The Hindu : Clock ticking away for Saddam Hussein

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 19, 2003

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Clock ticking away for Saddam Hussein

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington March 18. The U.S. President, George W. Bush, has issued an ultimatum to the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, giving him and his sons 48 hours to leave the country or face war.

"All the decades of deceit and cruelty have now reached an end. Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in a military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing," Mr. Bush said, asserting that "instead of drifting along towards tragedy, we will set a course towards safety."

That 48-hour clock started ticking at 8 p.m. (local time) on Monday. Mr. Bush also gave notice to all the foreign nationals, including journalists and inspectors, to leave Iraq immediately for their safety. Speaking at primetime from the State Floor Cross Hallway of the White House, Mr. Bush was direct in his remarks aimed at audiences in the United States, Iraq and the international community. He did not spare the United Nations Security Council. "For the last four-and-a-half months the United States and its allies have worked with the Security Council to enforce the Council's long standing demands. Yet some permanent members of the Security Council have publicly announced that they will veto any resolution that compels the disarmament of Iraq. These Governments share our assessment of the danger, but not our resolve to meet it," he said, stressing, "the United Nations Security Council has not lived up to its responsibilities. So we will rise to ours."

Mr. Bush also had an important message for the people of Iraq. He said that should the U.S. unleash military action, it would not be directed at them. "If we must begin a military campaign, it will be directed against the lawless men who rule your country and not against you," he said. In the event of the coalition dismantling the present scheme of things in Baghdad, it would also be bringing in food and medicine and building a new Iraq that would be prosperous and free. "In a free Iraq there will be no more wars of aggression against your neighbours, no more poison factories, no more executions of dissidents, no more torture chambers and rape-rooms. The tyrant will soon be gone. The day of your liberation is near," he assured them.

Mr. Bush used the occasion to give advice and warning to members of the Iraqi military and intelligence services. "... if war comes, do not fight for a dying regime which is not worth your own life."

"In any conflict your fate will depend on your actions. Do not destroy oil wells, a source of wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people. Do not obey any command to use weapons of mass destruction against anyone, including Iraqis. War crimes attract prosecution. War criminals will be punished. And it would be no defence to say I was just following orders," Mr. Bush said.

He cautioned Americans that in the event of a military conflict, the country could be a target for terrorists, alongside which there was an assurance that adequate steps were being taken to meet the threats. "... we will not be intimidated by thugs and killers. If our enemies dare to strike us, they and all who have aided them will face fearful consequences," he said.

Before addressing the nation, Mr. Bush met with Congressional leaders in the White House. On Monday, he talked to several world leaders, including those of Britain, Spain, Australia, Bulgaria, Israel and Senegal. On Capitol Hill, senior Democrats were somewhat unhappy at the manner in which diplomacy had failed and the fact that the U.S. was now on the brink of war. "I'm saddened — saddened that this President failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war," remarked the Senate Democratic leader, Tom Daschle.

At the United Nations, where events unfolded in a rapid fashion on Monday, the top Iraqi envoy, Mohammad al-Douri, expressed regret that things had come to such a pass.

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