    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [February 7, 2003]
    [Pages 137-139]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to the Swearing-In Ceremony for John Snow as Secretary of the Treasury and an Exchange With
    Reporters
    February 7, 2003

        The President. I'm looking forward to the official swearing-in of
    this good man. I appreciate you joining us, joining our Cabinet.

    Iraqi Regime Compliance With U.N. Resolutions

        Q. Sir, can you tell us what you plan to do to win over France,
    Germany, China, Russia, other allies that are still skeptical about your
    need to confront Saddam?
        The President. The Security Council unanimously passed a resolution,
    called 1441, that said Saddam Hussein must
    completely disarm. Saddam Hussein has not disarmed. Colin Powell made that case very clear, and now the members of
    the Security Council can decide whether or not that resolution will have
    any force, whether it means anything.
        This is a defining moment for the U.N. Security Council. If the
    Security Council were to allow a dictator to lie and deceive, the
    Security Council would be weakened. I'm confident that when the members
    assess their responsibilities and the responsibilities of the U.N., that
    they will understand that 1441 must be upheld in the fullest.
        Q. They don't seem to be buying that argument quite yet.

    North Korea

        Q. Mr. President, some in Congress say you're not paying enough
    attention to North Korea, due to the Iraq showdown. Are you concerned
    that North Korea could carry out the preemptive strikes it has
    threatening? And are you willing to use military force if you can't
    resolve the crisis diplomatically?
        The President. All options are on the table, but I believe we can
    solve this diplomatically. I spoke to Jiang Zemin the other day when I spoke to him.
        We will continue--when I spoke to Prime Minister Koizumi recently, I talked about the North Korean issue.
    And we will continue to work diplomatically to make it very clear to Kim
    Chong-il I mean, the record is poor, at best. The man has been
    told to disarm for 12 long years. He's ignored the demands of the free
    world. And then we passed another resolution, and for 90 days he's--the
    best way I can describe it is--played a game with the inspectors. So the
    U.N. Security Council has got to make up its mind soon as to whether or
    not its word means anything.
        And you know, I've never felt we needed a resolution; 1441 speaks
    very clearly. It talks about serious consequences if he doesn't disarm. However, I said yesterday that it
    would be helpful to have a resolution so long as it demands compliance
    with 1441, confirms the spirit of 1441. But Saddam Hussein is--he's
    treated the demands of the world as a joke up to now, and it was his
    choice to make. He's the person who gets to decide war and peace.
        Q. Do you have any confidence in him at all, given his track record,
    that he will change his ways?
        The President. This is a guy who was
    asked to declare his weapons, said he didn't have any. This is a person
    who we have proven to the world is deceiving everybody. I mean, he's a
    master at it. He's a master of deception. As I said yesterday, he'll
    probably try it again. He'll probably try to lie his way out of
    compliance or deceive or put out some false statement. You know, if he
    wanted to disarm, he would have disarmed. We know what a disarmed regime
    looks like.
        I heard somebody say the other day, ``Well, how about a beefed-up
    inspection regime?'' Well, the role of inspectors is to sit there and
    verify whether or not he's disarmed, not to play hide-and-seek in a
    country the size of California. If Saddam Hussein was interested in peace and interested in complying
    with the U.N. Security Council resolutions, he would have disarmed. And
    yet, for 12 years, plus 90 days, he has tried to avoid disarmament by
    lying and deceiving.
        Yes, John [John Cochran, ABC News], last question, then we've got to
    go swear the man in.
        Q. Sir, if the Security Council doesn't go along with you, what
    happens then?
        The President. I have said that if Saddam Hussein does not disarm, we will lead a coalition to disarm
    him. And I mean it.
        Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:48 a.m. outside the Treasury Building.
    In his remarks, he referred to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq;
    President Jiang Zemin of China; Chairman Kim Chong-il of North Korea;
    President Vladimir Putin of Russia; and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
    of Japan. A tape was not available for verification of the content of
    these remarks.

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