[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 36 (Monday, September 9, 2002)]
[Pages 1481-1482]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following a Meeting With Congressional Leaders and an Exchange 
With Reporters

September 4, 2002

    The President. Thank you all for coming. It's been my honor to 
welcome the leadership of the United States Congress here, to welcome 
them back from the August recess. We talked about a variety of issues--
talked about the defense appropriations bill and terrorism insurance and 
an energy bill, spent most of our time talking about a serious threat to 
the United States, a serious threat to the world, and that's Saddam 
Hussein.
    One of the things I made very clear to the Members here is that 
doing nothing about that serious threat is not an option for the United 
States. I also made it very clear that we look forward to a open dialog 
with Congress and the American people about the threat and that not only 
will we consult with the United States Congress--``we'' being the 
administration--but that my administration will fully participate in any 
hearings that the Congress wishes to have on this subject, on the 
subject about how to make America a more secure country, how to best 
protect the American families in our country. At the appropriate time, 
this administration will go to the Congress to seek approval for--
necessary to deal with the threat.
    At the same time, I will work with our friends in the world. I've 
invited Prime Minister Blair to come to Camp David on Saturday, and 
he'll--he's coming. I've looked forward to talking with him about our 
mutual concerns about how to make the world more secure and safe. I will 
see Jean Chretien on Monday, as we--we'll talk about how to make our 
borders work better, but at the same time, I'll talk to him about this 
subject. I'll be on the phone to leaders of the--China and Russia and 
France, and then I'll be giving the speech at the United Nations.
    Saddam Hussein is a serious threat. He is a significant problem. And 
it's something that this country must deal with. And today the process 
starts about how to have an open dialog with the elected officials and, 
therefore, the American people about our future and how best to deal 
with it.
    Let me answer a couple of questions. Steve Holland [Reuters], 
Fournier [Ron Fournier, Associated Press], and then Gregory [David 
Gregory, NBC News], and that's it.

U.N. Weapons Inspectors in Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, what's your opinion on putting U.N. weapons 
inspectors back in Iraq? Will you ask the U.N. to do that? Is that a 
viable option?
    The President. First of all, I'll be giving a speech on Tuesday--or 
the 12th--and you can come and listen to it. But let me say to you that 
the issue is not inspectors; the issue is disarmament. This is a man who 
said he would not arm up. This is a man who told the world that he would 
not harbor weapons of mass destruction. That's the primary issue, and 
I'll be discussing ways to make sure that that is the case.
    Ron.
    Q. So you will be--you will be discussing ways to make sure that he 
disarms? Are you talking about having inspectors back in?
    The President. I will first remind the United Nations that for 11 
long years, Saddam Hussein has sidestepped, crawfished, wheedled out of 
any agreement he had made not to harbor--not to develop weapons of mass 
destruction, agreements he's made to treat the people within his country 
with respect. And so I'm going to call upon the world to recognize that 
he is stiffing the world. And I will lay out, and I will talk about ways 
to make sure that he fulfills his obligations.

Consultation With Congress

    Q. Let me just follow up on your opening statement. When you say 
you're going to seek congressional approval, does that mean, in effect, 
Congress will have veto authority over your plan to oust Saddam Hussein?

[[Page 1482]]

    The President. I'm confident we will be able to--I'll be able to 
work with Congress to deal with this threat to the American people. And 
that's what I meant.

President Saddam Hussein of Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, you talked about Saddam Hussein stiffing the 
world. In your mind, has the time come to issue the Iraqi leader an 
ultimatum similar to that that you issued to the Taliban?
    The President. I am going to state clearly to the United Nations 
what I think. And I think that he has not fulfilled any of the 
obligations that he made to the world. And I believe it's important for 
the world to deal with this man. And I believe it's really important for 
the United States Congress to have an open dialog about how to deal with 
this threat.
    We are in a new era. The first battle of the--the first war of the 
21st century took place in Afghanistan. The United States is under 
threats. We are--we spent a lot of time, people around this table, good-
hearted people who care deeply about America spent a lot of time 
thinking about how best to secure our homeland even further. And this is 
a debate the American people must hear, must understand. And the world 
must understand as well that its credibility is at stake.
    Thank you all for coming.

Maxwell Gregory

    Q. Are you suggesting an ultimatum is coming? Is a deadline coming, 
sir?
    The President. That's a fine-looking child, fine-looking child. 
[Laughter] Little Gregory. Little Stretch. [Laughter]
    Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 10:42 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Tony Blair of the 
United Kingdom; and Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada.