10/03/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-10166

BUSH ON TERRORISM WAR

The U.S.-led coalition is making progress in the war against global terrorism. "Sometimes," said President George W. Bush, "it’s hard to tell the progress. This is a different kind of war." You don’t count the number of tanks destroyed, nor the number of aircraft shot down. Terrorists don’t have tanks. They don’t have planes. Terrorists, said Mr. Bush, "hide in caves. They send youngsters to their suicidal death[s].... They’re resourceful and they’re determined, but they’re not as resourceful or determined as the United States of America."

The U.S.-led coalition is relentless. As President Bush said, "There’s going to be some steep hills to climb, and we’re going to have to climb them." There are still al-Qaeda terrorists remaining in Afghanistan. They will be found. They will either be killed or captured and brought to justice. Mr. Bush said the U.S. "went into Afghanistan not to conquer anybody, but to free people."

Defeating terrorism is critical. But as Mr. Bush said, "We’ve also got a big chore to make sure the world’s worst leaders never threaten, blackmail or harm America with the world’s worst weapons."

President Bush went to the United Nations to make the case against the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein. "I wanted to make the case. . . .against a man who has lied to the world. For eleven long years he has stood in defiance of [U-N] resolution after resolution, and at the same time built up his cache of chemical and biological weapons."

"This is a man," said President Bush, "who has. . . .used [poison] gas on his own citizens. A man who has used chemical weapons on his neighbors. A man who has invaded two countries [Iran and Kuwait]"

Saddam Hussein has one choice: he can disarm. As President Bush put it, "There’s nothing to negotiate with him. He told the world he would disarm eleven years ago, and he’s lied to the world."

Saddam Hussein must disarm. If he doesn’t, then "the United Nations, in order to be effective, must disarm him," said President Bush. "But for the sake of our freedom, for the sake of our future, if nothing happens, the United States will lead a coalition to hold him to account and to disarm Saddam Hussein. We owe it to the world to do so."