Bush Gives Hussein 48-Hours to Quit Iraq as War Looms (Update1)
By Richard Keil and Roger Runningen
Washington, March 17 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to go into exile or face an attack, pushing the U.S. and Iraq to the brink of war.
``Events in Iraq have reached the final days of decision,'' Bush said in a nationally televised speech from the White House Great Hall. ``Peaceful efforts to disarm Iraq have failed again and again because we are not dealing with peaceful men.''
Bush said Iraq has supported terrorists, including the al- Qaeda network blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and won't disarm so long as Hussein retains power. Bush said Hussein and his sons have 48 hours to leave Iraq, or face military action ``at a time of our choosing.''
Bush's speech ended six months of U.S. and British efforts to rally United Nations Security Council support for using force to make Iraq dismantle its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs.
The U.S. and U.K. have sent more than 250,000 troops to the Persian Gulf. An Iraq conflict would be the first war under a doctrine Bush crafted after the Sept. 11 attacks. The administration holds that the U.S. must move pre-emptively to confront rogue nations that might pose threats to America.
Terror Alert Raised
The U.S. today raised its terror threat alert at home to ``orange,'' the second-highest level, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced citing possible ``multiple attacks.''
The U.S. previously issued orange alerts on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and last month after intelligence suggested a possible attack linked to the Muslim religious observance.
Bush said in his 14-minute speech that ``every measure'' has been taken to avoid war in Iraq. He told Iraqis, ``if war comes, do not fight for a dying regime. It is not worth your own life.''
Bush will make a second, ``go to war speech'' if Hussein refuses to leave Iraq, Senator Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat, told reporters after being briefed by Bush.
The U.S. and U.K. push for a war, backed by Spain, to oust Hussein has frayed relations with traditional allies such as Germany. France and Russia, both with vetoes on the Security Council, said UN arms inspections were working and had threatened to block a war resolution.
Rift at UN
The UN Security hasn't lived up to its responsibilities, Bush said. The U.S. blamed France for mobilizing opposition.
France defended its stance, saying a ``huge majority'' of the council opposed the resolution. ``It is possible to disarm Iraq through peaceful means,'' said Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, the country's ambassador to the UN.
Before Bush spoke, Iraq rejected the U.S. ultimatum, Agence- France-Presse reported. Foreign Minister Naji Sabri called Bush ``the No. 1 warmonger in the world,'' AFP said.
The probability of Hussein accepting exile is low, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner said after Bush briefed lawmakers. Bush is giving the Iraqi dictator ``this one last, clear option, that one man and his immediate family can avoid the risk and damage and loss of life,'' Warner said.
U.S. stocks rose as some investors anticipated a successful outcome in the war against Iraq, which has the world's second- largest oil reserves. Crude oil fell to a five-week low.
Warning to Leave
Bush warned journalists in Iraq to leave Iraq immediately. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he's withdrawing UN staff and weapons inspectors from Iraq and is suspending the world body's oil-for-food program in the country.
Since 1996, Iraq has been allowed to export enough oil to buy $25 billion worth of food, medicine and oil-industry equipment under an exception to UN sanctions that were imposed after the country's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The UN must approve Iraq's oil sales.
The UN also withdrew border monitors from neighboring Kuwait, and the U.S. and the U.K. ordered embassy and other staff out of that country. Russia urged its nationals to leave Iraq, while Germany, Switzerland and China began evacuating embassies in the capital, Baghdad.
The troop buildup in the region includes more than 225,000 from the U.S., 45,000 from the U.K., and 2,000 from Australia.
Warplanes, Ships
The U.S. sent B-2 Stealth bombers to the region from their base in Missouri last week. The Navy has five aircraft carriers in the region with about 300 aircraft, and a sixth carrier, the USS Nimitz, is on the way.
The Navy on March 14 moved a dozen warships from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea after Turkey refused to let the U.S. use its airspace to attack Iraq, a Navy official said.
The U.S. is still pursuing talks with Turkey, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will convene his Cabinet tomorrow to revive a proposal to base U.S. troops in the country, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener told reporters in Ankara.
Blair's support for the U.S. has cost him backing within his Labour party at home. Robin Cook, who served as his foreign secretary until 2001, quit today as leader of the House of Commons. A YouGov poll published yesterday said 60 percent of U.K. voters oppose war without a UN mandate.
In San Francisco, protesters in tragedy masks and body bags blocked rush-hour traffic today while others lined sidewalks shouting ``Stop the War.''
Short War Seen
Investors were encouraged that the uncertainty surrounding the run-up to a possible war will be ended and that the U.S. will win easily. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index surged 29.52, or 3.5 percent, to 862.79.
``The conventional wisdom is that the war will be very successfully fought and concluded quickly,'' said Marshall Front, chairman of Front Barnette Associates LLC, which has $1.3 billion under management in Chicago. That's ``ending one of the uncertainties that has plagued the economy and the market.''
Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 indexes notched their biggest three-day gains.
Crude oil for April delivery fell 45 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $34.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. ``Once the war begins, we'll probably see the release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,'' said Tom Bentz, a broker at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York.
Bush, who met with Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in the Azores yesterday, determined that diplomacy had failed after he and Secretary of State Colin Powell made phone calls this morning, Fleischer said.
Bush today called King Juan Carlos of Spain, Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon de Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss Iraq's failure to disarm.
Bush and Powell said that existing UN resolutions authorize the use of force against Iraq. ``The U.S. has a duty to protect itself,'' Bush said.
The Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1441 on Nov. 8, ordering Iraq to dismantle its biological, chemical and nuclear weapons programs or face ``serious consequences.'' |
