[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 45 (Monday, November 11, 2002)]
[Pages 2009-2011]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the Passage of a United Nations Security Council Resolution 
on Iraq

November 8, 2002

    Good morning. With the resolution just passed, the United Nations 
Security Council has met important responsibilities, upheld its 
principles, and given clear and fair notice that Saddam Hussein must 
fully disclose and destroy his weapons of mass destruction. He must 
submit to any and all methods to verify his compliance. His cooperation 
must be prompt and unconditional, or he will face the severest 
consequences.
    The world has now come together to say that the outlaw regime in 
Iraq will not be

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permitted to build or possess chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. 
That is the judgment of the United States Congress. That is the judgment 
of the United Nations Security Council. Now the world must insist that 
that judgment be enforced.
    Iraq's obligation to disarm is not new or even recent. To end the 
Persian Gulf war and ensure its own survival, Iraq's regime agreed to 
disarm in April of 1991. For over a decade the Iraqi regime has treated 
its own pledge with contempt. As today's resolution states, Iraq is 
already in material breach of past U.N. demands. Iraq has aggressively 
pursued weapons of mass destruction, even while inspectors were inside 
the country. Iraq has undermined the effectiveness of weapons inspectors 
with ploys, delays, and threats, making their work impossible and 
leading to 4 years of no inspections at all.
    The world has learned from this experience an essential lesson: 
Inspections will not result in a disarmed Iraq unless the Iraqi regime 
fully cooperates. Inspectors do not have the power to disarm an 
unwilling regime. They can only confirm that a government has decided to 
disarm itself. History has shown that when Iraq's leaders stall 
inspections and impede the progress, it means they have something to 
hide.
    The resolution approved today presents the Iraqi regime with a test, 
a final test. Iraq must now, without delay or negotiations, fully 
disarm, welcome full inspections, and fundamentally change the approach 
it has taken for more than a decade.
    The regime must allow immediate and unrestricted access to every 
site, every document, and every person identified by inspectors. Iraq 
can be certain that the old game of cheat-and-retreat, tolerated at 
other times, will no longer be tolerated. Any act of delay or defiance 
will be an additional breach of Iraq's international obligations and a 
clear signal that the Iraqi regime has once again abandoned the path of 
voluntary compliance.
    With the passage of this resolution, the world must not lapse into 
unproductive debates over whether specific instances of Iraqi 
noncompliance are serious. Any Iraqi noncompliance is serious because 
such bad faith will show that Iraq has no intention of disarming. If 
we're to avert war, all nations must continue to pressure Saddam Hussein 
to accept this resolution and to comply with its obligations and his 
obligations.
    America will be making only one determination: Is Iraq meeting the 
terms of the Security Council resolution or not? The United States has 
agreed to discuss any material breach with the Security Council, but 
without jeopardizing our freedom of action to defend our country. If 
Iraq fails to fully comply, the United States and other nations will 
disarm Saddam Hussein.
    I've already met with the head of the U.N. inspections program and 
the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has 
responsibility for nuclear matters. I've assured them that the United 
States will fully support their efforts, including a request for 
information that can help identify illegal activities and materials in 
Iraq. I encourage every member of the United Nations to strongly support 
the inspection teams. And now the inspectors have an important 
responsibility to make full use of the tools we have given them in this 
resolution.
    All patriotic Iraqis should embrace this resolution as an 
opportunity for Iraq to avoid war and end its isolation. Saddam Hussein 
cannot hide his weapons of mass destruction from international 
inspectors without the cooperation of hundreds and thousands of Iraqis, 
those who work in the weapons program and those who are responsible for 
concealing the weapons. We call on those Iraqis to convey whatever 
information they have to inspectors, the United States, or other 
countries, in whatever manner they can. By helping the process of 
disarmament, they help their country.
    Americans recognize what is at stake. In fighting a war on terror, 
we are determined to oppose every source of catastrophic harm that 
threatens our country, our friends, and our allies. We are actively 
pursuing dangerous terror networks across the world. And we oppose a 
uniquely dangerous regime, a regime that has harbored terrorists and can 
supply terrorists with weapons of mass destruction, a regime that has 
built such terrible weapons and has used them to kill thousands, a 
brutal regime with a history of both reckless ambition and reckless 
miscalculation.

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    The United States of America will not live at the mercy of any group 
or regime that has the motive and seeks the power to murder Americans on 
a massive scale. The threat to America also threatens peace and security 
in the Middle East and far beyond. If Iraq's dictator is permitted to 
acquire nuclear weapons, he could resume his pattern of intimidation and 
conquest and dictate the future of a vital region.
    In confronting this threat, America seeks the support of the world. 
If action becomes necessary, we will act in the interests of the world. 
And America expects Iraqi compliance with all U.N. resolutions.
    The time has come for the Iraqi people to escape oppression, find 
freedom, and live in hope.
    I want to thank the Secretary of State Colin Powell for his 
leadership, his good work, and his determination over the past 2 months. 
He's worked tirelessly and successfully for a resolution that recognizes 
important concerns of our Security Council partners and makes Iraq's 
responsibilities clear. I also thank our Ambassador to the United 
Nations, John Negroponte, and his team at our U.N. mission in New York 
for their hard work and outstanding service to our country. Secretary of 
State Powell's team has done a fine job.
    The American people are grateful to the Security Council for passing 
this historic resolution. Members of the Council acted with courage and 
took a principled stand. The United Nations has shown the kind of 
international leadership promised by its charter and required by our 
times. Now comes the hard part. The Security Council must maintain its 
unity and sense of purpose so that the Iraq regime cannot revert to the 
strategies of obstruction and deception it used so successfully in the 
past.
    The outcome of the current crisis is already determined: The full 
disarmament of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq will occur. The only 
question for the Iraqi regime is to decide how. The United States 
prefers that Iraq meet its obligations voluntarily, yet we are prepared 
for the alternative. In either case, the just demands of the world will 
be met.
    Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 10:44 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; 
Hans Blix, Executive Chairman, United Nations Monitoring, Verification 
and Inspection Commission; and Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, 
International Atomic Energy Agency.