Post by Bret Walker on Oct 8, 2002 8:45:50 GMT -5
Bush: Saddam a 'Homicidal Dictator'
The Associated Press
Oct 8 2002 8:17AM
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House and Senate prepared to take a step toward war by giving President Bush authority to use military force against Iraq's Saddam Hussein, whom the president labeled a ``homicidal dictator'' and the world's greatest threat to peace.
Both houses were to begin formal debate Tuesday and hoped to conclude by Thursday night, with expectations they would approve a resolution providing the president wide latitude to take military action to disarm Saddam of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and, if possible, depose the Iraqi leader.
In a somber address to the nation Monday evening, Bush said the threat from Iraq was unique and imminent and there was no time to wait for final proof that Saddam had developed a nuclear capability - ``the smoking gun - that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.''
``While there are many dangers in the world, the threat from Iraq stands alone because it gathers the most serious dangers of our age in one place,'' the president said.
Bush told a Cincinnati audience in his televised speech that Saddam was ``a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction,'' and that if he succeeds in obtaining nuc lear weapons to add to his biological and chemical stockpiles, he ``would be in a position to blackmail anyone who opposes his aggression.''
The House has allotted 21 hours to debate what House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., a chief sponsor of the White House-backed resolution, called ``one of the most consequential questions we will deal with for years to come.''
That resolution urges the United Nations to enforce strict new rules on inspecting Iraq and eliminating its weapons of mass destruction, while giving the president the authority to act unilaterally if the United Nations fails to crack down on the Iraqi threat. It also requires the president to notify Congress, no later than 48 hours after commencing military action, on why diplomatic efforts were inadequate.
For the full article, click here
The Associated Press
Oct 8 2002 8:17AM
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House and Senate prepared to take a step toward war by giving President Bush authority to use military force against Iraq's Saddam Hussein, whom the president labeled a ``homicidal dictator'' and the world's greatest threat to peace.
Both houses were to begin formal debate Tuesday and hoped to conclude by Thursday night, with expectations they would approve a resolution providing the president wide latitude to take military action to disarm Saddam of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and, if possible, depose the Iraqi leader.
In a somber address to the nation Monday evening, Bush said the threat from Iraq was unique and imminent and there was no time to wait for final proof that Saddam had developed a nuclear capability - ``the smoking gun - that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.''
``While there are many dangers in the world, the threat from Iraq stands alone because it gathers the most serious dangers of our age in one place,'' the president said.
Bush told a Cincinnati audience in his televised speech that Saddam was ``a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction,'' and that if he succeeds in obtaining nuc lear weapons to add to his biological and chemical stockpiles, he ``would be in a position to blackmail anyone who opposes his aggression.''
The House has allotted 21 hours to debate what House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., a chief sponsor of the White House-backed resolution, called ``one of the most consequential questions we will deal with for years to come.''
That resolution urges the United Nations to enforce strict new rules on inspecting Iraq and eliminating its weapons of mass destruction, while giving the president the authority to act unilaterally if the United Nations fails to crack down on the Iraqi threat. It also requires the president to notify Congress, no later than 48 hours after commencing military action, on why diplomatic efforts were inadequate.
For the full article, click here
