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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (65986)	9/18/2002 1:30:13 PM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Lining up congress--daschle and gephardt coming on board. The pressure on saddam mounts. Bush, lawmakers discuss action against Iraq September 18, 2002 Posted: 1:11 PM EDT (1711 GMT) President Bush said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is becoming "more and more a threat to world peace." WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Calling Iraq's offer to readmit U.N. weapons inspectors a "ploy," President Bush said Wednesday his administration would work with Congress on a resolution authorizing him to use force against Saddam Hussein's regime. Bush made his comments after a breakfast meeting at the White House with Vice President Cheney and congressional leaders. "It's an important signal for the world to see that this country is united in our resolve to deal with threats that we face," Bush said after talks with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota; Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi; House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois; and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Missouri. "The president is going to suggest some language for us to consider and we are going to work together and try to get a resolution that will have the broadest possible support," Lott said after the meeting. "We are going to be dealing with this from the standpoint of what Congress feels is appropriate to say about the situation and what the president should be able to do." "We are in a situation where we need strong bipartisan support in the United States to try to deal with these problems," Gephardt said. "Our highest priority is to make sure a weapon of mass destruction is not used here or anywhere." CNN NewsPass Video • Iraqis relieved over decision • European leaders still leery of Iraq MORE STORIES • Ex-inspectors doubt Iraq's offer • Bush, lawmakers to discuss war with Iraq EXTRA INFORMATION • Profile: Hans Blix • Gallery: Reactions to Bush's speech on Iraq • Timeline: White House states case for Saddam violations • Interactive: Chemical weapons • Timeline: U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq • Map: Area controlled by Kurds • Interactive Map: World stances on Iraq RESOURCES • On the Scene: Rula Amin: Iraqi people relieved • Text of Iraq letter to U.N. • U.N. resolutions on Iraq • U.N. Security Council • Transcript: Bush address to U.N. General Assembly • In-Depth: The Unfinished War The president said he was not concerned about the United States having to act unilaterally. "When we continue to make the case about his defiance, his deception -- the fact that time and time again, dozens of times, he [Saddam] has told the world, 'Oh, I will comply' and he never does -- that the nations which long for peace and care about the validity of the United Nations will join us," Bush said. "I think reasonable people understand this man is unreasonable." Daschle predicted Tuesday that Congress would vote on the resolution "well before the election." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, meanwhile, told a House committee Wednesday that Congress should not wait to authorize military action against Iraq. "Delaying a vote in Congress would send the wrong message, in my view, just as we are asking the international community to take a stand and as we are cautioning the Iraqi regime to respond and consider its options," Rumsfeld said. He said the goal of U.S. policy is not weapons inspections, but the disarmament of Iraq. (Full story) Rumsfeld's testimony was interrupted by hecklers who chanted "Inspections not war." (Full story) Washington's discussions on Iraq came two days after Iraq made a surprise offer to allow United Nations weapons inspectors back into Iraq "without conditions." The head of the U.N. weapons inspection team met with an Iraqi delegation Tuesday in what a Baghdad official called "useful and fruitful" discussions. The offer has been met with skepticism by the Bush administration, and the president reiterated Wednesday that the U.N.'s credibility would be at stake if it did not adopt a tough new resolution demanding Iraqi compliance with its commitment to disarm. But the United Nations is taking initial steps toward accepting the Iraqi offer. Weapons inspectors and Iraqi officials agreed Tuesday to meet in Vienna, Austria, in 10 days "to finalize" the arrangements for the inspectors to return for the first time since 1998. Saeed Hasan, Iraq's former U.N. ambassador, made the announcement after a one-hour meeting at the United Nations between an Iraqi delegation and Hans Blix, the head of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, or UNMOVIC. (Full story) Blix, whose team is charged with carrying out weapons inspections in Iraq, will meet with the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, the Security Council president said. Meanwhile, two former heads of U.N. weapons inspections teams in Iraq are warning against trusting Baghdad's commitments to readmitting inspectors.