that Saddam Hussein will change, the risk of thinking and hoping for the best for
the American people far outweighs the risk of committing troops, if we have to."
PTI
