Saddam Hussein

“ As diplomatic efforts continue, we must never lose sight of the basic facts about the regime of Baghdad.
We know from recent history that Saddam Hussein is a reckless dictator who has twice invaded his neighbors without provocation -- wars that led to death and suffering on a massive scale. We know from human rights groups that dissidents in Iraq are tortured, imprisoned and sometimes just disappear; their hands, feet and tongues are cut off; their eyes are gouged out; and female relatives are raped in their presence. ”

“ America and the world are safer today without Saddam Hussein in power. He is no longer oppressing the Iraqi people, sponsoring terror, and threatening the world. He is now being tried for his crimes, and over 25 million Iraqis now live in freedom. ”

“ I strongly believe our country is better off with Saddam Hussein out of power. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was an enemy of America who shot at our airplanes, had a history of pursuing and using weapons of mass destruction, threatened and invaded his neighbors, ordered the death of thousands of his citizens, and supported terrorism. ”

“ On this side of sublime meanings and the true free stand were your people, you Arabs. It is your valiant army, you faithful freedom fighters. It is Iraq, you good people in humanity at large. It is the son of the immortal twin rivers, the bearer of the greatest mark in honour, character, principles, faith, stand, sword and banner. It is he whom you have known for the last ten years defending the principles of faith and humanity and defending the principles of his glorious Arab nation. ”

“ Iraq’s future, your future, has never been more full of hope. The tyrant is a prisoner. The economy is moving forward. You have before you the prospect of sovereign government in a few months.
With the arrest of Saddam Hussein, there is a new opportunity for members of the former regime, whether military or civilian, to end their bitter opposition. Let them come forward now in a spirit of reconciliation and hope, lay down their arms and join you, their fellow citizens, in the task of building the new Iraq. ”

“ American and coalition forces are steadily advancing against the regime of Saddam Hussein. With each new village they liberate, our forces are learning more about the atrocities of that regime, and the deep fear the dictator has instilled in the Iraqi people. Yet no crime of this dying regime will divert us from our mission. We will not stop until Iraq is free. ”

“ In my view, it is the riskiest of all options — because the longer we wait, the stronger and bolder Saddam Hussein will become. We could wait and hope that Saddam does not give weapons to terrorists, or develop a nuclear weapon to blackmail the world. But I am convinced that is a hope against all evidence.
As Americans, we want peace — we work and sacrifice for peace — and there can be no peace if our security depends on the will and whims of a ruthless and aggressive dictator. I am not willing to stake one American life on trusting Saddam Hussein. ”

“ Iraq is overcoming decades of a vicious tyranny, under which governmental authority stemmed solely from fear, terror, and brutality. Saddam Hussein devastated Iraq, wrecked its economy, ruined its infrastructure, and destroyed its human capital. It is not realistic to expect a fully functioning democracy, able to defeat its enemies and peacefully reconcile generational grievances, to be in place less than three years after Saddam was finally removed from power. We and the Iraqi people are fighting a ruthless enemy, which is multi-headed, with competing ambitions and differing networks. ”

“ I have tried to support our President, believing at the time of the vote on the war in Iraq that we had been given good intelligence and knowing that Saddam Hussein was a menace to the world, a brutal dictator, a tyrant by any standard, and one who threatened our country in many different ways, through the financing and fomenting of terrorism. ”

“ Millions of Iraqis feel the same as their country is finally returned to them. The nightmare of Saddam Hussein's rule in Iraq is ending. Soon, the good and gifted people of Iraq will be free to choose their leaders who respect their rights and reflect their character. In all that is to come, they will have the goodwill of the entire world. ”

“ Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction." ”

“ For all who love freedom and peace, the world without Saddam Hussein's regime is a better and safer place. ”

“ The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated. ”

“ Any group or nation that threatens the stability of the region threatens those interests.
For the past five years, Saddam Hussein has repeatedly threatened the stability of the Persian Gulf and our allies, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Time and again, he has lashed out recklessly against his neighbors and against his own people. America's policy has been to contain Saddam, to reduce the threat he poses to the region, and to do it in a way that makes him pay a price when he acts recklessly. ”

“ Saddam Hussein is not disarming. We must take him now. We have shown an incredible amount of patience until now. Two weeks remain. In two weeks we will be ready militarily. I believe we will obtain the second resolution. In the Security Council we have the three Africans (Cameroon, Angola, and Guinea) , the Chileans, and the Mexicans. I will speak with all of them, and also with Putin, naturally. We will be in Baghdad by the end of March. There is a 15% chance that by this time Saddam Hussein will be dead or will have left. But theses possibilities won’t exist before we show our resolution. ”

“ Since last August, the Administration has worked aggressively to convince the American public that Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator who directly threatens the United States. The President has been unambiguous, and often dangerously blunt, about his passion to use force to destroy Saddam's regime. ”

“ Instead of the Iraq we would see if Saddam Hussein were still in power -- an aggressive regime vastly enriched by oil, defying the United Nations, bullying its Arab neighbors, threatening Israel, and pursuing a nuclear arms race with Iran -- we see an Iraq engaging peacefully with its neighbors, welcoming Arab ambassadors back to Baghdad, and showing the Middle East a powerful example of a moderate, prosperous, free nation. ”

“ The community of nations has resolutely gathered to condemn and repel lawless aggression. Saddam Hussein's unprovoked invasion--his ruthless, systematic rape of a peaceful neighbor--violated everything the community of nations holds dear. The world has said this aggression would not stand, and it will not stand. ”

“ As a matter of fact, I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns. I met him to try and bring about an end to sanctions, suffering and war, and on the second of the two occasions, I met him to try and persuade him to let Dr Hans Blix and the United Nations weapons inspectors back into the country - a rather better use of two meetings with Saddam Hussein than your own Secretary of State for Defense made of his. ”

“ I will say that the Arab nation is our nation. We belong to it and it belongs to us. It is our pride and our strength. It is our depth and Iraq is its depth. In its name was our call of chivalry, and in the name of its great ideals, our great ideals and its principles, we assaulted falsehood and knocked out its brain and caused it to perish. It is the nation of prophets, of martyrs and of holy men, it is our nation. ”

“ The security of the world requires disarming Saddam Hussein now.
As we enforce the just demands of the world, we will also honor the deepest commitments of our country. Unlike Saddam Hussein, we believe the Iraqi people are deserving and capable of human liberty. ”

“ From these significant examples and meanings you can understand how an Iraqi loved his nation and loved Iraq, how he forbore, fought and held his ground, how he built towering buildings, how and why he plants trees and flowers even while the blazing flames of fire were and still are scorching his face in the continuous aggression of the evildoers and the injustice of their followers, how and why he sows the seeds of life and smiles to them and how and why he builds and elevates the building after removing the debris of destruction. ”

“ One hundred days is not enough time to undue the terrible legacy of Saddam Hussein. There is difficult and dangerous work ahead that requires time and patience. Yet, all Americans can be proud of what our military and provisional authorities have achieved in Iraq. ”

“ Saddam Hussein has a long history of brutal crimes, especially in time of war -- even against his own citizens. If conflict comes, he could target civilians or place them inside military facilities. He could encourage ethnic violence. ”

“ The chemical attack on Halabja -- just one of 40 targeted at Iraq's own people -- provided a glimpse of the crimes Saddam Hussein is willing to commit, and the kind of threat he now presents to the entire world. He is among history's cruelest dictators, and he is arming himself with the world's most terrible weapons. ”

“ It is too late for Saddam Hussein to remain in power. It is not too late for the Iraqi military to act with honor and protect your country by permitting the peaceful entry of coalition forces to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. Our forces will give Iraqi military units clear instructions on actions they can take to avoid being attacked and destroyed. I urge every member of the Iraqi military and intelligence services, if war comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not worth your own life. ”

“ The sacrifices offered along its course are not only for the sake of Iraq, but also for the sake of our glorious Arab Nation as long as the Revolution remains national and for the whole Nation as it is for Iraq, as it is for humanity in general. The Revolution has proved by word and deed that the above account is genuine, not an allegation, and has been tested by precious blood in the most complicated circumstances. ”

“ Do the disclosure of falseness and humbug and the revelation of the right and truth not render a good service to humanity and not only to Iraq or the Arab Nation? It has also become clearer and clearer how and why the day of the great victory, August 8, 1988 is worthy of celebration and rejoice by us, the Iraqi people, the Nation and all good and peace loving peoples. It deserves to be called back to mind all the time as a wonderful, humane outcome albeit all happenings. ”

“ Have you seen how the believers love Allah? And how people love people when they love deeply and with sublimity?
Have you seen how a lion in its den defends its cubs when in danger?
He who has seen and known this knows how Iraq was and how it is now. Iraq faced hate with love, weakness with strength, despair with hope, cowardice with courage, dishonour and treachery with honour and loyalty and truth of the honourable stand. The Iraqis loved their people, their civilization and their glorious history. They loved their nation and its great principles a love surpassed by none before. ”

“ The legal maneuvering to permit this war was tragic to watch, but the notion that Saddam Hussein— a third world punk without an air force, navy, and hardly an army or any anti-aircraft weaponry— was an outright threat to the United States six thousand miles away, tells you how hysterical fear can be used to pursue a policy of needless war for quite different reasons.
Today, though, all the old reasons for going to war have been discredited, and are no longer used to justify continuing the war. ”

“ Saddam Hussein's actions have put us on notice — and there is no refuge from our responsibilities.
We did not ask for this present challenge, but we accept it. Like other generations of Americans, we will meet the responsibility of defending human liberty against violence and aggression. By our resolve, we will give strength to others. By our courage, we will give hope to others. By our actions, we will secure the peace, and lead the world to a better day.
May God bless America. ”