President Bush said Monday the United States will unleash war against Iraq unless Saddam Hussein flees his country within 48 hours. The president warned Americans that terrorists may strike in retaliation and put the nation on higher alert.
“The tyrant will soon be gone,” vowed Bush, commander in chief of 250,000 U.S. troops poised to strike.
Bush set a course for war without UN backing after months of futilely trying to persuade Saddam to disarm. In an address televised worldwide, he spoke to several audiences at once, starting with the American public and skeptical allies and including Saddam, Iraq’s military and its citizens.
“The day of your liberation is near,” Bush told Iraqis.
The speech did not silence opposition from home and abroad to Bush’s tough-on-Saddam policies. Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle said Bush had failed “miserably” at diplomacy, forcing the United States to go to war with Iraq.
Bush said for the first time that Saddam could not retain power even by beginning to disarm his nation of weapons of mass destruction–long the stated goal of U.S. policy in Iraq. The only way war can be avoided now is Saddam’s exile, Bush said.
“All the decades of deceit and cruelty have now reached an end,” the president said. “Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict commenced at a time of our choosing.”
The 48-hour clock started at 8 p.m. EST Monday, White House spokesman Adam Levine said.
An intense White House debate over whether to establish a timetable was settled hours before the president’s speech. Some argued that Bush should not set a deadline because Saddam could use the notice to build opposition to the president’s case or even launch a pre-emptive strike.
Bush issued his ultimatum after UN allies refused to back his bid for a resolution sanctioning military force. The diplomatic defeat led Bush to move toward war accompanied by Britain, Spain, Australia and a handful of other nations in his self-described “coalition of the willing.”
Iraq denied it has weapons of mass destruction, and Bush offered no new evidence to counter Baghdad’s assertion.
Bush addressed Iraqi troops directly.
“If war comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not worth your own life,” Bush said. He told soldiers to listen carefully to his warning that they should not destroy oil wells or use weapons of mass destruction.
To civilians in Iraq, he said, “If we must begin a military campaign it will be directed to lawless men who direct your country and not at you.”
He pledged the United States would provide food, medicine and other assistance as Iraq recovers from war.
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58 Percent of Americans polled who favor invading Iraq with U.S. ground troops in the next week or two in an attempt to remove Saddam Hussein from power.
40 Percent who oppose an invasion.
57 Percent polled who think the Bush administration has made a convincing case about the need for the U.S. to take action against Iraq.
41 Percent who don’t.
54 Percent of Americans polled who view Iraq as a long-term threat to the United States, but not an immediate threat.
36 Percent of Americans polled who view Iraq as an immediate threat to the United States.
10 Percent of Americans polled who say Iraq does not pose a threat at all.
Source: Gallup Poll of 1,007 national adults, conducted March 14-15; margin of error is +/1 3 percentage points.
Chicago Tribune.
