Transcript of Bush Press Conference

March 7 -- In a prime-time news conference tonight, President Bush said that Saddam Hussein has defied orders to disarm, diplomacy has failed, and that refusing to use force to disarm Iraq would present an unacceptable risk for the United States.

Here is the full, unedited transcript of the news conference.

BUSH: Good evening. I'm pleased to take your questions tonightand to discuss with the American people the serious matters facing ourcountry and the world.

This has been an important week on two fronts — on our waragainst terror. First, thanks to the hard work of American andPakistani officials, we captured the mastermind of the Sept. 11attacks against our nation.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed conceived and planned the hijackings and directed the actions of the hijackers. We believe his capture will further disrupt the terror network and their planning for additional attacks.

Second, we have arrived at an important moment in confronting thethreat posed to our nation and to peace by Saddam Hussein and hisweapons of terror.

In New York tomorrow, the United Nations Security Council willreceive an update from the chief weapons inspector. The world needshim to answer a single question: Has the Iraqi regime fully andunconditionally disarmed as required by Resolution 1441 or has it not?

Iraq's dictator has made a public show of producing anddestroying a few missiles, missiles that violate the restrictions setout more than 10 years ago.

Yet our intelligence shows that even as he is destroying thesefew missiles, he has ordered the continued production of the very sametype of missiles.

Iraqi operatives continue to hide biological and chemical agentsto avoid detection by inspectors.

In some cases, these materials have been moved todifferent locations every 12 to 24 hours or placed in vehicles thatare in residential neighborhoods.

We know from multiple intelligence sources that Iraqi weaponsscientists continue to be threatened with harm should they cooperatewith U.N. inspectors.

Scientists are required by Iraqi intelligence to wear concealedrecording devices during interviews, and hotels where interviews takeplace are bugged by the regime.

These are not the actions of a regime that is disarming. Theseare the actions of a regime engaged in a willful charade. These arethe actions of a regime that systematically and deliberately isdefying the world.

If the Iraqi regime were disarming, we would know itbecause we would see it. Iraq's weapons would be presented toinspectors and the world would witness their destruction.

Instead, with the world demanding disarmament, and more than200,000 troops positioned near his country, Saddam Hussein's responseis to produce a few weapons for show, while he hides the rest andbuilds even more.

Inspection teams do not need more time or more personnel.All they need is what they have never received, the full cooperationof the Iraqi regime.

Token gestures are not acceptable. The only acceptable outcomeis the one already defined by a unanimous vote of the SecurityCouncil: total disarmament.

Great Britain, Spain and the United States have introduced a newresolution stating that Iraq has failed to meet the requirements ofResolution 1441. Saddam Hussein is not disarming. This is a fact.It cannot be denied.

Saddam Hussein has a long history of reckless aggression andterrible crimes. He possess weapons of terror. He provides fundingand training and safe haven to terrorists, terrorists who wouldwilling use weapons of mass destruction against America and otherpeace-loving countries.

Saddam Hussein and his weapons are a direct threat to thiscountry, to our people and to all free people.

If the world fails to confront the threat posed by the Iraqiregime, refusing to use force even as a last resort, free nationswould assume... unacceptable risks.

The attacks of Sept.11, 2001, show what theenemies of America did with four airplanes. We will not wait to seewhat terrorists or terrorist states could do with weapons of massdestruction.

We are determined to confront threats wherever they arise. Iwill not leave the American people at the mercy of the Iraqi dictatorand his weapons.

In the event of conflict, America also accepts our responsibilityto protect innocent lives in every way possible.

We will bring food and medicine to the Iraqi people. We willhelp that nation to build a just government after decades of brutaldictatorship.

The form and leadership of that government is for theIraqi people to choose. Anything they choose will be better than themisery and torture and murder they have known under Saddam Hussein.

Across the world and in every part of America people of good willare hoping and praying for peace. Our goal is peace for our nation,for our friends and allies, for the people of the Middle East.

People of good will must also recognize that allowing a dangerousdictator to defy the world and harbor weapons of mass murder andterror is not peace at all, it is pretense.

The cause of peace will be advanced only when theterrorists lose a wealthy patron and protector, and when the dictatoris fully and finally disarmed.

Tonight I thank the men and women of our armed services and theirfamilies.

I know their deployment so far from home is causinghardship for many military families. Our nation is deeply grateful toall who serve in uniform.

We appreciate your commitment, your idealism and your sacrifice.We support you. And we know that if peace must be defended, you areready.

(Bush takes questions from reporters)

QUESTION: Let me see if I can further — if you could furtherdefine what you just called this important moment we're in. Since youmade it clear just now that you don't think that Saddam has disarmedand we have a quarter million troops in the Persian Gulf and now thatyou've called on the world to be ready to use force as a last resort,are we just days away from the point at which you decide whether ornot we go to war? And what harm would it do to give Saddam a finalultimatum, a two- or three-day deadline to disarm or face force?

BUSH: Well, we're still in the final stages of diplomacy. I'mspending a lot of time on the phone talking to fellow leaders aboutthe need for the United Nations Security Council to state the facts,which is Saddam Hussein hasn't disarmed.

1441, the Security Council resolution passed unanimously lastfall, said clearly that Saddam Hussein has one last chance to disarm.

He hasn't disarmed. So we're working with SecurityCouncil members to resolve this issue at the Security Council.

This is not only an important moment for the security of ournation, I believe it's an important moment for the Security Councilitself. And the reason I say that is because this issue has beenbefore the Security Council, the issue of disarmament of Iraq, for 12long years.

And the fundamental question facing the Security Council is willits words mean anything; when the Security Council speaks, will thewords have merit and weight? I think it's important for those wordsto have merit and weight, because I understand that in order to winthe war against terror, there must be a united effort to do so. Andwe must work together to defeat terror.

Iraq is a part of the war on terror. Iraq is a country that hasgot terrorist ties, it's a country with wealth, it's a country thattrains terrorists, a country that could arm terrorists. And ourfellow Americans must understand, in this new war against terror, thatwe not only must chase down Al Qaida terrorists, we must deal withweapons of mass destruction as well.

That's what the United Nations Security Council has been talkingabout for 12 long years.

It's now time for this issue to come to a head at theSecurity Council, and it will.

As far as ultimatums and all of the speculation about what may ormay not happen after next week we'll just wait and see.

Steve?

QUESTION: (off microphone)

BUSH: Well, we're days away from resolving this issue at theSecurity Council.

QUESTION: Thank you. Another hot spot is North Korea. If NorthKorea restarts their plutonium plant, will that change your thinkingabout how to handle this crisis? Or are you resigned to North Koreabecoming a nuclear power?

BUSH: This is a regional issue. I say regional issue becausethere's a lot of countries that have got a direct stake into whetheror not North Korea has nuclear weapons. We've got a stake as towhether North Korea has a nuclear weapon. China clearly has a stakeas to whether or not North Korea has a nuclear weapon. South Korea,of course, has a stake. Japan has got a significant stake as towhether or not North Korea has a nuclear weapon. Russia has a stake.

So, therefore, I think the best way to deal with this isin multilateral fashion by convincing those nations that they muststand up to their responsibility, along with the United States, toconvince (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Il that the development of a nuclear arsenal is notin his nation's interests, and that should he want help in easing thesuffering of the North Korean people, the best way to achieve thathelp is to not proceed forward.

We've tried bilateral negotiations with North Korea. Mypredecessor, in a good-faith effort, entered into a frameworkagreement. The United States honored its side of the agreement; NorthKorea didn't.

While we felt the agreement was enforced, North Korea wasenriching uranium. In my judgment the best way to deal with NorthKorea is to convince the parties to assume their responsibility.

I was heartened by the fact that (Chinese President) Jiang Zemin, when he came toCrawford, Texas, made it very clear to me and publicly, as well, thata nuclear weapons-free peninsula was in China's interests.