Saying the US must confront Saddam Hussein before the Iraqi president builds a nuclear bomb, US President George W. Bush yesterday made his most direct appeal yet for public support for disarming Baghdad with force if necessary.
In his weekly radio address, Bush challenged the US Congress and the UN to take a forceful stand against Iraq, saying the "lives of millions and the peace of the world" may be at stake.
Bush said his call was gaining ground one day after Iraq flatly rejected US demands for a swift and unconditional return of UN arms inspectors. The UN inspectors, responsible for accounting for Iraq's nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic weapon programs, were pulled out of Iraq in 1998.
Bush counted Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who he was to meet with yesterday, and the leaders of Britain, Spain and Poland among those who "have reached the same conclusion I have -- that Saddam Hussein has made the case against himself."
"We must stand up for our security and for the demands of human dignity. By heritage and choice, the United States will make that stand. The world community must do so as well," Bush said.
For his address, Bush borrowed heavily from Thursday's speech to the UN General Assembly in which he bluntly warned that "action will be unavoidable" against Iraq unless the world body took a hard line forcing Baghdad to disarm.
Bush accused Saddam of maintaining stockpiles of chemical and biological agents that could be used as weapons against its neighbors, US allies and US forces in the Gulf region.
Bush accused Saddam of trying to develop nuclear weapons, saying he already had the infrastructure and has illicitly sought to purchase equipment needed to enrich uranium for a bomb. Should he acquire fissile material, Bush said Saddam would be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year.
"By supporting terrorist groups, repressing its own people and pursuing weapons of mass destruction in defiance of a decade of UN resolutions, Saddam Hussein's regime has proven itself a grave and gathering danger. To suggest otherwise is to hope against the evidence. To assume this regime's good faith is to bet the lives of millions and the peace of the world in a reckless gamble," Bush said.
Bush warned Congress against backing down, saying it "must make it unmistakably clear that when it comes to confronting the growing danger posed by Iraq's efforts to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction, the status quo is totally unacceptable."
Despite Bush's call for quick action, some Senate Democrats want to delay a vote on the use of force against Iraq until after the Nov. 5 congressional elections.
They say the Bush administration has yet to explain how a conflict in Iraq would affect the war on terrorism, who would replace Saddam if he were ousted, and whether the international community would back US action.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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