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| De
tv-toespraak van Bush |
18-03-03
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 De
volledige toespraak in beeld
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 danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one
day, nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq,
the terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and
kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people
in our country, or any other. 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. Last September, I went to the U.N. General Assembly
and urged the nations of the world to unite and bring
an end to this danger. On November 8th, the Security Council
unanimously passed Resolution 1441, finding Iraq in material
breach of its obligations, and vowing serious consequences
if Iraq did not fully and immediately disarm.
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. |
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