President Bush gave the United Nations a clear choice -- either help force Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to disarm his nation and grant his people human rights -- or the United States Military would do it alone.

"The Security Council resolutions will be enforced -- the just demands of peace and security will be met -- or action will be unavoidable," declared Bush in a Sept. 12 address before an intent U.N. General Assembly.

Evidence of Defiance Presented to U.N.
Stating that Iraq, under the Hussein regime, had engaged in "a decade of defiance" of U.N. sanctions placed against it after the Gulf War, Bush presented what his administration considers evidence that Iraq threatens world peace and security by developing weapons of mass destruction.

• Iraq's unprovoked invasion of Kuwait in 1990
• Iraq's failure to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions enacted as a result of the Gulf War and agreed to by Saddam Hussein:
  
  - Resolutions demanding Iraq cease the repression of its own people including minorities
  - Resolutions demanded that Iraq return all prisoners from Kuwait and other lands
  - Resolutions demanded that Iraq renounce all involvement with terrorism, and permit no terrorist organizations to operate in Iraq.
  
  
• Iraq's failure to destroy and halt development of all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles
• Iraq's failure to comply with with rigorous arms inspections imposed by the U.N.
• Iraq's 1995 admission that it had -- in violation of U.N. sanctions -- produced large quantities of deadly biological agents, including anthrax.
  
  "U.N. inspectors believe Iraq has produced two to four times the amount of biological agents it declared, and has failed to account for more than three metric tons of material that could be used to produce biological weapons. Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons." said President Bush
  
  
• Iraq's admission in 1995 that it had conducted a "crash" program to develop nuclear weapons prior to the Gulf War.
  
  "We know now, were it not for that war, the regime in Iraq would likely have possessed a nuclear weapon no later than 1993," said Bush. "Today, Iraq continues to withhold important information about its nuclear program -- weapons design, procurement logs, experiment data, an accounting of nuclear materials and documentation of foreign assistance. "
  
  
• Iraq's history of aggression against neighboring nations
  
  "Saddam Hussein attacked Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990. He's fired ballistic missiles at Iran and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Israel," said President Bush. "His regime once ordered the killing of every person between the ages of 15 and 70 in certain Kurdish villages in northern Iraq. He has gassed many Iranians, and 40 Iraqi villages."

What Readers Are Saying About Iraq

• "George W. Bush as a candidate was a 'spin' doctor who could promise the world, whether it was his to give or not. As president of the United States he represents the worst of all possible 'LOOSE CANONS'. THE_PCDOCTOR
  
  
• "First, even if Iraq has nukes, chemical and biological weapons, does that pose a real threat to the US?" RLPETE2
  
  
• "I agree totally with President Bush, we should attach Iraq and Saddam before he gets enough Atomic weapons to wreak real havoc on the United States. Its too late now to turn the other cheek." BOOKMAGE
  
  
• "Mr. President, do think Saddam Hussein will be and easier to find than Osama bin Laden?" KAWAHINE39
  
  
• "Now I think we should once again at least try to convince the UN that the terms of the surrender were not met by Iraq and that we continue to believe that country is a danger to world peace." DGUERR