Terry Everett, February 3, 2003

The nation and the world paid close attention to President Bush's State of the Union Address last Tuesday night as our Commander-in-Chief laid out further rationale that Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq remains a direct threat to our national security and that of our allies. He made a compelling case that military action must be taken against Saddam if his government does not give up its weapons of mass destruction.

To quote from the President's speech, "The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving." "…Thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors, sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors themselves. Iraqi officials accompany inspectors in order to intimidate witnesses. Iraq is blocking U-2 surveillance flights requested by the United Nations. Iraqi intelligence officers are posing as the scientists inspectors are supposed to interview. Real scientists have been coached by Iraqi officials on what to say. And intelligence sources indicate that Saddam Hussein has ordered that scientists who cooperate with the U.N. inspectors in disarming Iraq will be killed, along with their families."

Why the deception and shell game on the part of Saddam's regime? Why would he threaten to kill his own scientists if he has nothing to hide? Saddam Hussein already has weapons of mass destruction, and we know that he has used them against his own people. It is not a question of IF he will strike out against the United States and our allies, but WHEN. He already has the will; more time will only give him the means to launch a deadly attack.

The fact is the U.N. knew as far back as 1999 that Iraq had the capability to create over 25,000 liters of deadly anthrax, capable of killing millions. Today, this material, as the President pointed out, remains unaccounted for. We also know that Saddam has the tools and means to manufacture up to 500 tons of sarin, VX nerve agent, and mustard gas - all deadly and in such quantities capable of killing thousands. Again, we do not know where he has hidden these weapons or the tools to produce them.

Saddam has not limited his deadly appetite to lethal chemical agents, but is also working on biological weapons. He has been clever enough to make his chemical labs transportable so as to avoid inspectors and they remain to this day hidden from us. And perhaps the most chilling of all, Saddam is actively involved in seeking the nuclear material to construct a bomb. We know that he is seeking sources outside of Iraq for uranium and has also been working on ways to enrich what uranium he has for bomb making. Again, his government has not admitted to this illegal activity and continues to defy repeated U.N. demands that he disclose the details of his nuclear weapons program.

What does Saddam's weapons of mass destruction program mean to our own national security and personal safety? President Bush noted that Saddam is a direct threat to the United States. As he put it last Tuesday night, "Imagine those 19 (September 11, 2001) hijackers with other weapons and other plans - this time armed by Saddam. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known."

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer noted last week that with Saddam's present lack of cooperation, it would take U.N. inspectors 300 years to complete their jobs in Iraq. We cannot afford to give Saddam any more time to deceive the world. His regime is on notice. Disarm and disclose now, or face military action. The decision is Saddam's.

Congressman Terry Everett represents the 2nd District of Alabama in the U.S. House of Representatives.