U.S. President Bush expressed frustration Tuesday with allies reluctant to wage war against Iraq, saying Baghdad has been given "ample time".
"This business about more time, how much time do we need to see clearly that he's not disarming?" Bush told reporters.
He was responding to suggestions from European allies, including France and Germany, that they would wage a major diplomatic fight to prevent the Security Council from passing a war resolution against Iraq. Bush said he will lead a "coalition of the willing" to disarm Iraq, if necessary.
"Time is running out," Bush said. He said Saddam possesses weapons of mass destruction and is a "serious threat" to the United States and its allies.
"It appears to be a rerun of a bad movie. He is delaying. He is deceiving. He is asking for time. He's playing hide and seek with inspectors. One thing for sure is, he's not disarming," Bush said. "So the United States of America, in the name of peace, will insist that he does disarm and we will keep pressure" on Iraq."
Bush said of reluctant allies, "Surely our friends have learned lessons from the past." "This looks like a rerun of a bad movie and I'm not interested in watching," he said.
On his part, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer responded to suggestions that allies would wage a major diplomatic fight to prevent the U.N. Security Council from passing a war resolution.
Fleischer reminded reporters Tuesday that President Bush has said he will confront Saddam without the United Nations, if necessary, to disarm Iraq. "The United States will not go it alone," he said.
Fleischer said Bush had gone to the U.N. last September "recognizing that throughout this process it would be necessary for us and other nations around the world to continue to put spine into the United Nations and the rest of the international community so the world did not slide back into the dead end road that the 1990s represented in terms of allowing Saddam Hussein to continue to build up his weapons while the world looked the other way."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday, "We must not give a signal to Saddam that there is a way out of this. There is no way out for Saddam on this issue."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Army is sending its most modern combat division to the Persian Gulf region and the Navy is dispatching two aircraft carriers to join two others already within striking distance of Iraq, officials said Tuesday, according to AP.
The Army's 4th Infantry Division, equipped with tanks, attack helicopters and artillery to defeat armored forces, is heading a group of 37,000 soldiers ordered to reposition in the Persian Gulf region. Their equipment will be shipped first, with the soldiers to go when final basing arrangements are worked out, U.S. officials said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
