For more than two decades the greatest threat to the people of Iraq has been the regime of Saddam Hussein. The regime has tortured and murdered opponents. Others were forced to flee the country, with an estimated 200,000 living as refugees in Iran. Tens of thousands of Iraqis, including Iraqi Kurds, Shia and Turkmen, have been killed.
The U.S.-led coalition is now in Iraq with the goal of removing the Saddam Hussein regime. As President George W. Bush said, the coalition “will not stop until Iraq is free”:
“As the vise tightens on the Iraqi regime, some of our enemies have chosen to fill their final days with acts of cowardice and murder. In combat, Saddam’s thugs shield themselves with women and children. They have killed Iraqi citizens who welcome coalition troops, and they have forced other Iraqis into battle by threatening to torture or kill their families. They have executed prisoners of war, waged attacks under the white flag of truce, and concealed combat forces in civilian neighborhoods, schools, hospitals and mosques.... These are war criminals, and they’ll be treated as war criminals.”
Voice: In contrast, the U.S.-led coalition is treating innocent Iraqi civilians with kindness. Food and water are being distributed. Cargo ships bound for Iraq are carrying enough food to feed more than four million Iraqis for one month. Additional food, supplied by the United Nations World Food Program is moving by truck convoy across the Turkish border into Iraq.
But as President Bush put it, the coalition is bringing to Iraq more than just humanitarian assistance:
“We are bringing hope. One Iraqi, when the coalition troops arrived, described the emotions of his village: ‘They are waiting for you,’ he said, ‘and all the people believe that America and Britain have come to liberate them, not to conquer’.”
Voice: The U.S.-led coalition is committed to removing the Saddam Hussein regime and its weapons of mass destruction. The fighting will continue until the oppressors of the Iraqi people are gone and Iraq is free.
