We are in the final phase of the 12 year effort to disarm
Saddam Hussein.
The gravest danger we face is outlaw regimes that sponsor
terror and possess or seek weapons of mass destruction.
As part of the cease-fire agreement at the end of the Gulf War
in 1991, Saddam was required to declare and destroy all his weapons of
mass destruction.
For over a decade, Saddam has consistently flouted these
obligations. Eight weeks have now passed since Saddam was given his
final chance. Six hundred weeks have passed since he was given his
first chance.
The UN and U.S. intelligence sources have known for some time
that Saddam Hussein has materials to produce chemical and biological
weapons, but he has not accounted for them, nor has he accounted for
almost 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents.
Thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding
documents and materials from the UN inspectors. Iraqi officials
accompany all inspectors in order to intimidate witnesses, and Saddam
Hussein has ordered that scientists who cooperate with the UN be
killed, along with their families.
Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists. Al-Qaida members
are known to have been in Iraq. He could provide hidden weapons to
terrorists or help them develop their own. It would take just one
vial, one canister, one crate slipped into our country to bring a day
of horror like none we have ever known.
The United States has asked the UN Security Council to convene
this week to consider the facts of Iraq's ongoing defiance of the
world. We will consult. But if Saddam Hussein does not disarm, we
will act for the safety of our people, and for the peace of the world.