For Immediate Release
April 3, 2003
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What's important for us as we work to secure the homeland is to
remember the stakes have changed. After September the 11th, world
changed. It changed for a lot of reasons. Perhaps the most profound
reason on a foreign policy perspective, or from a homeland security
perspective, is that we're no longer protected by two big oceans. Used
to be if there was a threat overseas we could deal with it if we chose
to do so, but we didn't have to worry about something happening here at
home. It used to be oceans could protect us from conflict and from
threats.
But that's changed, and it's important to have people in the Senate
who are clear-eyed realists. It's important to have people who see the
world the way it is, not the way we hope it is. And the world is a
dangerous place, particularly with people like Saddam Hussein in
power.
Saddam Hussein is a man who told the world he wouldn't have weapons
of mass destruction, but he's got them. He's a man who a while ago who
was close to having a nuclear weapon. Imagine if this madman had a
nuclear weapon. It's a man who not only has chemical weapons, but he's
used chemical weapons against some of his neighbors. He used chemical
weapons, incredibly enough, against his own people. He can't stand
America. He can't stand some of our closest friends.
And, not only that, he is -- would like nothing better than to
hook-up with one of these shadowy terrorist networks like al Qaeda,
provide some weapons and training to them, let them come and do his
dirty work, and we wouldn't be able to see his fingerprints on his
action.
No, he's a threat. And that's why I went to the United Nations. I
went to the United Nations because, I said to that august body, you
need to hold this man to account. For 11 years, in resolution after
resolution after resolution he's defied you. For the sake of keeping
the peace, we want you to be effective. For the sake of keeping the
world free, we want you to be an effective body. It's up to you,
however. You can show the world whether you've got the backbone
necessary to enforce your edicts or whether you're going to turn out to
be just like the League of Nations, your choice to make.
And my message to Saddam Hussein is that, for the sake of peace,
for the sake of freedom, you must disarm like you said you would do.
But my message to you all and to the country is this: for the sake of
our future freedoms, and for the sake of world peace, if the United
Nations can't act, and if Saddam Hussein won't act, the United States
will lead a coalition of nations to disarm Saddam Hussein. (Applause.)