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Bush Says Inaction `Not an Option' in Preventing Weapons Spread
Friday, March 15, 2002
(16:20)
By Heidi Przybyla & Bob Gravely
Bloomberg

“The price of freedom is high but never too high,” Bush said

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C -- Bloomberg
President George W. Bush said the war on terrorism would be tireless and relentless, and that “inaction is not an option” in preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

“Men who have no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death,” Bush told about 4,500 paratroopers and their families at Fort Bragg. While he didn't mention Iraq, he has repeatedly criticized Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for refusing United Nations inspections for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

The speech came as Vice President Dick Cheney uses meetings in 12 countries to seek support for the next phase of the U.S. anti-terror war. Bush hasn't ruled out unilateral action against Iraq; Muslim country leaders, such as Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah, say diplomacy should be used instead.

Bush said today he's made it clear to U.S. allies that “we will not let the most dangerous regimes in the world team up with killers and therefore hold this great nation hostage.”

“Either you're with us, or you're against us,” Bush told the troops. “If you harbor a terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you try to hide a terrorist, you are just as guilty as the murderers who killed Americans on Sept. 11.”

* `Price of Freedom'
* Soldier Pay
(More: Bloomberg News Source)
2002 © Bloomberg L.P.

Dan