Bush to Urge U.N. to Force Iraq to Disarm

12/09/2002| IslamWeb

HIGHLIGHTS: Bush to Stress Washington Readiness to Act on it Own But Wouldn't Deliver an Ultimatum||White House Publishes 22-Page Document Laying out Saddam's Defiance of the UN||U.S. Policy on Iraq Wins Cautious Support from Portugal & Belgium But Bush Faces an audience of World Leaders Opposed to Any War on Iraq||21 World Dignitaries to Address UN General Assembly after Bush|| STORY: President Bush will deliver a toughly worded challenge to the United Nations later on Thursday to force Iraq to disarm or risk irrelevance.

Implicit in Bush's message to the U.N. General Assembly will be that the United States stands ready to act on its own, but aides involved in preparing the speech said Bush would not be delivering an ultimatum, essentially giving the United Nations a last chance to act.

In what sounded like a reference to Iraq, Bush said on Wednesday night at New York's Ellis Island that "we will not allow any terrorist or tyrant to threaten civilization with weapons of mass murder."

LISTING IRAQ'S VIOLATION OF UN RESOLUTION

To back up his speech, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EDT, the White House released a 22-page document laying out "Saddam Hussein's defiance of the United Nations."

It listed 16 U.N. Security Council resolutions that it said the Iraqi president had repeatedly violated, including requirements that he destroy weapons of mass destruction and not develop new ones; destroy all ballistic missiles with a range greater than 94 miles, and stop support for terrorism and prevent terrorist organizations from operating within Iraq.

It also charged that Saddam continues to rebuild and expand facilities it could quickly divert to chemical weapons production, and is able to produce chlorine -- a key ingredient in chemical weapons -- at a level far higher than any civilian need for water treatment.

"This document is a crystal clear roadmap to Saddam's consistent defiance of the United Nations," said Jim Wilkinson, deputy White House communications director.

MOST WORLD LEADERS OPPOSED TO ANY WAR AGAINST IRAQ

In recent days, Bush and his team have consulted widely with foreign leaders and emphasized their desire to work with the United Nations to get the U.N. resolutions enforced.

"He's going to call on the U.N. to act, and then we will begin the process of trying to determine how that is," said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The United States won cautious support on Iraq from two European countries at the United Nations on Wednesday.

Not every speaker at the General Assembly on Thursday has Iraq on his mind, among the 21 dignitaries addressing the assembly after Bush. They include President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Alexandro Toledo of Peru, Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe among many others.

Before the opening segment of the General Assembly ends on Sept. 20, some 52 presidents and prime ministers as well as 129 foreign ministers will have addressed the assembly.

PHOTO CAPTION

President Bush addresses the Nation from Ellis Island, in New York Harbor, with the Statue of Liberty as his backdrop, on the one year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2002. (AP Photo/New York Daily News, Harry Hamburg, Pool)
- Sep 11 11:18 PM ET