The international community is speaking with one voice, and the
United Nations is living up to its founding purpose.
Security Council nations worked hard to meet each other's
concerns. 15 nations agreed on a strong, principled resolution that
makes clear what the Iraqi regime must do to meet its obligations to
the international community.
The Security Council reconfirmed that Iraq has been and remains
in material breach of its international obligations and reminds Iraq
that there will be serious consequences for any additional breach.
Iraq has repeatedly demonstrated that it only complies when
faced with strong resolve. This resolution gives the Iraqi regime one
last chance to avoid conflict.
The new UN inspection mandate will test whether the Iraqi
regime has made a strategic shift and decided to give up its WMD.
The goal is simple: to fully and finally end Iraq's illegal
weapons programs. Any and all non-compliance by the regime will be
very serious, and treated as such.
To avoid conflict, the international community must continue to
stand together. Standing together, we will remove this common threat
to the peace of the world.