For Immediate Release Office of the
Press Secretary February 7, 2003
President Bush: "This is a Defining Moment for the U.N.
Security Council" Remarks by the President to the
Press Pool Outside the Treasury Building
10:48 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: I'm looking forward to the official swearing-in of
this good man. I appreciate you joining us, joining our Cabinet.
Q Sir, can you tell us what you plan to do to win over France,
Germany, China, Russia, other allies that are still skeptical about
your need to confront Saddam?
THE PRESIDENT: The Security Council unanimously passed a
resolution, called 1441, that said Saddam Hussein must completely
disarm. Saddam Hussein has not disarmed. Colin Powell made that case
very clear. And now the members of the Security Council can decide
whether or not that resolution will have any force, whether it means
anything. This is a defining moment for the U.N. Security Council.
If the Security Council were to allow a dictator to lie and
deceive, the Security Council would be weakened. I'm confident that
when the members assess their responsibilities and the
responsibilities of the U.N., that they will understand that 1441
must be upheld in the fullest.
Q They don't seem to be buying that argument quite yet.
Q Mr. President, some in Congress say you're not paying enough
attention to North Korea, due to the Iraq showdown. Are you
concerned that North Korea could carry out the preemptive strikes it
has threatening? And are you willing to use military force if you
can't resolve the crisis diplomatically?
THE PRESIDENT: All options are on the table, but I believe we can
solve this diplomatically. I spoke to Jiang Zemin today about this
very subject. And I will continue working diplomatically to convince
Kim Jong-il that he will be further isolated if he continues to
develop a nuclear program.
I talked to the President of China, reminded him that we have a
joint responsibility to uphold the goal that we talked about in
Crawford -- that goal being a nuclear weapons free Peninsula; that
we have responsibilities, joint responsibilities; that Russia has a
responsibility -- I explained that to President Putin the other day,
when I spoke to him.
We will continue -- when I spoke to Prime Minister Koizumi
recently, I talked about the North Korean issue. And we will
continue to work diplomatically to make it very clear to Kim Jong-il
that should he expect any kind of aid and help for his people, that
he must comply with the world's demand that he not develop a nuclear
weapon.
Q And the threat of preemptive strike, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: No, all options are on the table, of course. But
as I said many times, and I still believe this, this will be solved
diplomatically. And we will continue to work diplomatically. As I
mentioned this morning, I did just that this morning with the
President of China.
Stretch.
Q Mr. President, given the facts as Secretary Powell laid them
out at the U.N. the other day, do you really see any means of
disarming Saddam other than, at this point, using military force?
THE PRESIDENT: That's up to Saddam Hussein. I mean, the record is
poor, at best. The man has been told to disarm for 12 long years.
He's ignored the demands of the free world. And then we passed
another resolution, and for 90 days he's -- the best way I can
describe it is -- played a game with the inspectors. So the U.N.
Security Council has got to make up its mind soon as to whether or
not its word means anything.
And, you know, I've never felt we needed a resolution; 1441
speaks very clearly. It talks about serious consequences if he
doesn't disarm. However, I said yesterday that it would be helpful
to have a resolution so long as it demands compliance with 1441,
confirms the spirit of 1441. But Saddam Hussein is -- he's treated
the demands of the world as a joke up to now, and it was his choice
to make. He's the person who gets to decide war and peace.
Q Do you have any confidence in him at all, given his track
record, that he will change his ways?
THE PRESIDENT: This is a guy who was asked to declare his
weapons, said he didn't have any. This is a person who we have
proven to the world is deceiving everybody -- I mean, he's a master
at it. He's a master of deception. As I said yesterday, he'll
probably try it again. He'll probably try to lie his way out of
compliance or deceive or put out some false statement. You know, if
he wanted to disarm, he would have disarmed. We know what a disarmed
regime looks like.
I heard somebody say the other day, well, how about a beefed-up
inspection regime. Well, the role of inspectors is to sit there and
verify whether or not he's disarmed, not to play hide-and-seek in a
country the size of California. If Saddam Hussein was interested in
peace and interested in complying with the U.N. Security Council
resolutions, he would have disarmed. And, yet, for 12 years, plus 90
days, he has tried to avoid disarmament by lying and deceiving.
Yes, John, last question, then we've got to go swear the man in.
Q Sir, if the Security Council doesn't go along with you, what
happens then?
THE PRESIDENT: I have said that if Saddam Hussein does not
disarm, we will lead a coalition to disarm him. And I mean it.
Thank you all.
END 10:55 A.M. EST
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