American Ambassador J. Richard Blankenship Tuesday made a plea for nations like The Bahamas to join the United States in a coalition to ensure that Iraq President Saddam Hussein no longer continues to threaten the region and the world.
But with or without outside help, Mr Blankenship said, the US get the job done.
This, as he addressed a joint meeting of members of the American Mens’ and Womens’ Club during a luncheon held at the British Colonial Hilton.
“We call on nations of the world to join us in this coalition to ensure that Saddam no longer continues to threaten the region and the world. We call on nations like The Bahamas to do the right thing, to align themselves with the United States against this brutal, aggressive thug, just as they did on Sept. 11,” Mr. Blankenship said.
He added that these are defining times, and it will long be remembered who took which side in epic conflicts. “The Bahamas has stood by us in the fight against international terrorism and we call upon them again to do so. To stand with the United States against the threats represented by Saddam Hussein and his weapons programmes,” Mr. Blankenship said.
“As the president (George Bush) has said, we want the support of The Bahamas, and all freedom-loving nations, in our determination to remove weapons of mass destruction from the face of this earth; however we are prepared to go it alone, if the world does not respond,” he said, adding, “this is nothing new in American policy.”
Mr. Blankenship said the United States has always reserved the right to defend itself with “whatever means necessary” to remove threats against the country, as it has done so many times in the past, sometimes with the help of the United Nations and the international community, and sometimes without.
He stressed that if Mr Hussein defies weapons inspectors in their attempts to rid the world of his weapons, the United States “will go alone.”
He said given the long and dreary history of Iraq under Mr Hussein, there is a strong probability that inspectors will fail, and the US will be forced to act, either multilaterally or unilaterally. If and when that day comes, Ambassador Blankenship said there will be no half-measures.
“The international community made that mistake once in 1991, by leaving Saddam in power to threaten peace in the region and the world, and then compounded it by demonstrating weak resolve in enforcing the terms of the cease-fire. We will not do so again,” Mr. Blankenship said. “If Saddam Hussein chooses deception or defiance, as is very likely, we will remove him permanently as a threat to world peace, as there must be a regime change in Iraq. That is the only way to solve the problem once and for all.”
The envoy said the United States would strongly prefer to take action with the support of the entire international community, “for nations to stand up and say we will not stand for threats to world peace and to UN authority, and we will no longer be threatened by the use of mass destruction weapons.”
In the meantime, Mr. Blankenship said, “All it takes now is for Saddam Hussein to supply a small amount of chemical or biological agents to a terrorist group, or God forbid, a nuclear weapon, and we could face a catastrophe that would make Sept. 11 pale in comparison.”
Mr Hussein represents a “clear and present danger” for not just the United States, but for the entire world, Ambassador Blankenship said.
By Keva Lightbourne, The Nassau Guardian
