[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[March 15, 2003]
[Pages 266-267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 266]]

The President's Radio Address
March 15, 2003

    Good morning. This weekend marks a bitter anniversary for the people 
of Iraq. Fifteen years ago, Saddam Hussein's 
regime ordered a chemical weapons attack on a village in Iraq called 
Halabja. With that single order, the regime killed thousands of Iraq's 
Kurdish citizens. Whole families died while trying to flee clouds of 
nerve and mustard agents descending from the sky. Many who managed to 
survive still suffer from cancer, blindness, respiratory diseases, 
miscarriages, and severe birth defects among their children.
    The chemical attack on Halabja, just one of 40 targeted at Iraq's 
own people, provided a glimpse of the crimes Saddam Hussein is willing to commit and the kind of threat he now 
presents to the entire world. He is among history's cruelest dictators, 
and he is arming himself with the world's most terrible weapons.
    Recognizing this threat, the United Nations Security Council 
demanded that Saddam Hussein give up all his 
weapons of mass destruction as a condition for ending the Gulf war 12 
years ago. The Security Council has repeated this demand numerous times 
and warned that Iraq faces serious consequences if it fails to comply. 
Iraq has responded with defiance, delay, and deception.
    The United States, Great Britain, and Spain continue to work with 
fellow members of the U.N. Security Council to confront this common 
danger. We have seen far too many instances in the past decade, from 
Bosnia to Rwanda to Kosovo, where the failure of the Security Council to 
act decisively has led to tragedy. And we must recognize that some 
threats are so grave and their potential consequences so terrible that 
they must be removed, even if it requires military force.
    As diplomatic efforts continue, we must never lose sight of the 
basic facts about the regime of Baghdad. We know from recent history 
that Saddam Hussein is a reckless dictator 
who has twice invaded his neighbors without provocation, wars that led 
to death and suffering on a massive scale. We know from human rights 
groups that dissidents in Iraq are tortured, imprisoned, and sometimes 
just disappear; their hands, feet, and tongues are cut off; their eyes 
are gouged out; and female relatives are raped in their presence.
    As the Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said this week, ``We have a moral obligation to 
intervene where evil is in control. Today, that place is Iraq.''
    We know from prior weapons inspections that Saddam has failed to account for vast quantities of 
biological and chemical agents, including mustard agent, botulinum 
toxin, and sarin, capable of killing millions of people. We know the 
Iraqi regime finances and sponsors terror. And we know the regime has 
plans to place innocent people around military installations to act as 
human shields.
    There is little reason to hope that Saddam Hussein will disarm. If force is required to disarm him, the 
American people can know that our Armed Forces have been given every 
tool and every resource to achieve victory. The people of Iraq can know 
that every effort will be made to spare innocent life and to help Iraq 
recover from three decades of totalitarian rule. And plans are in place 
to provide Iraqis with massive amounts of food, as well as medicine and 
other essential supplies, in the event of hostilities.
    Crucial days lie ahead for the free nations of the world. 
Governments are now showing whether their stated commitments to liberty 
and security are words alone or convictions they're prepared to act 
upon. And for the Government of the United States and the coalition we 
lead, there is

[[Page 267]]

no doubt: We will confront a growing danger, to protect ourselves, to 
remove a patron and protector of terror, and to keep the peace of the 
world.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 10:21 a.m. on March 14 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 15. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 14 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his 
remarks, the President referred to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The 
Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of this address.