Washington: US President George W Bush on March 1 said America is determined to
enforce the demands of the United Nations Security Council by confronting the grave
and growing danger of Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction.
"This dictator will not be allowed to intimidate and blackmail the civilised world,
or to supply his terrible weapons to terrorist groups, who would not hesitate to use
them against us. The safety of the American people depends on ending this threat,"
Bush said in his weekly radio address to the nation.
"But America's cause is always larger than America's security. We also stand for the
advance of freedom and opportunity and hope. The lives and freedom of the Iraqi
people matter little to Saddam Hussein, but they matter greatly to us," he said.
Saddam, said Bush, has a long history of brutal crimes, especially in time of war –
even against his own citizens. If conflict comes, he could target civilians or place
them inside military facilities. He could encourage ethnic violence. He could
destroy natural resources. Or worst of all, he could use his weapons of mass
destruction.
"In order to minimise the suffering of Iraq's people", said Bush, "the US and our
coalition partners stand ready to provide vital help. We will deliver medicine to
the sick, and make sure that Iraq's 55,000 food distribution sites, operating with
supplies from the oil-for-food programme, are stocked and open as soon a possible."
He said US is stockpiling relief supplies for one million people.
"We are moving into place nearly three million emergency rations to feed the hungry."
The US and Great Britain are providing tens of millions of Dollars to the UN high
commissioner for refugees, and to such groups as the World Food Programme and United
Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), so they will be ready to
provide emergency aid to the Iraqi people.
"We will also lead in carrying out the urgent and dangerous work of destroying
chemical and biological weapons. We will provide security against those who try to
spread chaos, or settle scores, or threaten the territorial integrity of Iraq. And
we will seek to protect Iraq's natural resources from sabotage by a dying regime,
and ensure they are used for the benefit of Iraq's own people," he said.
Bush maintained US has no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq's new
government. "That choice belongs to the Iraqi people. Yet we will ensure that one
brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All Iraqis must have a voice in the new
government, and all citizens must have their rights protected."
PTI
