WASHINGTON (AFP)
A defiant US President George W. Bush
Wed Jan 21 00:29:48 2004
64.140.158.113

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A defiant US President George W. Bush unapologetically defended his decision to invade Iraq last year, insisting it had made the United States safer
and vowing never to seek permission to wage war in self-defense.

Taking on critics at home and abroad who argue that Bush acted alone
and in the face of an unproven threat, the president said he would
not shy from conflict even if, after wooing friends and allies to the
cause, he lacked broad support.

"From the beginning, America has sought international support for
operations in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Iraq and we have
gained much support," Bush said in his final "State of the Union"
address before he seeks re-election November 2.

"There is a difference, however, between leading a coalition of many
nations, and submitting to the objections of a few," he
said. "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the
security of our country."

Bush maintained there was no doubt the overthrow of Saddam Hussein
(news - web sites) had boosted the security of the United States, the
Middle East and the world in general.

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

He ignored criticism that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction -- the
threat from which formed the basis for the decision to go to war
against Iraq -- have not materialized despite intensive searches by
arms inspectors.

Instead, he pointed to discoveries of facilities and equipment in
Iraq that may constitute attempts to develop chemical and biological
weapons, mass graves and said the Iraqi people are better off today
than they were under Saddam.

In addition, he said the US-led invasion had salvaged the credibility
of the United Nations (news - web sites) after Iraq's repeated
defiance of more than a decade's worth of UN Security Council
resolutions demanding that he disarm and prove it.

"Had we failed to act, the dictator's weapons of mass destruction
programs would continue to this day," Bush said.

"Had we failed to act, Security Council resolutions on Iraq would
have been revealed as empty threats, weakening the United Nations and
encouraging defiance by dictators around the world," he said.

"Iraq's torture chambers would still be filled with victims --
terrified and innocent," Bush said. "The killing fields of Iraq --
where hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children vanished into
the sands -- would still be known only to the killers."

On top of that, he said Saddam's ouster had sent a message to other
countries, notably Libya, whose leader, Moamer Kadhafi, renounced
weapons of mass destruction in December after nearly a year of secret
talks with the United States and Britain.

"Nine months of intense negotiations involving the United States and
Great Britain succeeded with Libya, while 12 years of diplomacy with
Iraq did not," Bush said.

"And one reason is clear: For diplomacy to be effective, words must
be credible -- and no one can now doubt the word of America," the
president said in remarks prepared for delivery.
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