- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President
Bush said on Thursday he would support a new U.N. resolution authorizing
war on Iraq, saying "the game is over" for Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein and challenging the Security Council to stand up to Iraqi defiance.
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- With Secretary of State Colin Powell at his side, Bush
ratcheted up pressure on the Security Council, confidently signaling the
United States is prepared to go to war with a coalition of like-minded
nations with or without U.N. backing.
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- "Saddam Hussein has made Iraq into a prison, poison
factory and a torture chamber for patriots and dissidents. Saddam Hussein
has the motive and the means and the recklessness and the hatred to threaten
the American people. Saddam Hussein will be stopped," a grim-faced
Bush said.
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- Security Council members France, Russia and China have
all expressed reservations about a war against Iraq, saying U.N. weapons
inspections should be given more time, in spite of Powell's presentation
on Wednesday alleging systematic Iraqi concealment of suspected weapons
of mass destruction and Iraqi ties to terrorist groups.
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- Bush predicted a "last-minute game of deception"
from Saddam but said it will not work.
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- "The game is over. All the world can rise to this
moment. The community of free nations can show that it is strong and confident
and determined to keep the peace. The United Nations can renew its purpose
and be a source of stability and security in the world," he said.
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- Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
on Capitol Hill, Powell said he thought the showdown with Iraq "will
start to come to a head" when top U.N. weapons inspectors return next
week from a trip to Baghdad and report to the U.N. Security Council on
Feb. 14.
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- "I think we are reaching an endgame in a matter
of weeks, not a matter of months," he added.
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- In what appeared to be a coordinated effort, British
Prime Minister Tony Blair said in London he was confident of pulling France,
Russia and other war doubters behind military action against Iraq if it
was proved to be in breach of its disarmament obligations.
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- "The Security Council will show whether its words
have any meaning. Having made its demands, the Security Council must not
back down when those demands are defied and mocked by a dictator,"
said Bush.
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- He added: "The United States would welcome and support
a new resolution that makes clear the Security Council stands behind its
previous demands."
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- UNIFIED FRONT
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- U.S. officials said it was too soon to say whether they
would want a deadline for Iraqi disarmament in any resolution. One official
said Bush was open to a resolution because he wanted to present a unified
front within the international community.
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- The Bush administration, facing a wary public at home
about the prospect of war and uneasiness abroad, has support for war from
Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Hungary and the Czech
Republic and most eastern European nations as well as Australia.
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- "We're working hard to expand this coalition that
will face up to the tough decisions. We're still working to bring other
countries on board," the official said.
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- Powell insisted his U.N. presentation was starting to
sway doubting allies. He said he thought there may be more support "than
some might think" for a second U.N. resolution to disarm Iraq by force.
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- "Later in the day when I spoke to each and every
one of them and they heard what I said there was some shift in attitude
... that suggested more and more nations are realizing that this cannot
continue indefinitely," he said.
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- Powell said overthrowing the Iraqi government could reshape
the Middle East in ways that enhance U.S. interests.
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- Powell said attacking Iraq could cause "some difficulties"
for the United States in other areas in the Middle East during the conflict
and in the months immediately after a war.
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- But he added, "I think there is also the possibility
that success could fundamentally reshape that region in a powerful, positive
way that will enhance U.S. interests, especially if in the aftermath of
such a conflict, we are also able to achieve progress on the Middle East
peace."
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- The Bush administration has usually confined its argument
for attacking Iraq to the alleged threat from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
and the possibility that Saddam's government could pass them on to extremists
hostile to the United States.
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- But Powell said Washington's problem with Iraq was not
just over Iraqi cooperation with the United Nations in giving up any weapons
of mass destruction it might have, but also with threats it poses to its
neighbors.
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- Committee members generally praised Powell for the U.N.
presentation that most said showed convincing evidence that Iraq was thwarting
the inspections and had banned weapons. But Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California
Democrat, complained that he appeared to have "given up on inspections"
prematurely.
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