[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[January 16, 1992]
[Page 116]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 116]]

Statement on the Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm

January 16, 1992
    One year ago tonight I spoke to the American people at the moment an 
international coalition acting under United Nations authority went to 
war to end Saddam Hussein's brutal occupation of Kuwait. We can all take 
pride in the results of that effort: Kuwait is liberated, and the 
legitimate government restored; the fires set by Saddam's retreating 
army are extinguished; the flow of oil from the Gulf is secure from 
political and economic blackmail; much of Iraq's arsenal is destroyed, 
and what remains is now under international supervision; and the United 
Nations has been greatly strengthened.
    The determination and strength demonstrated by the United States and 
its coalition partners has had lasting dividends throughout the region. 
A critical region of the world, vital to its economic well-being, is 
secure. Thanks in large part to our efforts, direct peace talks between 
Arabs and Israelis are underway for the first time, multilateral 
negotiations on regional arms control have begun, and America's hostages 
in Lebanon are home.
    The coalition fought a limited war for a limited but vitally 
important purpose. It prevailed. Saddam's Iraq is weak and isolated, 
unable to impose its extremist policies on the region or the peace 
process. Nevertheless, the American people and I remain determined to 
keep the pressure on Saddam until a new leadership comes to power in 
Iraq. As was the case from the outset, our quarrel is not with the 
people of Iraq but with the dictator whose misrule has caused terrible 
suffering throughout the Middle East. We will maintain U.N. sanctions 
and keep Saddam's regime isolated, a pariah among nations. We will work 
to ensure adequate food and medicine reach the Iraqi people under 
international supervision, while denying Saddam the means to rebuild his 
weapons of mass destruction.
    We salute the efforts of thousands of brave Iraqis who are resisting 
Saddam's rule, both inside and outside of Iraq. The United States 
reiterates its pledge to the Iraqi people and the Iraqi military that we 
stand ready to work with a new regime. A new leadership in Baghdad that 
accepts the U.N. resolutions and is ready to live at peace with its 
neighbors and its own people will find a partner in the United States, 
one willing to seek to lift economic sanctions and help restore Iraq to 
its rightful place in the family of nations.