Toppling Saddam
Although US President George W Bush stopped short of a unilateral declaration of war on Iraq in his annual State of the Union address, all indications are that war is imminent, reports Khaled Dawoud from Washington
US President George Bush won plenty of applause from Congress members listening to his annual and traditionally significant State of the Union address on Tuesday night, yet some came out of the meeting still unconvinced that he has presented a strong case to the American people or the world on why Iraq poses an "imminent" threat or why military action needs to take place now.
This hardly matters for a US president whose speech clearly reflected that a decision has already been made to go to war. Bush declared that a "brutal dictator [Saddam Hussein] with a history of reckless aggression -- with ties to terrorism [and] great potential wealth -- will not be permitted to dominate a vital region and threaten the United States."
Bush went on to reiterate his somewhat clichéd daily statements: that Washington remained ready to consult with other countries, "but let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm, for the safety of our people, and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him."
Making good use of the extremely negative report presented to the UN Security Council by chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix on Monday, the US president repeated Iraq's violations of Security Council resolution 1441. Bush again revived claims, after earlier official denial, of a possible link between Saddam and Osama Bin Laden's Al- Qa'eda network responsible for the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. This was mainly to back up his new strategy of preemptive strikes against "outlaw" regimes that possess weapons of mass destruction.
He also announced that the United States has asked the UN Security Council to convene on 5 February, "to consider the facts of Iraq's ongoing defiance of the world". He added that Secretary of State Colin Powell will present "information and intelligence about Iraq's illegal weapons programmes, its attempts to hide those weapons from inspectors, and its links to terrorist groups".
"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody, reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al-Qa'eda. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own," he added.
In a clear move to win the hearts and minds of Americans, who are increasingly sceptical about justifications for war but still deeply hurt by the 11 September attacks, Bush said, "Imagine those 19 hijackers [on 11 September] with other weapons, and other plans -- this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take just one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. We will do everything in our power to make sure that day never comes."
He also accused Iraq of failing to provide evidence that it destroyed, as it claimed in its 12,000- page declaration presented on 7 December in accordance with Resolution 1441, its arsenal of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Among the weapons unaccounted for were materials sufficient to produce over 25,000 litres of anthrax, materials sufficient to produce more than 38,000 litres of botulinum toxin and materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve agent. All these weapons are capable of killing several million people, Bush said. He added that US intelligence indicated that Iraq has upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents and several mobile biological weapons labs designed to produce germ warfare agents, which can be moved from place to place to evade inspectors.
Bush also reiterated the allegation that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons, despite official denial by Mohamed El-Baradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in his report to the UN Security Council on Monday. Bush cited reports by the British government that the Iraqi regime has been seeking significant quantities of uranium from Africa and that it attempted to purchase high strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. El-Baradei, on Monday, did acknowledge that Baghdad made such purchases, but said his inspectors confirmed they were aimed at developing missiles, not nuclear weapons.
Bush also alleged that, "thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the UN inspectors -- sanitising inspection sites, and monitoring the inspectors themselves. Iraqi officials accompany the inspectors in order to intimidate witnesses." He added that Iraqi intelligence officers were posing as the scientists inspectors are supposed to interview, while real scientists have been coached by Iraqi officials on what to say. Repeating a claim made in an earlier speech by Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Bush said the Iraqi president has ordered that scientists who cooperate with UN inspectors in disarming Iraq will be killed, along with their families. Finally, he said Iraq was blocking US U-2 spy planes, from carrying out surveillance flights requested by the UN.
Leaving little doubt that he had any option but war, Bush still concluded his statements on Iraq with, "we seek peace. We strive for peace. And sometimes peace must be defended. A future lived at the mercy of terrible threats is no peace at all. If war is forced upon us, we will fight in a just cause and by just means -- sparing, in every way we can, the innocent. And if war is forced upon us, we will fight with the full force and might of the United States military -- and we will prevail. And as we and our coalition partners are doing in Afghanistan, we will bring to the Iraqi people food, and medicines, and supplies -- and freedom."
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 30 Jan. - 5 Feb. 2003 (Issue No. 623)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/623/sc2.htm