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Bush Signs Iraq War Resolution

By JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press Writer
Wed, 16 Oct 2002 1:07 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) President Bush on Wednesday signed Congress' war-making resolution and told wary world leaders to "face up to our global responsibilities" to confront Saddam Hussein.

"Those who choose to live in denial may eventually be forced to live in fear," Bush said as the United Nations began a bitter debate over his plans to disarm and oust Saddam. "Every nation that shares in the benefits of peace also shares in the duty of defending the peace."

With dozens of lawmakers from both parties on hand for the East Room signing ceremony, Bush used his speech and Friday's strong congressional vote to press the U.N. to adopt a new resolution compelling Iraq to submit to unconditional weapons inspections.

"We will defend our nation and lead others in defending the peace," the president said.

Though he said military action would be his last resort, Bush left little room for Saddam to avoid confrontation. "Our goal is to fully and finally remove a real threat to world peace and to America," he said.

The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday started its first day of open debate on Iraq at the behest of the dozens of non-Security Council nations who oppose an attack on Baghdad. The debate is mostly designed to take the administration to task on its Iraq policies, and White House officials expected sharp criticism throughout the day.

Even as Bush spoke, Russia's deputy foreign minister said the United States' proposed resolution is unacceptable, while a two-step proposal from France is closer to the Kremlin's stance. Both nations hold veto power in Security Council.

"The American variant of the resolution on Iraq has not undergone changes. It is unacceptable and Russia cannot support it," Yuri Fedotov said, according to the news agency Interfax.

However, the French proposal contains "many positions that Russia shares," Fedotov was quoted as saying.

As if in reply, Bush said, "The time has arrived once again for the United Nations to live up to the purposes of its founding to protect our common security. The time has arrived once again for free nations to face up to our global responsibilities and confront a gathering danger."

"They don't have forever and the president is mindful of that," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.

Bush, who received a standing ovation as he signed the resolution from the roughly 100 lawmakers in the audience, said: "This nation will not live at the mercy of any foreign power or plot."

Flanked by Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell, the president was joined on stage by 11 lawmakers, including Sens. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., John McCain, R-Ariz., Joe Biden, D-Del., minority leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and John Warner, R-Va., and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

Noticeably absent was Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., whose granddaughter was born early Wednesday and had a schedule was packed with legislative and political business.

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., who helped negotiate the resolution and provided Bush with welcome Democratic support at a White House appearance before the vote, also did not attend. Gephardt's travel schedule kept him away, a day after he ratcheted up his strong criticism of the Bush administration and Republicans on the economy.

Fleischer said both Democratic leaders had been invited, as had all lawmakers who supported the resolution.

In a major victory for the president, weeks of back-and-forth between Congress and the White House produced little significant change in Bush's initial draft of the resolution. The measure giving Bush the authority to use military force, if necessary, to rid Iraq of its biological and chemical weapons and disband its nuclear weapons program was approved Friday.

The resolution requires the president to notify Congress, before or within 48 hours after an attack, that further diplomatic approaches would not have protected U.S. security and to explain to Congress how the military action will not hurt the war on terror. But it allows Bush to take unilateral action regardless of U.N. activities.

Just seven Republican lawmakers six in the House and one in the Senate opposed the resolution, while nearly half the congressional Democrats were unwilling to give Bush such open-ended war-making authority and voted no.

The resolution passed the House by a 296-133 margin and by a 77-23 margin in the Senate. But passage came with entreaties by lawmakers from both parties for Bush to exhaust all diplomatic efforts before using military force.

The Bush administration had hoped the congressional action would fortify the U.S.- and British-backed effort at the United Nations. France, Russia and China, the Security Council's other veto-capable permanent members, remain opposed to a resolution authorizing military action if it refuses to cooperate with inspectors. France has preferred a separate resolution to be debated afterward.

In his speech, Bush spelled out several ways Saddam has avoided compliance with U.N. resolutions on weapons of mass destruction and made it clear his patience was running out.

"I have not ordered use of force. I hope the use of force will not become necessary. Yet, confronting the threat posed by Iraq is necessary by whatever means that requires," he said.




Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.