For Immediate Release
March 27, 2003
Global Message
48 nations have joined America in Operation Iraqi Freedom - nations
that understand the terrible threat we face from weapons of mass
destruction and refuse to live in a future of fear, at the mercy of
terrorists and tyrants.
Our military is making good progress in Iraq; yet this war is far
from over. As they approach Baghdad, our fighting units are facing the
most desperate elements of a doomed regime.
Day by day, Saddam Hussein is losing his grip on Iraq; day by day,
the Iraqi people are closer to freedom. We cannot predict the final day
of the Iraqi regime, but the day of reckoning for the Iraqi regime is
drawing near.
The world is getting a clearer view of the Iraqi regime and the
evil at its heart. In the ranks of that regime are men whose idea of
courage is to brutalize unarmed prisoners. They wage attacks while
posing as civilians. They use real civilians as human shields. They
pretend to surrender, then fire upon those who show them mercy. This
band of war criminals has been put on notice: the day of Iraq's
liberation will also be a day of justice.
Our enemy in this war is the Iraqi regime, not the people who have
suffered under it. As we bring justice to a dictator, today we started
bringing humanitarian aid in large amounts to an oppressed land.
Protecting innocent civilians is a central commitment of our war
plan. We are treating Iraqi prisoners of war according the highest
standards of law and decency. Doctors are working to save the lives of
the wounded, including Iraqi soldiers.
Iraqis are a good and gifted people. They deserve better than a
life spent bowing before a dictator. The people of Iraq deserve to
stand on their feet as free men and women - the citizens of a free
country.
The goal of a free and peaceful Iraq unites our Coalition. We have
no ambition in Iraq except the liberation of its people. We ask no
reward except a durable peace. And we will accept no outcome short of
complete and final success.