[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 12 (Monday, March 24, 2003)]
[Pages 336-337]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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

[[Page 337]]

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