It is a moment of truth for UN, says Bush

WASHINGTON: US President George W Bush has warned the United Nations that it was a ''moment of truth'' for the world body with regard to Iraq.
"It''s a moment of truth for the United Nations. The United Nations gets to decide shortly whether or not it is going to be relevant in terms of keeping the peace, whether or not its words mean anything," Bush told a Republican Party retreat reception at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, on Sunday.
Ignoring reports from Baghdad that the chief weapons inspectors now feel that Saddam Hussein appears to have had a "change of heart" on cooperating with them, Bush insisted that "it is clear that not only is Saddam Hussein deceiving, it is clear he is not disarming."
"For the sake of peace and for the sake of security, the United States and our friends and allies, we will disarm Saddam Hussein if he will not disarm himself," he said.
He said he is glad that history has called the US into action at this point in time, because "there is no doubt in my mind, when we make our mind up, we can achieve a lot." "As we work to make the world a safer place," said Bush, "we will also work to make the world a freer place."
The Iraqi leader "wants the world to think that hide-and-seek is a game that we should play. It''s over...And so you''ll see us over the next short period of time working with friends and the United Nations to bring that body along," the president said.
The issue facing the US and the world, Bush said, is the extension of the war on terror to places like Iraq. Prior to September 11, there was apparently no connection between a place like Iraq and terror.
"Sure, he (Saddam Hussein) had run some terrorist networks out of his country, and that was of concern to the US. But it was very difficult to link a terrorist network and Saddam Hussein to the American soil.
"As a matter of fact, it was very difficult to link any attack on the American soil, because prior to September 11, the US was confident that two oceans could protect it from harm," the president said.
The world, he said, changed on September 11. "We are now a battle ground. We are vulnerable.
"Therefore, we cannot ignore gathering threats across the ocean. It used to be that we could pick or choose whether or not we would become involved....But never did we realise the threat could be directed at the American people. And that changed.
"Therefore, when we hear of stories about weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a brutal dictator who hates America, we need to take that seriously, and we are," he said.
"And that is why this administration and this country is holding the UN Security Council and the world to its demands that Saddam Hussein disarm.
"It is important for the country to realise that Saddam Husein has fooled the world for 12 years, is used to fooling the world, is confident he can fool the world. He wants the world to think that hide and seek is a game that we should play. And it is over," Bush said.