Subject: [reform:04489] ブッシュ宣戦布告演説全文

From: "Ryuzaburo Noda" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 11:42:38 +0900

Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation
The Cross Hall

8:01 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: My fellow citizens, events in Iraq have now reached the
final days of decision. For more than a decade, the United States and
other nations have pursued patient and honorable efforts to disarm the
Iraqi regime without war. That regime pledged to reveal and destroy all
its weapons of mass destruction as a condition for ending the Persian
Gulf War in 1991.

Since then, the world has engaged in 12 years of diplomacy. We have
passed more than a dozen resolutions in the United Nations Security
Council. We have sent hundreds of weapons inspectors to oversee the
disarmament of Iraq. Our good faith has not been returned.

The Iraqi regime has used diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage.
It has uniformly defied Security Council resolutions demanding full
disarmament. Over the years, U.N. weapon inspectors have been threatened
by Iraqi officials, electronically bugged, and systematically deceived.
Peaceful efforts to disarm the Iraqi regime have failed again and again
-- because we are not dealing with peaceful men.

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that
the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal
weapons ever devised. This regime has already used weapons of mass
destruction against Iraq's neighbors and against Iraq's people.

The regime has a history of reckless aggression in the Middle East. It
has a deep hatred of America and our friends. And it has aided, trained
and harbored terrorists, including operatives of al Qaeda.

The danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one day, nuclear
weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorists could fulfill
their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of
innocent people in our country, or any other.

The United States and other nations did nothing to deserve or invite
this threat. But we will do everything to defeat it. Instead of drifting
along toward tragedy, we will set a course toward safety. Before the day
of horror can come, before it is too late to act, this danger will be
removed.

The United States of America has the sovereign authority to use force in
assuring its own national security. That duty falls to me, as
Commander-in-Chief, by the oath I have sworn, by the oath I will keep.

Recognizing the threat to our country, the United States Congress voted
overwhelmingly last year to support the use of force against Iraq.
America tried to work with the United Nations to address this threat
because we wanted to resolve the issue peacefully. We believe in the
mission of the United Nations. One reason the U.N. was founded after the
second world war was to confront aggressive dictators, actively and
early, before they can attack the innocent and destroy the peace.

In the case of Iraq, the Security Council did act, in the early 1990s.
Under Resolutions 678 and 687 -- both still in effect -- the United
States and our allies are authorized to use force in ridding Iraq of
weapons of mass destruction. This is not a question of authority, it is
a question of will.

Last September, I went to the U.N. General Assembly and urged the
nations of the world to unite and bring an end to this danger. On
November 8th, the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441,
finding Iraq in material breach of its obligations, and vowing serious
consequences if Iraq did not fully and immediately disarm.

Today, no nation can possibly claim that Iraq has disarmed. And it will
not disarm so long as Saddam Hussein holds power. For the last
four-and-a-half months, the United States and our allies have worked
within the Security Council to enforce that Council's long-standing
demands. Yet, some permanent members of the Security Council have
publicly announced 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. Many nations, however, do have
the resolve and fortitude to act against this threat to peace, and a
broad coalition is now gathering to enforce the just demands of the
world. The United Nations Security Council has not lived up to its
responsibilities, so we will rise to ours.

In recent days, some governments in the Middle East have been doing
their part. They have delivered public and private messages urging the
dictator to leave Iraq, so that disarmament can proceed peacefully. He
has thus far refused. 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 military conflict,
commenced at a time of our choosing. For their own safety, all foreign
nationals -- including journalists and inspectors -- should leave Iraq
immediately.

Many Iraqis can hear me tonight in a translated radio broadcast, and I
have a message for them. If we must begin a military campaign, it will
be directed against the lawless men who rule your country and not
against you. As our coalition takes away their power, we will deliver
the food and medicine you need. We will tear down the apparatus of
terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and
free. In a free Iraq, there will be no more wars of aggression against
your neighbors, 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.

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.

And all Iraqi military and civilian personnel should listen carefully to
this warning. In any conflict, your fate will depend on your action. 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 the Iraqi people. War crimes will be
prosecuted. War criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to
say, "I was just following orders."

Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the American people can know
that every measure has been taken to avoid war, and every measure will
be taken to win it. Americans understand the costs of conflict because
we have paid them in the past. War has no certainty, except the
certainty of sacrifice.

Yet, the only way to reduce the harm and duration of war is to apply the
full force and might of our military, and we are prepared to do so. If
Saddam Hussein attempts to cling to power, he will remain a deadly foe
until the end. In desperation, he and terrorists groups might try to
conduct terrorist operations against the American people and our friends.
These attacks are not inevitable. They are, however, possible. And this
very fact underscores the reason we cannot live under the threat of
blackmail. The terrorist threat to America and the world will be
diminished the moment that Saddam Hussein is disarmed.

Our government is on heightened watch against these dangers. Just as we
are preparing to ensure victory in Iraq, we are taking further actions
to protect our homeland. In recent days, American authorities have
expelled from the country certain individuals with ties to Iraqi
intelligence services. Among other measures, I have directed additional
security of our airports, and increased Coast Guard patrols of major
seaports. The Department of Homeland Security is working closely with
the nation's governors to increase armed security at critical facilities
across America.

Should enemies strike our country, they would be attempting to shift our
attention with panic and weaken our morale with fear. In this, they
would fail. No act of theirs can alter the course or shake the resolve
of this country. We are a peaceful people -- yet we're not a fragile
people, and 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.

We are now acting because the risks of inaction would be far greater. In
one year, or five years, the power of Iraq to inflict harm on all free
nations would be multiplied many times over. With these capabilities,
Saddam Hussein and his terrorist allies could choose the moment of
deadly conflict when they are strongest. We choose to meet that threat
now, where it arises, before it can appear suddenly in our skies and
cities.

The cause of peace requires all free nations to recognize new and
undeniable realities. In the 20th century, some chose to appease
murderous dictators, whose threats were allowed to grow into genocide
and global war. In this century, when evil men plot chemical, biological
and nuclear terror, a policy of appeasement could bring destruction of a
kind never before seen on this earth.

Terrorists and terror states do not reveal these threats with fair
notice, in formal declarations -- and responding to such enemies only
after they have struck first is not self-defense, it is suicide. 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. And when
the dictator has departed, they can set an example to all the Middle
East of a vital and peaceful and self-governing nation.

The United States, with other countries, will work to advance liberty
and peace in that region. Our goal will not be achieved overnight, but
it can come over time. The power and appeal of human liberty is felt in
every life and every land. And the greatest power of freedom is to
overcome hatred and violence, and turn the creative gifts of men and
women to the pursuits of peace.

That is the future we choose. Free nations have a duty to defend our
people by uniting against the violent. And tonight, as we have done
before, America and our allies accept that responsibility.

Good night, and may God continue to bless America.

END 8:15 P.M. EST
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　          野田隆三郎（元岡山大学）

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