President Bush: Time is Needed to Determine the Truthfulness and Honesty of the Iraqi Government

President Bush, the President of the United States, states that time is needed to determine the truthfulness and honesty of the Iraqi government regarding its chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. In his weekly radio message, President Bush warned that the Iraqi documents must be credible and accurate. The U.S. President reiterated that if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein does not rid his country of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, the United States, at the head of a coalition of countries, will disarm him. This weekly message was prepared and recorded before the submission of 12,000 pages of Iraqi documents to the United Nations. A senior U.S. official states that the U.S. government has significant evidence, some of which is not public, indicating that Iraq possessed prohibited weapons and has increased some of its prohibited weapons programs. The U.S. official mentions that the Bush administration may share this information with UN weapons inspectors. On the other hand, senior U.S. military officials say that if an order to attack Iraq is issued, the U.S. Army will have sufficient soldiers, warships, aircraft, and ammunition in the Gulf region by the end of January 2003. The 'New York Times' reports that about 60,000 U.S. military personnel and 200 aircraft are currently stationed in the area. Additionally, according to the 'New York Times', 4 aircraft carriers are stationed in the Gulf region and are prepared to launch an attack on Iraq as soon as the command is given.