US President George W. Bush said yesterday he will ask the US Congress to endorse a possible attack against Iraq and the ouster of President Saddam Hussein, and warned the UN Security Council to deal with Iraq or Washington will.
Bush told reporters the proposed resolution he will send to Congress later in the day would seek congressional endorsement of the use of military force against Baghdad if needed. It will also include a reference to "regime cha-nge," he said.
"That will be part of the resolution, authorization of use of force. If you want to keep the peace, you've got to have the authorization to use force," Bush said as he met Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in the Oval Office.
"It's a chance for Congress to say, `We support the administra-tion's ability to keep the peace.' That's what this is all about."
With a rift among members of the UN Security Council slowing action on a tough new resolution against Iraq, Bush laid down a clear marker and made clear his growing impatience.
Iraq's offer on Monday to readmit arms inspectors, made under mounting international pressure, has divided the Security Council and weakened Bush's drive for a strong new mandate for unfettered inspections backed by the threat of force.
Russia and France have said they see no need for the new resolution the administration wants, complicating Powell's attempts to negotiate tough language requiring Iraq to disarm or face the consequences. Washington accuses Iraq of developing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
Publicly challenging US skepticism over weapons inspections, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the inspectors could "easily determine" whether or not Iraq was pursuing weapons of mass destruction.
"It's not a question of trust or mistrust. It's a question of facts," Ivanov told reporters ahead of Pentagon talks with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
But Bush kept up pressure on the world body.
"The United Nations Security Council must work with the United States and Britain and other concerned parties to send a clear message that we expect Saddam to disarm, and if the United Nations Security Council won't deal with the problem, the United States and some of its friends will," he said.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu