Bush Stiffens Warning of War With Iraq, Says Hussein Missed His 'Final Chance'
By Dana Milbank and Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, January 29, 2003; Page A01
President Bush took the nation to the edge of war with Iraq last night, declaring in his annual State of the Union message that Saddam Hussein had missed his "final chance" by showing contempt for U.N. weapons inspections.
The president, addressing a joint session of Congress and a nationwide television audience of tens of millions, stopped short of committing to war. But he provided a long list of allegations of the Iraqi president's efforts to thwart the inspections and left no doubt that he is ready to part ways with allies who want to give inspectors more time.
"The course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others," the president said. "Whatever action is required, whenever action is necessary, I will defend the freedom and security of the American people."
Though Bush was interrupted by applause more than 75 times, the House chamber was still and silent as he spoke ominously of a coming war and the "decisive days that lie ahead," pointing his index finger to emphasize his vow to confront "every enemy that threatens the American people." Bush devoted nearly half of his hour-long address to other matters, proposing $400 billion for a Medicare prescription drug benefit, $10 billion in new funding to combat AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, and $6 billion for a "Project BioShield" to develop vaccines and treatments for bioterror agents. But at a time when many senior White House officials consider war with Iraq all but inevitable, Bush's most-anticipated remarks dealt with the looming conflict.
Bush's words, building on increasingly bellicose remarks that he and his aides have made in recent weeks, amounted to a broad articulation of the case for war against Iraq. Though he did not say so explicitly, Bush made clear that was his direction. North Korea and Iran, members of the "axis of evil" first mentioned in last year's address, were afterthoughts last night. On a day when U.S. forces in Afghanistan fought their biggest battle in nearly a year, Bush made no reference to the fighting there or to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Instead, he spoke passionately about Iraq. "Almost three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave Saddam Hussein his final chance to disarm," the president said. "He has shown instead his utter contempt for the United Nations, and for the opinion of the world."
Bush offered examples of Hussein's concealment of germ, chemical and nuclear programs. The president, echoing information divulged by his lieutenants in recent weeks, did not present much new evidence but was more specific in his allegations. For example, he said the United States now has information about Iraq's mobile bio-weapons labs "from three Iraqi defectors."
The president also said that "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 Qaeda."
Bush asserted new facets of Iraqi obstruction of the two-month-old U.N. inspection program. "From intelligence sources we know . . . that thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors -- sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors themselves," he said. Bush added that Iraqi scientists have been threatened with death if they cooperate with inspectors.
"The dictator of Iraq is not disarming; to the contrary, he is deceiving," the president said. Speaking to Iraqis, Bush made clear his intentions: "Your enemy is not surrounding your country -- your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation." Addressing U.S. troops in the Middle East, he said, ominously: "Some crucial hours may lie ahead. In those hours, the success of our cause will depend on you."
The "only possible explanation" for Hussein's efforts to build biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, Bush said, was "to dominate, intimidate, or attack," adding that Iraq might provide weapons to terrorist groups that would use them to attack this country.
Democrats and leaders of several traditional allies of the United States have demanded more compelling evidence that Iraq is the greatest threat facing the world. Administration officials said Bush intends to supply it, perhaps beginning next week. The new material will include documentation that Iraq has moved weapons and equipment hours and days before inspections, officials said.
After the speech, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), said he intends to introduce a resolution to "require the president to come back to Congress and present convincing evidence of an imminent threat before we send troops to war in Iraq." Kennedy said that conditions have changed since Congress authorized use of force against Iraq in October and argued that Bush "did not make a persuasive case that the threat is imminent and war is the only alternative."
Bush spoke in strongly moral terms that indicated his mind is set. "This threat is new; America's duty is familiar," he said, comparing terrorism to "Hitlerism, militarism and communism."
"Once again, we are called to defend the safety of our people, and the hopes of all mankind, and we accept this responsibility," he said.
Bush aides said earlier yesterday that he would speak to the nation again when he sets a final deadline for Hussein, and again if he decides to launch an attack.
The president delivered the address at a time when his leadership, both domestic and foreign, is less popular than at any point since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Facing growing opposition to his Iraq policy, doubts about his economic stewardship and lukewarm support for his domestic policies, Bush used last night's speech -- as he has other high-visibility addresses in his presidency -- to refocus the nation's attention and priorities.
"This country has many challenges," Bush said last night, vowing: "We will not deny, we will not ignore, we will not pass along our problems to other Congresses, other presidents, and other generations. We will confront them with focus, and clarity, and courage."
Bush dedicated only glancing attention to some of his biggest proposals. His Medicare proposal received just 130 of the speech's 5,400 words, and his dividend tax cut, the centerpiece of his economic proposal, was dealt with in a couple of sentences.
Bush said the nation is employing an "early warning network" of bioterrorism sensors. Among various smaller initiatives, he proposed $600 million to expand drug treatment programs, $450 million for mentoring programs and $1.2 billion to develop hydrogen-powered automobiles. He also called for limits on malpractice awards, enactment of his long-stalled energy plan (though he did not specifically mention drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) and more of his "compassion" agenda, including what aides say will be a voucher program to fund social services organizations that proselytize.
The president said he will form a Terrorist Threat Integration Center to combine domestic and foreign intelligence from throughout the government. The center, to be run by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, does not require congressional approval, Bush aides said.
In both foreign and domestic affairs, Bush offered little in the way of big policies. Rather than propose new remedies for the nation's ills, he stuck mostly to his existing proposals and policies. The speech, in that sense, was somewhat cautious, updating arguments to build support for existing proposals, many of which face difficult prospects in Congress.
White House officials viewed the speech, Bush's fourth to a joint session of Congress, as a crucial chance for him to reconnect with an increasingly skeptical public as he heads into his reelection campaign, and to regain his footing internationally as he begins making the closing arguments to allies about joining a coalition to unseat Hussein.
Bush's wartime luster has been steadily tarnished month by month, to the point that his aides said over the weekend that they could see their political mortality for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001. The budget deficit is ballooning and unemployment has risen, while consumer confidence, stock prices and business investments have fallen.
Democrats, in their official response delivered by Washington Gov. Gary Locke, took issue with Bush on the full range of foreign and domestic policies but emphasized his economic plans. "This administration's policies will produce deficits of over a trillion dollars over the next decade," Locke said. "These policies have powerful and painful consequences. It does too little to stimulate the economy now and does too much to weaken our economic future."
Bush emphasized many themes that produce partisan divisions, and Democrats, who applauded him a year ago at the height of his wartime luster, often stayed silent and occasionally flashed sour expressions as their GOP colleagues interrupted Bush with applause, sometimes with whoops and standing ovations. While Democrats rose on several occasions, they made their objections clear in smaller ways. Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) used the president's speech as a fan at one point.
The White House made extraordinary efforts to use the speech as a turning point. Bush met with newspaper columnists in the morning, then ate lunch with 11 network anchors. Senior adviser Karl Rove called in to conservative radio shows. Rove and communications director Dan Bartlett provided an afternoon briefing about the speech's themes to more than 30 Republican lobbyists and activists in a conference room next to the White House.
Matthew Dowd, Bush's polling coordinator, issued a memo before Bush's speech to play down the high expectations of Bush. "State of the Union addresses at this point in Presidents' terms don't usually move numbers on job approval," he argued, using historical examples.
While eschewing big new proposals, Bush made several gestures last night certain to thrill his conservative supporters and antagonize Democrats, including proposals to end the procedure opponents call "partial birth" abortion and all human cloning. Bush did not specifically mention his voucher plan, which would allow religious groups, even those that seek to convert participants, to get government money. But Bush had as his guest an official from Teen Challenge, a drug treatment group calling itself "an inherently Christian program."
At present, almost all of its funding -- $67 million in 2001 -- comes from private donations, he said. The program does not require participants to become Christian, but the group's president, the Rev. John D. Castellani, testified to a House subcommittee in May 2001 that some of its clients become "completed Jews," meaning that they convert to Christianity. Castellani later apologized for that phrase, saying he thought it was "a compliment."
To build support for his Medicare proposal, Bush invited an elderly couple who are activists in the Coalition for Medicare Choices, a group affiliated with the American Association of Health Plans, a lobbying group for HMOs. And to gain support for his plan to reduce medical malpractice awards, he invited a Florida obstetrician who had said she had to close her practice in 2002 because her malpractice insurance company left the state; press reports from 2001 also indicate that she was de-listed from a Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO.
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