Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (3581)	1/24/2003 8:13:27 PM
From: Ed Huang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

Bush to Gird U.S. for Prospect of War in Speech Fri January 24, 2003 03:58 PM ET By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush will use his State of the Union speech on Tuesday to gird Americans for the possibility of war with Iraq, White House officials said on Friday. Bush will "talk about the direct nature and threat that the Iraqi regime poses due to the massive piles of weapons of mass destruction it currently possesses," said White House communications director Dan Bartlett. Bush is not expected to issue an ultimatum to President Saddam Hussein or declare war on Iraq. White House officials played down the prospect that Bush will outline new evidence of the Iraqi threat, something the Bush administration has been reluctant to do because of concerns intelligence sources could be compromised even though such evidence could be crucial to swaying public opinion. In his annual address to report on the state of the country, Bush will also pledge he is "equal to the task" of restoring growth in the weak U.S. economy and adding a prescription drug benefit to the government-backed Medicare health insurance program for seniors while putting Medicare on a sound financial footing. For an economy that is "coming out of recession at an unsatisfactory rate," Bartlett said Bush will use the speech before a joint session of Congress to promote his $674 billion plan to stimulate growth in the U.S. economy. A key part of the plan, eliminating the tax on dividends paid by shareholders, has gotten a lukewarm response on Capitol Hill. But the language the American people will mostly be wanting to hear about will be on Iraq, at a time when thousands of troops are shipping off to the Gulf to prepare for a military attack if Iraq refuses to give up its suspected weapons of mass destruction. Polls show many Americans seem ambivalent about the need for military action soon given the ongoing U.N. inspections. 'EDUCATE THE PUBLIC' "It's a speech to continue to educate the public about why we are taking the course that we are, that we have the prospect of war and it's important to explain why and to give in a way only a president or a commander-in-chief can," Bartlett told a group of reporters. "We are mobilizing troops. Troops are not just a generic name. Troops means families, troops means husbands, troops means wives and children. And the president appreciates and understands his role in educating the public why it's necessary to take these steps and this will give him an opportunity to do that," Bartlett said. Bush got his first draft of the speech from chief speechwriter Mike Gerson a week ago and has been working on it all week. His first dress rehearsal for the teleprompter was likely on Friday afternoon. It was a year ago that Bush cited Iraq as part of an "axis of evil" with North Korea and Iran, rogue nations bent on developing weapons of mass destruction. In the year since, he has prodded the U.N. Security Council to approve a disarmament resolution requiring that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein disarm. The speech comes the day after U.N. inspectors report to the Security Council on the extent of Iraqi cooperation. Bush is expected to lay out the case against Iraq, saying that Saddam is actively trying to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and that the world cannot afford to put off any longer dealing with Saddam. Bartlett said Bush remained committed to the diplomatic process, even as France and Germany raise objections to U.S. war planning. "The decision of disarmament has been made," he said. "That was made in (U.N. Resolution) 1441. The question is enforcement of that decision. And that's something that's still in the diplomatic process, and one which the president will make clear is one that we will see through," he said.