President Bush's Request to UN Members - 2003-09-23

President Bush has asked UN members to put aside past disagreements over the war in Iraq and work together for the country's reconstruction. However, he and his policies faced severe criticism on Tuesday at the start of the UN General Assembly in New York. In his speech, President Bush called on the international community to work to stop the proliferation of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. He proposed a new resolution urging all countries to secure sensitive materials within their borders. The President stated that the resolution should request nations to officially declare the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as a crime. Bush also announced a plan where 11 countries would search aircraft, ships, trains, and trucks carrying suspicious cargo. He did not specify the 11 countries but mentioned they would seize concerning weapons or missile shipments. French President Jacques Chirac stated that the US-led war against Iraq without UN Security Council approval has put the UN on the path to one of its gravest crises in history. Chirac called for a realistic timetable for transferring power to the Iraqi people and stated that the UN should oversee this process. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also criticized the Bush administration's doctrine of taking preemptive military action in response to threats.