Final Plea
Text of Bush's Speech on Iraq's Final Warning
President Says Saddam Hussein Must Leave Iraq Within 48 Hours
Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation
8:01 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: My fellow citizens, 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 its weapons of mass destruction as a condition for ending the
Persian Gulf War in 1991.
Since then, the world has engaged in 12 years of diplomacy. We have passed more than a
dozen resolutions in the United Nations Security Council. We have sent hundreds of weapons
inspectors to oversee the disarmament of Iraq. Our good faith has not been returned.
The Iraqi regime has used diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage. It has uniformly
defied Security Council resolutions demanding full disarmament. Over the years, U.N.
weapon inspectors have been threatened by Iraqi officials, electronically bugged, and
systematically deceived. Peaceful efforts to disarm the Iraqi 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. This regime
has already used weapons of mass destruction against Iraq's neighbors and against Iraq's
people.
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 harbored terrorists, including
operatives of al Qaeda.
The United States and other nations did nothing to deserve or invite this threat. But we
will do everything to defeat it. Instead of drifting along toward tragedy, we will set a
course toward safety. 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. That duty falls to me, as Commander-in-Chief, by the oath I have sworn,
by the oath I will keep.
Recognizing the threat to our country, the United States Congress voted overwhelmingly
last year to support the use of force against Iraq. America tried to work with the United
Nations to address this threat because we wanted to resolve the issue peacefully. We
believe in the mission of the United Nations. One reason the U.N. was founded after the
second world war was to confront aggressive dictators, actively and early, before they can
attack the innocent and destroy the peace.
In the case of Iraq, the Security Council did act, in the early 1990s. Under Resolutions
678 and 687 -- both still in effect -- the United States and our allies are authorized to
use force in ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. This is not a question of
authority, it is a question of will.
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 four-and-a-half 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 they
will veto any resolution that compels the disarmament of Iraq. These governments share our
assessment of the danger, but not our resolve to meet it. 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.
In recent days, some governments in the Middle East have been doing their part. They have
delivered public and private messages urging the dictator to leave Iraq, so that
disarmament can proceed peacefully. He has thus far refused. All the decades of deceit and
cruelty have now reached an end. Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48
hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our
choosing. For their own safety, all foreign nationals -- including journalists and
inspectors -- should leave Iraq immediately.
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 Iraq that is prosperous and free. In a free Iraq, there
will be no more wars of aggression against your neighbors, 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.
It is too late for Saddam Hussein to remain in power. It is not too late for the Iraqi
military to act with honor and protect your country by permitting the peaceful entry of
coalition forces to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. Our forces will give Iraqi
military units clear instructions on actions they can take to avoid being attacked and
destroyed. I urge every member of the Iraqi military and intelligence services, if war
comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not worth your own life.
And all Iraqi military and civilian personnel should listen carefully to this warning. In
any conflict, your fate will depend on your action. Do not destroy oil wells, a source of
wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people. Do not obey any command to use weapons of mass
destruction against anyone, including the Iraqi people. War crimes will be prosecuted. War
criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to say, "I was just following
orders."
Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the American people can know that every
measure has been taken to avoid war, and every measure will be taken to win it. Americans
understand the costs of conflict because we have paid them in the past. War has no
certainty, except the certainty of sacrifice.
Yet, the only way to reduce the harm and duration of war is to apply the full force and
might of our military, and we are prepared to do so. If Saddam Hussein attempts to cling
to power, he will remain a deadly foe until the end. In desperation, he and terrorists
groups might try to conduct terrorist operations against the American people and our
friends. These attacks are not inevitable. They are, however, possible. And 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 that Saddam Hussein is disarmed.
Our government is on heightened watch against these dangers. Just as we are preparing to
ensure victory in Iraq, we are taking further actions to protect our homeland. In recent
days, American authorities have expelled from the country certain individuals with ties to
Iraqi intelligence services. Among other measures, I have directed additional security of
our airports, and increased Coast Guard patrols of major seaports. The Department of
Homeland Security is working closely with the nation's governors to increase armed
security at critical facilities across America.
Should enemies strike our country, they would be attempting to shift our attention with
panic and weaken our morale with fear. In this, they would fail. No act of theirs can
alter the course or shake the resolve of this country. We are a peaceful people -- yet
we're not a fragile people, and we will not be intimidated by thugs and killers. If our
enemies dare to strike us, they and all who have aided them, will face fearful
consequences.
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. With these capabilities, 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.
The cause of peace requires all free nations to recognize new and undeniable realities. In
the 20th century, some chose to appease murderous dictators, whose threats were allowed to
grow into genocide and global war. In this century, when evil men plot chemical,
biological and nuclear terror, a policy of appeasement could bring destruction of a kind
never before seen on this earth.
Terrorists and terror 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-defense, 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 honor 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 departed, they can set an example to all the
Middle East of a vital and 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. Free nations have a duty to defend our people by uniting
against the violent. And tonight, as we have done before, America and our allies accept
that responsibility.
Good night, and may God continue to bless America.