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Bush Seeks to Rally U.S., World Behind Possible Attack on Iraq
Tuesday, October 8, 2002
By Ron Hutcheson
Knight Ridder

Trying to rally the nation to the cause against Iraq, President Bush spoke in Cincinnati on Monday night.
Image Credit: The Associated Press.

"America is a friend of the people of Iraq. Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us," he said. "When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children."

CINCINNATI -- KR
Trying to rally the nation and the world behind a possible attack on Iraq, President Bush on Monday night called the Iraqi regime the single gravest danger confronting mankind.

"While there are many dangers in the world, the threat from Iraq stands alone, because it gathers the most serious dangers of our age in one place," Bush said, citing Iraq's pursuit of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

"By its past and present actions, by its technological capabilities, by the merciless nature of its regime, Iraq is unique."

Bush traveled to Cincinnati to present his most detailed case yet for war with Iraq, one year after launching the first air strikes against Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Although the half-hour speech offered no new information, Bush said past events and recent evidence of Iraq's weapons programs showed that Iraq was a unique and immediate threat.

He said his sense of urgency was heightened by fears that Iraq might team up with terrorists to attack the United States.
(More: The Kansas City Star News Source)
2002 © Knight Ridder Newspapers.

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