    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [September 19, 2002]
    [Pages 1617-1619]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Secretary of State Colin L.
    Powell and an Exchange With Reporters
    September 19, 2002

        The President. Good morning. I appreciate our Secretary of State
    coming by to brief the Vice President and me and
    Condoleezza Rice about our progress in
    working with the United Nations, convincing the United Nations Security
    Council to firmly deal with a threat to world peace.
        Before we talk about that, I do want to express our condolences to
    those who lost their lives in Israel. It's been back-to-back suicide
    bombings. We strongly condemn terror. We strongly condemn violence. And
    we continue to send our message to the good people of that region that
    if you're interested in peace, that if you want people to be able to
    grow up in a peaceful world, all parties must do everything they can to
    reject and stop violence.
        At the United Nations Security Council, it is very important that
    the members understand that the credibility of the United Nations is at
    stake; that the Security Council must be firm in its resolve to deal
    with a true threat to world peace, and that is Saddam Hussein; that the United Nations Security Council must work
    with the United States and Britain and other concerned parties to send a
    clear message that we expect Saddam to disarm. And if the United Nations
    Security Council won't deal with the problem, the United States and some
    of our friends will. That's the message

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    the Secretary of State has delivered forcefully. That's the message that
    he will continue to carry.
        And Mr. Secretary, I appreciate your hard work. You're doing a fine
    job.
        Secretary Powell. Thank you, Mr. President.
        The President. And we're proud of your efforts.
        Secretary Powell. Thank you, sir.
        The President. I'll be glad to answer a few calls--answers, starting
    with Ron [Ron Fournier, Associated Press].

    Iraq and the United Nations

        Q. How many of our friends are willing to join the United States in
    this effort?
        The President. Ron, I think time will tell. I think you're going to
    see a lot of nations--that a lot of nations love freedom. They
    understand the threat. They understand that the credibility of the
    United Nations is at stake. They heard me loud and clear when I said,
    ``Either you can be the United Nations, a capable body, a body able to
    keep the peace, or you can be the League of Nations.'' And we're
    confident that people will follow our lead.
        Campbell [Campbell Brown, NBC News].
        Q. Mr. President----
        The President. Good to see you, Campbell, for starters. Glad you're
    here--finally showed up. [Laughter]
        Q. The chief weapons inspector is going to be briefing the U.N.
    Security Council today, and there have already been some reports that,
    in his talks with the Iraqis, that they're limiting access to certain
    sites. Are those reports true? And do you think they're trying to----
        The President. Well, I haven't gotten a report from what he intends to say. But let me give you just some general
    observations. First of all, there are no negotiations to be held with
    Iraq. They have nothing to negotiate. They're the people who said that
    they would not have weapons of mass destruction. The negotiations are
    over. It is up to the U.N. Security Council to lay out resolutions that
    confirms what Iraq has already agreed to, see.
        Secondly, I don't trust Iraq, and neither should the free world. For
    11 years, they have deceived the world. They have said, ``We'll conform
    to resolutions.'' They've never conformed to resolutions. They've never
    conformed to the agreement that they laid out 11 years ago. Sixteen
    times they've defied Security resolutions.
        And so, they--the burden of proof is--must be placed squarely on
    their shoulders. But there's no negotiations about whether or not
    they've been telling the truth or not.
        Let's see here--Mark [Mark Knoller, CBS Radio].

    Congressional Resolution on Iraq

        Q. Mr. President, are you going to send Congress your proposed
    resolution today?
        The President. I am.
        Q. And are you asking for a blank check, sir?
        The President. I am sending suggested language for a resolution. I
    want--I've asked for Congress' support to enable the administration to
    keep the peace. And we look forward to a good, constructive debate in
    Congress. I appreciate the fact that the leadership recognizes we've got
    to move before the elections. I appreciate the strong support we're
    getting from both Republicans and Democrats and look forward to working
    with them.
        Q. Mr. President, how important is it that that resolution give you
    an authorization to use force?
        The President. That will be part of the resolution, the
    authorization to use force. If you want to keep the peace, you've got to
    have the authorization to use force. But it's--this will be--this is a
    chance for Congress to indicate support. It's a chance for Congress to
    say, ``We support the administration's ability to keep the peace.''
    That's what this is all about.
        Q. Will regime change be part of it?

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        The President. Yes. That's the policy of the Government.
        Campbell, congratulations, you got two questions in one day.
        Q. Thank you, sir.
        The President. And it wasn't even a followup. That's a brilliant
    performance.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:50 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.
    A reporter referred to Hans Blix, Executive Chairman, United Nations
    Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission for Iraq.