    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 15 (Monday, April 14, 2003)]
    [Pages 414-415]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    The President's Radio Address

    April 5, 2003

        Good morning. American and coalition forces are steadily advancing
    against the regime of Saddam Hussein. With each new village they
    liberate, our forces are learning more about the atrocities of that
    regime and the deep fear the dictator has instilled in the Iraqi people.
    Yet no crime of this dying regime will divert us from our mission. We
    will not stop until Iraq is free.
        This week, coalition forces have been clearing southern cities and
    towns of Saddam's death squads and enforcers. Our special forces and
    Army paratroopers, working with Kurdish militia, have opened a northern
    front against the enemy. In the town of An Najaf, members of our 101st
    Airborne Division have been welcomed as liberators. At An Nasiriyah,
    marines continue to eliminate the enemy while other Army and Marine
    units have closed in on Baghdad. From the skies above, coalition
    aircraft and cruise missiles are removing hundreds of military targets
    from the map.
        As the vise tightens on the Iraqi regime, some of our enemies have
    chosen to fill their final days with acts of cowardice and murder. In
    combat, Saddam's thugs shield themselves with women and children. They
    have killed Iraqi citizens who welcome coalition troops, and they have
    forced other Iraqis into battle by threatening to torture or kill their
    families. They have executed prisoners of war, waged attacks under the
    white flag of truce, and concealed combat forces in civilian
    neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, and mosques. In this war, the Iraqi
    regime is terrorizing its own citizens, doing everything possible to
    maximize Iraqi civilian casualties and then to exploit the deaths they
    have caused for propaganda. These are war criminals, and they'll be
    treated as war criminals.
        In stark contrast, the citizens of Iraq are coming to know what kind
    of people we have sent to liberate them. American forces and our allies
    are treating innocent civilians with kindness and showing proper respect
    to the soldiers who surrender. The people of the United States are proud
    of the honorable conduct of our military. And I am proud to lead such
    brave and decent Americans.
        In recent days, we have also brought food and water and medicine to
    the Iraqi people. We're delivering emergency rations to the hungry.
    Right now, cargo ships are bound for Iraq, carrying wheat from Oklahoma,
    Kansas, and Texas--enough to feed 4.5 million Iraqis for 1 month.
    Additional food, supplied by the World Food Program, is moving by truck
    convoy across the Turkish border into northern Iraq.
        We are bringing aid to the long-suffering people of Iraq, and we are
    bringing something more. We are bringing hope. One Iraqi, when the
    coalition troops arrived, described the emotions of his village. ``They
    were waiting for you,'' he said, ``and all the people believe that
    America and Britain have come to liberate them, not to conquer.''
        Village by village, city by city, liberation is coming. The people
    of Iraq have my pledge: Our fighting forces will press on until their
    oppressors are gone and their whole country is free.
        By our actions in this war, we serve a great and just cause. Free
    nations will not sit and wait, leaving enemies free to plot another
    September the 11th--this time perhaps with chemical, biological, or
    nuclear terror. We'll remove weapons of mass destruction from the hands
    of mass murderers. And by defending our own security, we are ridding the
    people of Iraq from one of the cruelest regimes on Earth. The United
    States and our allies pledged to act if the dictator did not disarm. The
    regime in Iraq is now learning that we keep our word.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 1 p.m. on April 4 in the Cabinet Room
    at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 5. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    April 4 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his
    remarks, the President referred to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The
    Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language
    transcript of this address.

    [[Page 415]]