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Politics : Pres. George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PROLIFE who wrote (301)	9/28/2002 11:50:04 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 601

Bush: Congress Near Iraq Agreement Sat Sep 28,10:07 AM ET By LAWRENCE L. KNUTSON, Associated Press Writer URL: story.news.yahoo.com CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush ( news - web sites) says Congress, guided by leaders of both parties, is nearing agreement on a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq's Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites). Soon the nation will "speak with one voice" in demanding that the Iraqi president rid his nation of weapons of mass destruction, Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address. He said the Democratic and Republican leaders with whom he met this week are united in their determination to confront what he called a grave and growing danger posed by Iraq to the national security interests of the United States and its allies. In a move to win international approval for action to disarm Iraq, the United States has drafted a tough resolution for the U.N. Security Council that would force Iraq to reveal all weapons of mass destruction in its arsenal and give inspectors from the United Nations ( news - web sites) total access to verify the information. The resolution's wording was to win over skeptical China, France and Russia, who can veto any resolution. The United States and its close ally, Britain, are the other veto powers. "We refuse to live in this future of fear," Bush said in his radio address. He spelled out the threat his administration says is posed to the world by Iraq's possession of chemical and biological weapons and what he said is its determination also to acquire nuclear weapons. "We're moving toward a strong resolution authorizing the use of force, if necessary, to defend our national security interests against the threat posed by Saddam Hussein," Bush said. "We are making progress, we are nearing agreement, and soon we will speak with one voice." The president, however, still has a way to go in building firm bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, once an advocate of granting Bush the right to strike Saddam, is now questioning the administration's political motives as the Nov. 5 midterm elections draw near. On Friday, speaking before Republican audiences in Colorado and Arizona, Bush repeatedly made clear that while war is a possibility it is not his first option and that he would prefer a peaceful resolution of the crisis under the auspices of the United Nations. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer ( news - web sites) also underscored the theme, declaring that Bush has said "a million times" that war doesn't have to be the first choice and that the United Nations should have the chance to compel Iraq to abandon its arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. The text of the draft U.N. resolution was not released, but officials outlined its substance. The document would give inspectors the right to designate "no-fly" and "no-drive" zones in Iraq, similar to flight-interdiction zones in northern and southern Iraq now policed by U.S. and British warplanes. The resolution also would nullify assurances Secretary-General Kofi Annan ( news - web sites) gave Saddam in 1998 that restrict inspections of presidential sites such as Saddam's palaces. The resolution also envisions an end to the Iraqi practice of assigning government guides to accompany inspectors and would detail Iraq's violations and specify what Baghdad must do to correct them. The main requirement would be "full, final and complete destruction" of weapons of mass destruction. "I'm willing to give peace a chance to work. I want the United Nations to work," Bush said at a fund-raising event in Denver. He delivered the message again at an outdoor rally in Flagstaff, Ariz. "To work for peace, that's my goal," he said. "Our last choice is to commit our troops to harm's way," Bush added. "But if we have to, to defend our freedoms, the United States will lead a coalition and do so." In the radio address, Bush called Saddam "a dangerous and brutal man." He sharpened that description on the road, saying at one point that "we must make sure that madman never has the capacity to hurt us with a nuclear weapon or use the stockpiles of anthrax that we know he has." Bush is spending the weekend at his Texas ranch.