[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[March 16, 2003]
[Pages 275-276]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement of the Atlantic Summit: A Vision for Iraq and the Iraqi People
March 16, 2003

    Iraq's talented people, rich culture, and tremendous potential have 
been hijacked by Saddam Hussein. His brutal 
regime has reduced a country with a long and proud history to an 
international pariah that oppresses its citizens, started two wars of 
aggression against its neighbors, and still poses a grave threat to the 
security of its region and the world.
    Saddam's defiance of United Nations 
Security Council resolutions demanding the disarmament of his nuclear, 
chemical, biological, and long-range missile capacity has led to 
sanctions on Iraq and has undermined the authority of the U.N. For 12 
years, the international community has tried to persuade him to disarm 
and thereby avoid military conflict, most recently through the unanimous 
adoption of UNSCR 1441. The responsibility is his. If Saddam refuses 
even now to cooperate fully with the United Nations, he brings on 
himself the serious consequences foreseen in UNSCR 1441 and previous 
resolutions.
    In these circumstances, we would undertake a solemn obligation to 
help the Iraqi people build a new Iraq at peace with itself and its 
neighbors. The Iraqi people deserve to be lifted from insecurity and 
tyranny, and freed to determine for themselves the future of their 
country. We envisage a unified Iraq with its territorial integrity 
respected. All the Iraqi people--its rich mix of Sunni and Shiite Arabs, 
Kurds, Turkomen, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and all others--should enjoy 
freedom, prosperity, and equality in a united country. We will support 
the Iraqi people's aspirations for a representative government that 
upholds human rights and the rule of law as cornerstones of democracy.
    We will work to prevent and repair damage by Saddam 
Hussein's regime to the natural resources of 
Iraq and pledge to protect them as a national asset of and for the Iraqi 
people. All Iraqis should share the wealth generated by their national 
economy. We will seek a swift end to international sanctions, and 
support an international reconstruction program to help Iraq achieve 
real prosperity and reintegrate into the global community.
    We will fight terrorism in all its forms. Iraq must never again be a 
haven for terrorists of any kind.
    In achieving this vision, we plan to work in close partnership with 
international institutions, including the United Nations; our Allies and 
partners; and bilateral donors. If conflict occurs, we plan to seek the 
adoption, on an urgent basis, of new United Nations Security Council 
resolutions that would affirm Iraq's territorial integrity, ensure rapid 
delivery of humanitarian relief, and endorse an appropriate post-
conflict administration for Iraq. We will also propose that the 
Secretary General be given authority, on an interim basis, to ensure 
that the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people continue to be met 
through the Oil for Food program.
    Any military presence, should it be necessary, will be temporary and 
intended to promote security and elimination of weapons of mass 
destruction; the delivery of humanitarian aid; and the conditions for 
the reconstruction of Iraq. Our commitment to

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support the people of Iraq will be for the long term.
    We call upon the international community to join with us in helping 
to realize a better future for the Iraqi people.

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this joint statement. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a 
Spanish language version of this joint statement.