[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 42 (Monday, October 21, 2002)]
[Pages 1777-1779]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Signing the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against 
Iraq Resolution of 2002

October 16, 2002

    Thank you all. Please be seated. Good morning. Welcome to the White 
House. I want to thank the members of my Cabinet who have joined us. I 
want to thank the Members of Congress who are here on the stage. I want 
to thank the Members of Congress who are here in the audience. I'm 
honored to have you here.
    The resolution I'm about to sign symbolizes the united purpose of 
our Nation, expresses the considered judgment of the Congress, and marks 
an important event in the life of America. The 107th Congress is one of 
the few called by history to authorize military action to defend our 
country and the cause of peace.
    This is among the most serious and difficult decisions a legislator 
can face. Members of both Houses, both political parties, have 
deliberated with care, and they have spoken with clarity on behalf of 
the American people. We will face our dangers squarely, and we will face 
them unafraid.
    With this resolution, Congress has now authorized the use of force. 
I have not ordered the use of force. I hope the use of force will not 
become necessary. Yet, confronting the threat posed by Iraq is 
necessary, by whatever means that requires. Either the Iraqi regime will 
give up its weapons of mass destruction, or for the sake of peace, the 
United States will lead a global coalition to disarm that regime. If any 
doubt our Nation's resolve, our determination, they would be unwise to 
test it.
    The Iraqi regime is a serious and growing threat to peace. On the 
commands of a dictator, the regime is armed with biological and chemical 
weapons, possesses ballistic missiles, promotes international terror, 
and seeks nuclear weapons. The same dictator has a history of mass 
murder, of striking other nations without warning, of intense hatred for 
America, and of contempt for the demands of the civilized world.
    If Iraq gains even greater destructive power, nations in the Middle 
East would face blackmail, intimidation, or attack. Chaos in that region 
would be felt in Europe and beyond. And Iraq's combination of weapons of 
mass destruction and ties to terrorist groups and ballistic missiles 
would threaten the peace and security of many nations. Those who choose 
to live in denial may eventually be forced to live in fear.
    Every nation that shares in the benefits of peace also shares in the 
duty of defending the peace. The time has arrived once again for the 
United Nations to live up to the purposes of its founding to protect our 
common security. The time has arrived once again for free nations to 
face up to our global responsibilities and confront a gathering danger.
    In 1991, Iraq was given 15 days to fully disclose all weapons of 
mass destruction. The dictator has successfully defied that obligation 
for 4,199 days. The dictator has--and during this 11-year period of his 
dictatorship, the regime has become highly skilled in the techniques of 
deception. It has blocked effective inspections of so-called 
Presidential sites--actually 12 square miles with hundreds of structures 
where sensitive materials could be hidden. The regime has forged 
documents, disabled surveillance cameras, and developed mobile weapons 
facilities to keep ahead of any inspector.
    The Iraqi regime has frustrated the work of international inspectors 
by firing warning shots, by tapping their telephones, confiscating their 
documents, blocking aerial inspection flights, and barring access to 
sites for hours while evidence is carried away. At one location, 
inspectors actually witnessed Iraqi guards moving files, burning 
documents, and then dumping the ashes in a river.

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Aboard U.N. helicopters, Iraqi escorts have physically struggled with 
inspectors to keep them from approaching certain areas.
    For Iraq, the old weapons inspection process was little more than a 
game in which cheating was never punished. And that game is over. The 
ploys and promises of the Iraqi regime no longer matter. The regime is 
free to continue saying whatever it chooses. Its fate depends entirely 
on what it actually does.
    Our goal is not merely to limit Iraq's violations of Security 
Council resolutions or to slow down its weapons program. Our goal is to 
fully and finally remove a real threat to world peace and to America. 
Hopefully, this can be done peacefully. Hopefully, we can do this 
without any military action. Yet, if Iraq is to avoid military action by 
the international community, it has the obligation to prove compliance 
with all the world's demands. It's the obligation of Iraq.
    Compliance will begin with a accurate and full and complete 
accounting for all chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons materials, 
as well as missiles and other means of delivery anywhere in Iraq. 
Failure to make such an accounting would be a further indication of the 
regime's bad faith and aggressive intent. Inspectors must have access to 
any site in Iraq at any time, without preclearance, without delay, 
without exceptions. Inspectors must be permitted to operate under new, 
effective rules. And the Iraqi regime must accept those rules without 
qualification or negotiation.
    To ensure that we learn the truth, the regime must allow witnesses 
to its illegal activities to be interviewed outside of the country. 
These witnesses must be free to bring their entire families with them, 
so they're beyond the reach of Saddam Hussein's terror, Saddam Hussein's 
torture, Saddam Hussein's murder.
    In addition to declaring and destroying all of its weapons of mass 
destruction, Iraq, in accordance with U.N. Security Council demands, 
must end its support for terrorism. As the U.N. demands, Iraq must cease 
the persecution of its civilian population. As the U.N. demands, Iraq 
must stop all illicit trade outside the oil-for-food program. Iraq must 
also release or account for all Gulf war personnel, including an 
American pilot whose fate is still unknown.
    The United States takes the resolutions of the Security Council 
seriously. We urge other nations to do the same. We're working to build 
the broadest possible coalition to enforce the demands of the world on 
the Iraqi regime. I've told all the members of the United Nations, 
America will play its historic role in defeating aggressive tyranny.
    I hope the good people of Iraq will remember our history and not pay 
attention to the hateful propaganda of their Government. America has 
never sought to dominate, has never sought to conquer. We've always 
sought to liberate and to free. Our desire is to help Iraqi citizens 
find the blessings of liberty within their own culture and their own 
traditions. The Iraqi people cannot flourish under a dictator that 
oppresses them and threatens them. Gifted people of Iraq will flourish 
if and when oppression is lifted.
    When Iraq has a government committed to the freedom and well-being 
of its people, America, along with many other nations, will share a 
responsibility to help Iraq reform and prosper. And we will meet our 
responsibilities. That's our pledge to the Iraqi people.
    Like the Members of Congress here today, I've carefully weighed the 
human cost of every option before us. If we go into battle, as a last 
resort, we will confront an enemy capable of irrational miscalculations, 
capable of terrible deeds. As the Commander in Chief, I know the risks 
to our country. I'm fully responsible to the young men and women in 
uniform who may face these risks. Yet those risks only increase with 
time, and the costs could be immeasurably higher in years to come. To 
shrink from this threat would bring a false sense of temporary peace, 
leading to a future in which millions live or die at the discretion of a 
brutal dictator. That's not true peace, and we won't accept it.
    The terrorist attacks of last year put our country on notice. We're 
not immune from the dangers and hatreds of the world. In the events of 
September the 11th, we resolved as a nation to oppose every threat from 
any source that could bring sudden tragedy to the American people. This 
Nation will not live at the mercy of any foreign power or

[[Page 1779]]

plot. Confronting grave dangers is the surest path to peace and 
security. This is the expectation of the American people and the 
decision of their elected representatives.
    I thank the Congress for a thorough debate and an overwhelming 
statement of support. The broad resolve of our Government is now clear 
to all, clear to everyone to see: We will defend our Nation and lead 
others in defending the peace.
    May God bless your work.

Note: The President spoke at 11:17 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; 
and missing American pilot Lt. Comdr. Michael S. Speicher, USN. H.J. 
Res. 114, approved October 16, was assigned Public Law No. 107-243.