Bush gives Saddam Hussein and sons 48 hours to leave Iraq
Iraq-USA, Politics, 3/18/2003

Iraq's President Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within the next 48 hours, or face military action "commenced at a time of our choosing," US President George Bush said yesterday.

The president's speech came hours after the United States, Britain and Spain announced they would not put their draft U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraqi disarmament to a vote in the council, for failure to garner support for the passage of the resolution.

Those on the council who opposed the resolution "share our assessment of the danger, but not our resolve to meet it," Bush said. "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."

He added: "The United Nations Security Council has not lived up to its responsibilities, so we will rise to ours."

Bush wants to act now against Iraq, even though the UN inspectors said they have not found evidence of Iraqi violations to disarm. Bush said the US will attack Iraq as a preventative measure. Action against Iraq is planned now, he said, "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."

The president called on Iraqi soldiers to "act with honor and protect your country by permitting the peaceful entry of coalition forces to eliminate weapons of mass destruction." He said they would be given clear instructions on actions they can take to avoid being attacked.

Addressing remarks to the Iraqi people, the president said that if military action is necessary, "it will be directed against lawless men who rule your country, and not against you." He said that as the coalition takes control of Iraq, it will deliver food and medicine.

And, he said, "We will tear down the apparatus of terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and free."

The president also outlined heightened security measures being implemented to protect Americans against terrorist plots. The country "will not be intimidated by thugs and killers," he said.

With the US failing to pass its resolution at the UN Security Council, there are already calls to refer Bush to the newly formed International Criminal Court for acting outside international law, and aggressing against a sovereign state. One such call in the Russian Pravada put it this way "Since Iraq has neither waged an act of war against the USA or UK and since international peace and security is put at risk not by Iraq but by the USA and United Kingdom, the provisions for self-defence are not met."

Previous Stories:
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