【大纪元1月30日讯】(美国参考)布什总统于2003年1月28日晚在美国国会两院联席会议发表国情咨文。以下是国情咨文全文的译文，由美国国务院国际信息局(IIP)翻译。
美国国会 2003年1月28日 美国东部标准时间晚间9时01分
总统：议长先生、切尼副总统、各位国会议员、贵宾们、同胞们：
每年，遵照法律和传统，我们在这里相聚，审视国情。今年，我们在这个会议厅聚会时深知，将有一些重大的抉择摆在我们的前头。
你们和我是在一个举足轻重的时刻肩负为国服务的使命。在这一届国会，我们有责任对一些与国家极其攸关的项目计划实施改革……并有机会在海外将数百万人从一种可怕的疾病中解救出来。我们要努力普及繁荣……并对一切威胁美国人民的危险和敌人做出回应。(掌声)
在希望和斗争中，我们有信心。在风云变幻和期望与风险的旋涡中，我们的信念是牢固的，我们的决心是坚定的，我们的联邦是坚固的。(掌声)
这个国家面临着很多挑战。对此我们不会否认，我们不会置之不理，我们不会把问题留给今后的国会、今后的总统和子孙后代。(掌声)我们将目标集中地、立场鲜明地、勇敢地迎接这些挑战。
在过去两年里，我们看到了协同努力所能产生的结果。为提高公立学校的水准，我们实行了历史性的教育改革 ── 如今，每一所学校、每一个班级都必须予以贯彻，从而可以让美国的每一个孩子都能阅读、会学习、在生活中取得成功。(掌声)为保护我们的国家，我们对政府机构做出调整，成立了国土安全部 ── 它正在为抵御新时代的威胁而行动起来。为扭转我们的经济衰退，我们实现了在一代人的时间里最大的减税计划。(掌声)为维持美国工商业的廉正，我们通过了严格的改革措施，并且正在把商业犯罪者绳之以法。(掌声)
有些人可能将这些称之为良好的成绩。我称其为良好的开端。今天晚上，我要求众议院和参议院同我一道，采取下一步的果敢步骤，为我们的同胞服务。
我们的第一个目标清晰明确：我们必须让经济迅速增长，使每一位求职男女得以就业。 (掌声) 在出现经济衰退、恐怖主义分子袭击、工商界丑闻以及股票市场下跌之后，今天，我们的经济正在恢复 ── 但是增长速度仍不够快，或者说不够强劲。面对失业率上升，我们国家需要有更多的小企业开张，更多的公司投资和发展，更多的雇主张贴”招工”告示。(掌声)
经济发展带来就业机会；美国人有更多的现金去消费和投资则带来经济发展；而保证美国人有那些现金的最佳、最公平的途径，就是首先不要从中抽税。(掌声)
我现在提出，把针对2004年和2006年的全部所得税减税计划永久化并在今年生效。(掌声)按照我的计划，一旦我签署了法案，人们立即就会开始在工资单上看到更多的收入。相对于那种逐步改变不利于结婚人的税收法的做法，我们应该现在就行动起来。与其将养育子女的纳税优惠慢慢地提高到1000美元，我们应该现在就把优惠支票寄到美国家庭手中。(掌声)
这项减税计划针对的是缴纳所得税的每一个人 ── 它将立即给我们的经济带来好处。9200万美国人将能在今年，把自己的收入所得多留下平均将近1000美元。一个年收入为4万美元的四口之家将会看到，他们的联邦税额从一年1178美元减少到45美元。(掌声) 我们的计划还将提高2300多万个小型企业的赢利额。
你们，也就是国会，已经通过了所有这些减税措施，并且保证在今后一些年中实施。如果这项减税计划在3年、5年、7年以后对美国人有益，那么它在今天对美国就更有益。(掌声)
我们加强经济的另一个途径是，用税收法平等对待投资者。对公司盈利所得征税是公平的，但不公平的是，就同一笔盈利再度向股份所有人征税。(掌声)为增强投资人的信心，为帮助有股利收入的将近1000万老年人，我提请你们结束对股利的不公平的双重征税。(掌声)
降低税收和扩大投资将有助于扩大我们的经济。更多就业机会意味着有更多的纳税人和更多的政府岁入。解决赤字和走向预算平衡的最好途径，是鼓励经济增长和华盛顿在消费上做出某些节制。(掌声)
我们必须共同努力，只为最重要的项目提供资金。我将向你们提交一份把明年的自由支出预算增长幅度定为4%的预算方案 ── 大约相当于平均家庭收入的预计增长幅度。这是我们的一个良好尺度。联邦消费不应该超过美国家庭收入的增长速度。(掌声)
经济发展和重点集中也对社会福利保险的未来至关重要。我们在继续共同努力维护社会福利保险体制的稳固可靠的同时，必须让较年轻的雇员有机会向由他们控制和归他们所有的退休计划投资。(掌声)
我们的第二个目标是，让所有的美国人享有高质量、支付得起的医疗保健服务。(掌声)美国的医疗体制是技术和创新的楷模，新发现的迅速涌现，正在给我们的生命增添更多的幸福岁月。然而，对很多人来说，医疗保健费用太高 ── 很多人根本没有医疗保险。这些问题不会通过一个硬性规定保险范围和实行医疗服务配给的国家化的医疗保健制度得到解决 (掌声)
相反，我们必须努力朝着这样一个体制努力，即让所有美国人得到良好的保险，自行选择医生，并且让老年人和低收入的美国人得到他们所需要的帮助。(掌声)我们不能要行政官僚、诉讼律师和医疗管理机构而必须要医生、护士和患者重新主导美国的医疗。(掌声)
医疗保健改革必须始于老年保健医疗制度；老年保健医疗制度是一个有关怀之心的社会必须遵守的承诺。(掌声)我们必须重申这一承诺，方式是，让老年人享受到预防性医疗保健以及正在使美国医疗保健不断改观的新医药。
凡是对现行老年保健医疗感到满意的老年人应该被允许保持他们现有的保险。 (掌声)就像你们 ── 国会议员和你们的工作人员以及其他联邦雇员一样，所有老年人应该能够选择包含处方药费用的医疗保险计划。(掌声)
我的预算方案将在下一个十年内增加4000亿美元，用于改革和加强老年保健医疗制度。两党领袖谈论加强老年保健医疗已有多年。我敦促这一届新国会的议员们在今年行动起来。(掌声)
要改进我们的医疗保健体制，我们必须解决造成费用高昂的主要原因之一，即医生和医院总是受到不应有的诉讼的威胁。 (掌声)法律诉讼泛滥造成所有人的医疗费用高涨，美国有许多地方正在失去优秀的医生。无谓的诉讼从没有治愈任何人。我敦促国会通过医疗责任改革法案。(掌声)
我们的第三个目标是，提倡我国的能源独立，同时使环境得到大幅度改善。(掌声)我已经向你们提交了一份全面的能源计划，旨在提高能源效率和能源保护，发展更清洁的技术，在国内生产更多能源。(掌声)我向你们提交了”明净天空”议案，要求在未来15年内将发电厂的空气污染减少70%。(掌声)我向你们提交了一项”健康森林倡议”，帮助防止灾难性大火毁灭社区、毁灭野生动物、毁灭数百万英亩的宝贵森林。(掌声)
为了使我们的环境和我们的经济受益，我敦促你们通过这些提案。(掌声)另外，我请你们采取重要行动，以我们之前的几代人所无法想像的办法保护我们的环境。
在本世纪，要在环境问题上取得最重大的进步，靠的不是没完没了的法律诉讼或指挥控制式的规章，而是要靠技术与革新。今晚，我提议拨出12亿美元的研究资金，使美国能够领导世界研制出洁净的氢动力汽车。(掌声)
氢氧之间的单一一次化学反应就能产生能量，这种能量可用于驱动汽车 ─ 它产生的只是水而不是废气。随着国家做出这一新的承诺，我们的科学家和工程师将会克服障碍，将这些汽车从实验室带入展示厅，这样，今天出世的孩子所开的第一辆汽车，可能就是用氢作动力的、没有污染的汽车。(掌声)
请同我一道加入这一重要革新，使我们的空气大大清洁，使我们的国家大大减少对外国能源的依赖。(掌声)
我们的第四个目标是，用美国人的关爱之情来解决美国最根深蒂固的问题。对我国很多人来说 ── 无家可归的人、没有父亲的孩子、吸毒者 ── 这种需要是巨大的。但在美国人民的善良、理想主义和信仰中蕴藏着力量，创造奇迹的力量。
美国人每天都有关爱之举 ── 看望囚犯，为受虐待的妇女提供避难所，陪伴孤独的老人。这些善举值得称赞，应当得到我们个人亲自的支持，在适当的情形下，还应当得到联邦政府的帮助。(掌声)
我敦促你们批准我提出的针对信仰组织的计划和公民服务法案，以鼓励能使美国改变面貌的关爱行动，逐一逐次地感化一个又一个心灵。(掌声)
去年，我呼吁美国同胞加入正在美国各地招收成千上万名新志愿人员的”美国自由团”。今晚，我请求国会和美国人民把奉献精神和政府资源集中用于满足一部分处境最困难的人民的需求 ── 在没有人监护，没有人关心的环境下艰难成长的男女儿童，和那些必须走进监狱的大门才能同爸爸或妈妈拥抱的孩子们。
我提议拨款4.5亿美元，为100多万名处境困难的初中学生和囚犯子女安排辅导员。政府将为培训和招聘辅导员提供支持，但满足这一需求要靠美国的男女志士。一位辅导员，一个人能够改变一个人生。我恳请你们成为这样的一个人。(掌声)
导致无望的另一原因是吸毒。毒瘾让人丧失友谊、志向和道德信念，将丰富的生命缩小为一种单一的毁灭性的欲望。作为政府，我们正在通过切断毒品来源和通过反毒品教育的计划减少对毒品的需求来打击非法毒品。然而，对于那些吸毒已经成瘾的人，同吸毒作斗争就是拯救他们自己的生命。有太多的美国人寻求治疗而不得。因此， 今晚，我提议一项新的6亿美元计划，在今后三年中再帮助30万美国人获得治疗。(掌声)
我们的国家拥有能产生奇效的康复计划。其中一个计划是在路易斯安那州巴吞鲁日市的 “康复之地教会”。参与该计划的一位男士说：”上帝在人们的生活中创造奇迹，而你从未想到会在你身上出现。” 今晚，让我们向所有那些努力戒毒的美国人发出这一希望的信息：康复的奇迹是可能的，奇迹可能就是你。 (掌声)
通过关爱那些需要人辅导的儿童和需要治疗的吸毒男女，我们在建立一个更接纳的社会 ── 一种珍惜每一个生命的文化。在这期间，我们决不能忽视我们当中最柔弱者。我请你们自婴儿出生之际就爱护他们，停止实行晚期人工流产。 (掌声)而且，鉴于任何人的生命都不应该作为实验的对象而开始或终结，我请你们为人性定出高标准，通过立法，制止一切人类克隆行为。(掌声)
我们在美国大力推崇的大无畏气概与关爱之情还决定了我们的海外行动。美国国旗所代表的不仅是我们的实力和我们的利益。我们的开国元勋们要求这个国家献身于维护人类尊严的事业 ── 即每一个人的权利和每一个生命的希冀。为了帮助受苦受难的人们，为了捍卫和平，为了挫败邪恶之徒的阴谋，这一信念引导我们走向世界。
在阿富汗，我们帮助受压迫的人民求得解放。我们将继续帮助他们确保他们国家的安全，重建他们的社会，并让他们所有的子女 ── 不管是男孩还是女孩，都受到教育。(掌声)在中东，我们将继续寻求在一个安全的以色列和民主的巴勒斯坦之间实现和平。(掌声)在全球各地，美国正在赈济饥民；60%以上的国际食品援助来自美国人民的捐赠。在我们的国家为了使我们的世界更为安全而部署军队、建立联盟的同时，我们也必须铭记我们作为一个神圣国家的使命：使这个世界变得更美好。
今天，在非洲大陆，近3000万人携带艾滋病病毒，其中包括300万15岁以下的儿童。在非洲某些国家，全国三分之一以上的成年人口受到感染。有400多万人需要即刻得到药物治疗。然而，在整个非洲，仅5万艾滋病患者 ── 仅仅5万人 ── 正得到他们所需的药物。
由于对艾滋病的诊断被认为是死刑判决，许多人不去寻求治疗。那些试图寻求治疗的人几乎都黯然而归。南非农村的一名医生讲述了他失望的心情。他说：”我们没有药。许多医院对[人们]说，’你得了艾滋病。我们帮不了你。回家等待死亡吧'”。 在医药发挥神奇功效的时代，没有人应该听到这样的话。(掌声)
艾滋病可以预防。抗逆转录病毒药物能够使生命延长多年。这些药物的代价已经从每年1.2万美元下降到每年300美元，这便使我们掌握了巨大的可能性。女士们，先生们，历史从未象现在这样可提供如此众多的机会，能为如此众多的人做如此多的事。
在我们国内，我们已经并将继续抗击艾滋病病毒/艾滋病。为了应对国外严重紧迫的危机，我今晚提出”艾滋病救援紧急计划(“Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)，这是超越目前国际社会帮助非洲人民所做的一切努力的慈善之举。这一综合性计划将防止700万新的艾滋病感染病例发生，用延长生命的药物对至少200万人进行治疗，并为患有艾滋病的数百万人和因艾滋病沦为孤儿的儿童提供人道照顾。(掌声)
我请国会在未来5年拨款150亿美元，包括近100亿美元的新拨款，在艾滋病肆虐最猖狂的非洲和加勒比海国家抗击艾滋病，使形势得到扭转。(掌声)
美国能够在世界上发挥主导作用，使无辜的人民免受这一自然灾祸的蹂躏。美国正在领导世界打击并战胜国际恐怖主义这一人为的罪孽。(掌声)
美国人民并非每天都听到有关反恐怖主义战争的消息。但我却天天了解到新的威胁，得到有关正在展开的行动的报告，并为这场打击分散在各地的凶手网络的全球性战争下达命令，没有一天不是如此。这场战争正在继续，我们正在赢得胜利。(掌声)
迄今为止，我们逮捕或以其他方式惩治了很多”基地”组织的重要头目。其中包括为9.11攻击事件做安排并筹集经费的人员；”基地”组织海湾地区的行动负责人，此人曾谋划在我国驻东非地区使馆和美国军舰”科尔”号上制造爆炸事件；”基地”组织在东南亚的一个行动负责人；一个曾负责”基地”组织在阿富汗的训练营地的头目；”基地”组织在欧洲的一个骨干活动分子；”基地”组织在也门的一个主要头目。总计有3000多名恐怖主义嫌疑犯在很多国家被捕。其他很多人也各自得到应有的下场。对美国以及美国的友邦和盟国而言，他们已不再成为问题。(掌声)
我们正在同其他国家密切合作，防止受到进一步的攻击。美国和联盟成员国已经发现并制止了几起恐怖主义阴谋，其攻击目标是美国驻也门使馆、美国驻新加坡使馆、在沙特阿拉伯的一个军事基地，以及在霍尔木兹海峡和直布罗陀海峡的船只。我们还捣毁了”基地”组织在汉堡、米兰、马德里、伦敦、巴黎和纽约布法罗的团伙。
我们把恐怖分子打得抱头鼠窜；我们正在乘胜追剿他们。一个接着一个，恐怖分子正逐渐明白美国的正义所包含的意义。(掌声)
在我们开展这场战争的同时，我们不会忘记这场战争最初在哪里爆发 ── 在这里爆发，在我们的国家。本届政府正采取前所未有的举措，以保护我们的人民、捍卫我们的国土。我们加强了边界和入境点的安全，已在机场部署5万多名新培训的联邦检查人员，开始给军队和急救人员注射天花疫苗，并正在部署美国第一批监测生物武器袭击的早期预警感应器系统。今年，我们第一次开始部署美国预防弹道导弹袭击的防御系统。(掌声)
我要感谢国会支持这些举措。为了加强我们未来的安全，我今晚谨请你们支持一个重要的研究与生产计划，即生物盾牌计划(Project Bioshield)，以保护我们的人民预防生物恐怖主义的袭击。在向你们递交的预算中，我提议拨款近60亿美元，迅速提供有效的疫苗和疗法，以抗击炭疽、肉毒杆菌毒素(botulinum toxin)、艾博拉病(Ebola)及鼠疫等毒剂。我们必须认识到，我们的敌人会以这些病毒为武器，我们必须在危险到来之前采取行动。(掌声)
自9月11日以来，我们的情报和执法机构比过去更加紧密地合作，以追踪和瓦解恐怖主义分子。联邦调查局正在改进其分析情报的能力并进行改造以应对新的威胁。今晚，我指示联邦调查局、中央情报局、国土安全部和国防部负责人建立”抗击恐怖主义威胁协调中心”(Terrorist Threat Integration Center)，以便集中力量，统筹分析一切有关威胁的情报。我们的政府必须尽可能掌握最可靠的信息，我们将以此确保有关人员处于应有的位置，以保护我们的人民。(掌声)
我们的反恐怖战争是意志的较量。在这场战争中，不屈不挠的毅力就是力量。在双塔的废墟中，在五角大楼的西墙边，在宾夕法尼亚的田野上，我国曾做出保证，我们今晚再次保证：无论这场斗争持续多久，无论困难有多大，我们绝不允许暴力在人类事务中得逞 ── 自由的人民将决定历史的进程。(掌声)
今天，反恐怖主义战争最严重的危险，美国和全世界面临的最严重的危险，来自谋求获得和拥有核武器、化学武器和生物武器的歹徒政权。这些政权可能利用这类武器进行讹诈、制造恐怖和进行大规模谋杀活动。这些政权还可能向它们的恐怖主义同伙提供或出售这些武器，而后者则将肆无忌惮地使用这些武器。
这一威胁是新产生的；美国的职责一如既往。在整个20世纪，一小撮人控制了一些重要国家，穷兵黩武企图弱肉强食、恐吓世界。每一次，他们残忍和屠杀的欲望都贪得无厌。每一次，希特勒式的野心、军国主义和共产主义的图谋，均被自由人民的意志所击败，被伟大的联盟力量所击败，被美利坚合众国的恢弘之力所击败。(掌声)
如今，在这个世纪，强行征服的意识再度出现并试图谋取终极的恐怖武器。美国及我们的朋友再次处于十字路口，一边是和平的世界，另一边是充满混沌和惊恐万状的世界。我们再次响应召唤，捍卫我们人民的安全，捍卫全人类的希望。我们接受了这一重任。(掌声)
美国正在为抗击这些威胁而进行广泛、坚定的努力。我们已敦促联合国履行宪章义务，坚持要求伊拉克解除武装。我们大力支持国际原子能机构在全世界追查并管制核材料的使命。我们正在同其他各国政府合作，保证前苏联的核材料的安全，并加强禁止生产和转移导弹技术及大规模毁灭性武器的国际条约。
不过，在进行所有这些努力时，美国的目的不仅在于执行程序，还在于实现一个结果：即消除对文明世界的可怕威胁。防范灾难性的突发攻击事件，与所有自由的国度休戚相关。我们要求他们加入我们的行列，很多国家也都这样做了。但这个国家的方略不依靠其他人的决定。(掌声)无论必须采取什么行动，在必须采取行动时，我将捍卫美国人民的自由和安全。(掌声)
对付不同的威胁需要不同的策略。在伊朗，我们看到的仍是一个压迫人民，谋求大规模毁灭性武器并支持恐怖主义的政府。我们还看到伊朗人民不畏恫吓，冒着生命危险为自由、人权和民主大声疾呼。伊朗人民同世界各国人民一样，有权利选择自己的政府并决定自己的命运 ── 美国支持他们实现自由生活的渴望。 (掌声)
在朝鲜半岛，受一个压制性政权统治的人民生活在恐惧和饥饿之中。在整个20世纪90年代，美国通过谈判达成的框架协议防止北韩获得核武器。我们现在知道，北韩政权在欺骗全世界，一直在发展那些武器。今天，北韩政权利用它的核项目制造恐怖并以此相要挟。美国和全世界绝不接受讹诈。(掌声)
美国正在与这个地区的国家 ── 韩国、日本、中国和俄罗斯 ── 共同努力，以找到和平解决的途径，并向北韩政府表明，核武器只会带来孤立、经济停滞和困境的持续。(掌声)北韩政权只有抛弃其发展核武器的野心，才能赢得全世界的尊重，才能使人民得到休养生息。(掌声)
我国和全世界必须从朝鲜半岛问题中吸取教训，不能让甚至更大的危险在伊拉克滋长。面对这样一个残忍、历来存有疯狂野心，与恐怖主义有联系，拥有巨大潜在财富的独裁者，绝不能允许他统治一个至为重要的地区并对美国构成威胁。
十二年前，萨达姆﹒侯赛因在他发动并被击败的战争面前，面临着最后毁灭的下场。为了保全自己，他同意解除全部大规模毁灭性武器。在后来的12年内，他蓄意违反这一协议。甚至在武器核查人员就在伊拉克的时候，他仍在谋求发展化学武器、生物武器和核武器。直到今天，无论是经济制裁，还是受到文明世界的孤立，甚至是用巡航导弹对他的军事设施进行打击，没有任何手段能够阻止他企图获得这些武器。
近三个月前，联合国安理会给萨达姆﹒侯赛因最后一次机会解除武装。他却公然蔑视联合国，公然蔑视世界舆论。108位联合国武器核查人员前往执行的任务并不是在一个面积同加利福尼亚州相当的国家到处搜寻被藏匿的物品。这些核查人员的任务是核实伊拉克政权解除武装的情况。伊拉克必须指明隐藏违禁武器的确切地点，把这些武器公诸于世并按要求销毁之。但这些事都没有做到。
联合国在1999年断定，萨达姆﹒侯赛因掌握的化学武器材料足以用来制造超过2.5万升的炭疽病菌，剂量大到能杀死数百万人。他既没有交代有关这些材料的情况，也丝毫没有提供已销毁这些材料的证据。
联合国断定，萨达姆﹒侯赛因掌握着能制造超过3.8万升肉毒毒素的物质 ── 足以使数百万人因呼吸系统衰竭而死亡。他既没有交代有关这些物质的情况，也丝毫没有提供已销毁这些物质的证据。
我们的情报人员估计，萨达姆﹒侯赛因所掌握的材料能制造多达500吨沙林毒气、芥子气和维埃克斯(VX)毒气。数量如此之大的化学毒气能把成千上万人置于死地。他既没有交代有关这些材料的情况，也丝毫没有提供已销毁这些材料的证据。
美国获得的情报显示，萨达姆﹒侯赛因拥有3万多枚能运载化学制剂的弹头。核查人员最近发现了其中的16枚，尽管伊拉克不久前提交的申报报告还否认了它们的存在。萨达姆 ﹒侯赛因既没有交代有关其他29984枚违禁弹头的情况，也丝毫没有提供已销毁这些弹头的证据。
从三名伊拉克投诚者那里，我们得知在20世纪90年代后期，伊拉克拥有几个移动式生物武器试验室。这些试验室用于生产细菌武器制剂，并可四处搬迁以躲避核查人员。萨达姆﹒侯赛因既没有交代这些设施，也丝毫没有提供已销毁这些设施的证据。
国际原子能机构在20世纪90年代证实，萨达姆﹒侯赛因拥有一个高级核武器发展项目，拥有一种核武器的设计，并正在开发用于原子弹的浓缩铀的五种不同方法。英国政府已获知，萨达姆﹒侯赛因最近从非洲谋取了大量的铀。我们的情报来源告诉我们，萨达姆已企图购置适用于核武器生产的高强力铝管。萨达姆﹒侯赛因并没有对这些活动做出可信的解释。他显然隐瞒了许多事实。
伊拉克的独裁者并没有在解除武装。相反，他在说谎。例如，有情报来源告诉我们，数以千计的伊拉克保安人员正忙于藏匿文件和材料，不让联合国核查人员发现。他们还在清理核查场所，甚至对核查人员进行监视。伊拉克官员陪同核查人员，企图对证人进行恐吓。
伊拉克正在阻挠U-2飞机进行联合国要求的侦察飞行。伊拉克情报官员正冒充原来应该接受核查人员面谈的科学家，同时真正的科学家已经伊拉克官员授意统一了说词。有情报来源显示，萨达姆 ﹒侯赛因已下令：科学家如与联合国核查人员在解除伊拉克武装方面提供合作，将与他们的家人一起被杀。
年复一年，萨达姆﹒侯赛因处心积虑，消耗大量的钱财，冒天下之大不韪，建造和保留大规模毁灭性武器 ── 然而这究竟是为了什么？唯一可能的解释，他使用这些武器唯一可能的目的，就是征服、恐吓或进攻。
有了核武器或完整的化学和生物武器库，萨达姆﹒侯赛因可重温旧梦，满足他征服中东的野心，在该地区造成毁灭性的浩劫。美国国会和美国人民必须认识到另一个威胁。从情报来源、秘密通讯联系和目前在押人员的陈述那里得到的证据显示，萨达姆﹒侯赛因为恐怖主义分子提供援助和保护，其中也包括”基地”组织成员。他可以秘密地、不留痕迹地向恐怖主义分子提供他隐藏的某种武器，或者帮助他们发展武器。
2001年9月11日以前，世界上很多人认为萨达姆﹒侯赛因能够被制服。但是化学制剂和致命病毒以及隐蔽的恐怖主义网不是那么容易就能被控制的。试想那19名劫机分子如携带其他武器，采取其他阴谋手段 ── 这一次是萨达姆﹒侯赛因提供的武器装备。只要一个小瓶、一个罐子、一个箱子被偷偷带进美国，就可让我们经历从未有过的可怖的一天。我们将竭尽全力绝不让这样的情况出现。(掌声)
有人说，我们应该在危险迫近之时再采取行动。试问恐怖主义分子和暴君从何时起宣布过他们的图谋，在动手之前彬彬有礼地向我们发出通知？如果等到危险羽翼丰满，突然降临，那么所有的行动、所有的言辞、所有的指责就为时晚矣。寄希望于萨达姆﹒侯赛因的理智和节制绝不是办法，绝不可加以考虑。(掌声)
这个独裁者积聚了全世界最危险的武器，已经对一个个村庄使用这些武器，造成他本国数以千计的人民丧生、失明或致残。伊拉克难民向我们讲述了如何受到刑讯逼供 ── 对儿童使用酷刑，他们的父母被迫在一旁观看。国际人权组织记录了伊拉克的行刑室所使用的其他手段：电击、烙烫、泼酸、电钻截肢、割舌以及强奸等。如果这还不算邪恶的话，那世间就无邪恶可言。(掌声)
今晚，我想对勇敢的、受压迫的伊拉克人民说：在你们国家周围的人不是你们的敌人，统治你们国家的人才是你们的敌人。(掌声)他和他的政权被赶下台的那一天，将是你们获得解放的日子。(掌声)
全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。美国绝不容忍这个不断增长的严重事态威胁我国以及我国的友邦和盟国。美国将请求联合国安理会于2月5日开会讨论伊拉克不断违抗国际社会的事实。鲍威尔国务卿将公布有关的信息和情报，说明伊拉克拥有违禁武器项目、隐藏武器不让核查人员发现的行为以及它同恐怖主义组织的联系。(掌声)
我们将进行磋商，但勿庸置疑的是：如果萨达姆﹒侯赛因不全面解除武装，我们将为了我国人民的安全，为了世界和平，领导一个联盟解除他的武装。(掌声)
今晚，我还想对维护和平的美国武装力量的男女成员说：你们中的很多人正在中东及其周边地区集结，关键时刻可能即将来临。在这种关键时刻，我们事业的成功将取决于你们。你们训练有素。你们的荣誉感将指导你们的行动。你们信任美国，美国也信任你们。(掌声)
派遣美国人上战场对一位总统而言是一个最艰难的决定。作战技术虽然已发生变化，但战争带来的危险和痛苦却没有变。对于那些不畏艰险的勇敢的美国人来说，没有任何一次胜利不是以痛苦为代价的。这个国家是不得已而战，因为我们知道战争的代价，我们不愿看到经常伴随而来的举哀之日。
我们寻求和平。我们为和平而奋斗。 和平必须时常得到捍卫。如果未来的生活听任可怕的威胁摆布，就根本无和平可言。如果我们不得不战，我们将为正义的事业而战，通过正义的手段而战 ── 尽我们的一切努力不伤及无辜。如果我们不得不战，我们将全力以赴，充份发挥美国军队的威力 ── 我们将战无不胜。(掌声)
正像我们和我们的联盟伙伴在阿富汗所做的那样，我们将给伊拉克人民送去食品，药物和物资 ── 以及自由。(掌声)
国内和国外的众多挑战出现在同一个时刻。在两年的时间内，美国改变了自以为不会遭到攻击的观念，意识到危险的存在；从为小事纷争不已，到为了一个伟大的事业镇定自若，团结一致。我们满怀信心向前进，因为这一历史的使命落在能担当此任的国家肩上 。
美国人民具有坚强的信念，曾奋起迎接我们时代的每一次考验。在逆境中，我国向全世界，向我们自己展现我们国家的品格。美国是一个强大的国家，在使用我们的力量时光明磊落。我们使用武力不是为了征服，我们为了素不相识的人们的自由勇于做出牺牲。
美国人民是自由的人民，深知自由是每个人的权利，是每个国家的未来。我们所珍视的自由不是美国给予全世界的礼物，而是上帝施与全人类的恩惠。(掌声)
我们美国人民相信我们自己 ── 但不只是相信我们自己。我们并不了解 ── 我们并不自以为了解所有的天道，然而我们对其笃信不移，让我们对慈爱的主的信任贯穿全部生命，贯穿整个历史。
愿上帝指引我们，愿上帝继续保佑美利坚合众国。
谢谢大家。
(美国东部标准时间晚间10时08分结束)
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English Version
Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, fellow citizens: Every year, by law and by custom, we meet here to consider the state of the union. This year, we gather in this chamber deeply aware of decisive days that lie ahead.
You and I serve our country in a time of great consequence. During this session of Congress, we have the duty to reform domestic programs vital to our country, and we have the opportunity to save millions of lives abroad from a terrible disease. We will work for a prosperity that is broadly shared and we will answer every danger and every enemy that threatens the American people.
In all these days of promise and days of reckoning, we can be confident. In a whirlwind of change, and hope, and peril, our faith is sure, our resolve is firm, and our union is strong.
This country has many challenges. We will not deny, we will not ignore, we will not pass along our problems to other Congresses, other presidents, and other generations. We will confront them with focus, and clarity, and courage.
During the last two years, we have seen what can be accomplished when we work together. To lift the standards of our public schools, we achieved historic education reform which must now be carried out in every school, and every classroom, so that every child in America can read, and learn, and succeed in life. To protect our country, we reorganized our government and created the Department of Homeland Security which is mobilizing against the threats of a new era. To bring our economy out of recession, we delivered the largest tax relief in a generation. To insist on integrity in American business, we passed tough reforms, and we are holding corporate criminals to account.
Some might call this a good record. I call it a good start. Tonight I ask the House and Senate to join me in the next bold steps to serve our fellow citizens.
Our first goal is clear: We must have an economy that grows fast enough to employ every man and woman who seeks a job.
After recession, terrorist attacks, corporate scandals, and stock market declines, our economy is recovering yet it is not growing fast enough, or strongly enough. With unemployment rising, our Nation needs more small businesses to open, more companies to invest and expand, more employers to put up the sign that says, Help Wanted.
Jobs are created when the economy grows; the economy grows when Americans have more money to spend and invest; and the best, fairest way to make sure Americans have that money is not to tax it away in the first place.
I am proposing that all the income tax reductions set for 2004 and 2006 be made permanent and effective this year. And under my plan, as soon as I have signed the bill, this extra money will start showing up in workers paychecks. Instead of gradually reducing the marriage penalty, we should do it now. Instead of slowly raising the child credit to $1,000, we should send the checks to American families now.
This tax relief is for everyone who pays income taxes, and it will help our economy immediately. Ninety-two million Americans will keep this year an average of almost $1,100 more of their own money. A family of four with an income of $40,000 would see their federal income taxes fall from $1,178 to $45 per year. And our plan will improve the bottom line for more than 23 million small businesses.
You, the Congress, have already passed all these reductions, and promised them for future years. If this tax relief is good for Americans three, or five, or seven years from now, it is even better for Americans today.
We also strengthen the economy by treating investors equally in our tax laws. It is fair to tax a company’s profits. It is not fair to again tax the shareholder on the same profits. To boost investor confidence, and to help the nearly 10 million seniors who receive dividend income, I ask you to end the unfair double taxation of dividends.
Lower taxes and greater investment will help this economy expand. More jobs mean more taxpayers and higher revenues to our government. The best way to address the deficit and move toward a balanced budget is to encourage economic growth and to show some spending discipline in Washington, D.C. We must work together to fund only our most important priorities. I will send you a budget that increases discretionary spending by four percent next year about as much as the average familys income is expected to grow. And that is a good benchmark for us: Federal spending should not rise any faster than the paychecks of American families.
A growing economy, and a focus on essential priorities, will also be crucial to the future of Social Security. As we continue to work together to keep Social Security sound and reliable, we must offer younger workers a chance to invest in retirement accounts that they will control and they will own.
Our second goal is high quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
The American system of medicine is a model of skill and innovation with a pace of discovery that is adding good years to our lives. Yet for many people, medical care costs too much and many have no coverage at all. These problems will not be solved with a nationalized health care system that dictates coverage and rations care. Instead, we must work toward a system in which all Americans have a good insurance policy … choose their own doctors … and seniors and low-income Americans receive the help they need. Instead of bureaucrats, and trial lawyers, and HMOs, we must put doctors, and nurses, and patients back in charge of American medicine.
Health care reform must begin with Medicare, because Medicare is the binding commitment of a caring society. We must renew that commitment by giving seniors access to the preventive medicine and new drugs that are transforming health care in America.
Seniors happy with the current Medicare system should be able to keep their coverage just the way it is. And just like you, the members of Congress, members of your staffs, and other federal employees, all seniors should have the choice of a health care plan that provides prescription drugs. My budget will commit an additional $400 billion over the next decade to reform and strengthen Medicare. Leaders of both political parties have talked for years about strengthening Medicare I urge the members of this new Congress to act this year.
To improve our health care system, we must address one of the prime causes of higher costs the constant threat that physicians and hospitals will be unfairly sued. Because of excessive litigation, everybody pays more for health care and many parts of America are losing fine doctors. No one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit, and I urge the Congress to pass medical liability reform.
Our third goal is to promote energy independence for our country, while dramatically improving the environment.
I have sent you a comprehensive energy plan to promote energy efficiency and conservation, to develop cleaner technology, and to produce more energy at home. I have sent you Clear Skies legislation that mandates a 70 percent cut in air pollution from power plants over the next 15 years. I have sent you a Healthy Forests Initiative, to help prevent the catastrophic fires that devastate communities, kill wildlife, and burn away millions of acres of treasured forest.
I urge you to pass these measures, for the good of both our environment and our economy. Even more, I ask you to take a crucial step, and protect our environment in ways that generations before us could not have imagined. In this century, the greatest environmental progress will come about, not through endless lawsuits or command and control regulations, but through technology and innovation. Tonight I am proposing $1.2 billion in research funding so that America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles.
A simple chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen generates energy, which can be used to power a car producing only water, not exhaust fumes. With a new national commitment, our scientists and engineers will overcome obstacles to taking these cars from laboratory to showroom so that the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free. Join me in this important innovation to make our air significantly cleaner, and our country much less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
Our fourth goal is to apply the compassion of America to the deepest problems of America. For so many in our country the homeless, the fatherless, the addicted the need is great. Yet there is power wonder-working power in the goodness, and idealism, and faith of the American people.
Americans are doing the work of compassion every day, visiting prisoners, providing shelter to battered women, bringing companionship to lonely seniors. These good works deserve our praise … they deserve our personal support … and, when appropriate, they deserve the assistance of our government. I urge you to pass both my faith-based initiative and the Citizen Service Act to encourage acts of compassion that can transform America, one heart and one soul at a time.
Last year, I called on my fellow citizens to participate in USA Freedom Corps, which is enlisting tens of thousands of new volunteers across America. Tonight I ask Congress and the American people to focus the spirit of service and the resources of government on the needs of some of our most vulnerable citizens boys and girls trying to grow up without guidance and attention … and children who have to go through a prison gate to be hugged by their mom or dad. I propose a 450 million dollar initiative to bring mentors to more than a million disadvantaged junior high students and children of prisoners. Government will support the training and recruiting of mentors, yet it is the men and women of America who will fill the need. One mentor, one person, can change a life forever and I urge you to be that one person.
Another cause of hopelessness is addiction to drugs. Addiction crowds out friendship, ambition, moral conviction, and reduces all the richness of life to a single destructive desire. As a government, we are fighting illegal drugs by cutting off supplies, and reducing demand through anti-drug education programs. Yet for those already addicted, the fight against drugs is a fight for their own lives.
Too many Americans in search of treatment cannot get it. So tonight I propose a new 600 million dollar program to help an additional 300,000 Americans receive treatment over the next three years.
Our Nation is blessed with recovery programs that do amazing work. One of them is found at the Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A man in the program said, God does miracles in peoples lives, and you never think it could be you. Tonight, let us bring to all Americans who struggle with drug addiction this message of hope: The miracle of recovery is possible, and it could be you.
By caring for children who need mentors, and for addicted men and women who need treatment, we are building a more welcoming society a culture that values every life. And in this work we must not overlook the weakest among us. I ask you to protect infants at the very hour of birth, and end the practice of partial-birth abortion. And because no human life should be started or ended as the object of an experiment, I ask you to set a high standard for humanity and pass a law against all human cloning.
The qualities of courage and compassion that we strive for in America also determine our conduct abroad. The American flag stands for more than our power and our interests. Our Founders dedicated this country to the cause of human dignity the rights of every person and the possibilities of every life. This conviction leads us into the world to help the afflicted, and defend the peace, and confound the designs of evil men. In Afghanistan, we helped to liberate an oppressed people … and we will continue helping them secure their country, rebuild their society, and educate all their children boys and girls. In the Middle East, we will continue to seek peace between a secure Israel and a democratic Palestine. Across the earth, America is feeding the hungry; more than 60 percent of international food aid comes as a gift from the people of the United States.
As our Nation moves troops and builds alliances to make our world safer, we must also remember our calling, as a blessed country, to make this world better. Today, on the continent of Africa, nearly 30 million people have the AIDS virus including three million children under the age of 15. There are whole countries in Africa where more than one-third of the adult population carries the infection. More than four million require immediate drug treatment. Yet across that continent, only 50,000 AIDS victims, only 50,000, are receiving the medicine they need.
Because the AIDS diagnosis is considered a death sentence, many do not seek treatment. Almost all who do are turned away. A doctor in rural South Africa describes his frustration. He says, We have no medicines … many hospitals tell [people], You’ve got AIDS. We can’t help you. Go home and die.
In an age of miraculous medicines, no person should have to hear those words. AIDS can be prevented. Anti-retroviral drugs can extend life for many years. And the cost of those drugs has dropped from 12,000 dollars a year to under 300 dollars a year which places a tremendous possibility within our grasp.
Ladies and gentlemen, seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many. We have confronted, and will continue to confront, HIV/AIDS in our own country. And to meet a severe and urgent crisis abroad, tonight I propose the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief a work of mercy beyond all current international efforts to help the people of Africa. This comprehensive plan will prevent seven million new AIDS infections … treat at least two million people with life-extending drugs … and provide humane care for millions of people suffering from AIDS, and for children orphaned by AIDS. I ask the Congress to commit 15 billion dollars over the next five years, including nearly ten billion dollars in new money, to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean.
This Nation can lead the world in sparing innocent people from a plague of nature. And this Nation is leading the world in confronting and defeating the man-made evil of international terrorism.
There are days when the American people do not hear news about the war on terror. There is never a day when I do not learn of another threat, or receive reports of operations in progress, or give an order in this global war against a scattered network of killers. The war goes on, and we are winning.
To date we have arrested, or otherwise dealt with, many key commanders of al-Qaida. They include a man who directed logistics and funding for the September 11th attacks … the chief of al-Qaida operations in the Persian Gulf who planned the bombings of our embassies in East Africa and the USS Cole … an al-Qaida operations chief from Southeast Asia … a former director of al-Qaidas training camps in Afghanistan … a key al-Qaida operative in Europe … and a major al-Qaida leader in Yemen. All told, more than 3,000 suspected terrorists have been arrested in many countries. And many others have met a different fate. They are no longer a problem for the United States and our friends and allies.
We are working closely with other nations to prevent further attacks. America and coalition countries have uncovered and stopped terrorist conspiracies targeting the American embassy in Yemen … the American embassy in Singapore … a Saudi military base … and ships in the straits of Hormuz, and the straits of Gibraltar. We have broken al-Qaida cells in Hamburg, and Milan, and Madrid, and London, and Paris as well as Buffalo, New York.
We have the terrorists on the run, and we are keeping them on the run. One by one, the terrorists are learning the meaning of American justice.
As we fight this war, we will remember where it began here, in our own country. This government is taking unprecedented measures to protect our people and defend our homeland. We have intensified security at the borders and ports of entry … posted more than 50,000 newly trained federal screeners in airports … begun inoculating troops and first responders against smallpox … and are deploying the Nations first early warning network of sensors to detect biological attack. And this year, for the first time, we are beginning to field a defense to protect this Nation against ballistic missiles.
I thank the Congress for supporting these measures. I ask you tonight to add to our future security with a major research and production effort to guard our people against bio-terrorism, called Project Bioshield. The budget I send you will propose almost six billion dollars to quickly make available effective vaccines and treatments against agents like anthrax, botulinum toxin, Ebola, and plague. We must assume that our enemies would use these diseases as weapons, and we must act before the dangers are upon us.
Since September 11th, our intelligence and law enforcement agencies have worked more closely than ever to track and disrupt the terrorists. The FBI is improving its ability to analyze intelligence, and transforming itself to meet new threats. And tonight, I am instructing the leaders of the FBI, Central Intelligence, Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense to develop a Terrorist Threat Integration Center, to merge and analyze all threat information in a single location. Our government must have the very best information possible, and we will use it to make sure the right people are in the right places to protect our citizens.
Our war against terror is a contest of will, in which perseverance is power. In the ruins of two towers, at the western wall of the Pentagon, on a field in Pennsylvania, this Nation made a pledge, and we renew that pledge tonight: Whatever the duration of this struggle, and whatever the difficulties, we will not permit the triumph of violence in the affairs of men free people will set the course of history.
Today, the gravest danger in the war on terror … the gravest danger facing America and the world … is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. These regimes could use such weapons for blackmail, terror, and mass murder. They could also give or sell those weapons to their terrorist allies, who would use them without the least hesitation.
This threat is new; Americas duty is familiar. Throughout the 20th century, small groups of men seized control of great nations … built armies and arsenals … and set out to dominate the weak and intimidate the world. In each case, their ambitions of cruelty and murder had no limit. In each case, the ambitions of Hitlerism, militarism, and communism were defeated by the will of free peoples, by the strength of great alliances, and by the might of the United States of America. Now, in this century, the ideology of power and domination has appeared again, and seeks to gain the ultimate weapons of terror. Once again, this Nation and our friends are all that stand between a world at peace, and a world of chaos and constant alarm. Once again, we are called to defend the safety of our people, and the hopes of all mankind. And we accept this responsibility.
America is making a broad and determined effort to confront these dangers. We have called on the United Nations to fulfill its charter, and stand by its demand that Iraq disarm. We are strongly supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency in its mission to track and control nuclear materials around the world. We are working with other governments to secure nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union, and to strengthen global treaties banning the production and shipment of missile technologies and weapons of mass destruction.
In all of these efforts, however, Americas purpose is more than to follow a process it is to achieve a result: the end of terrible threats to the civilized world. All free nations have a stake in preventing sudden and catastrophic attack. We are asking them to join us, and many are doing so. Yet the course of this Nation does not depend on the decisions of others. Whatever action is required, whenever action is necessary, I will defend the freedom and security of the American people.
Different threats require different strategies. In Iran, we continue to see a government that represses its people, pursues weapons of mass destruction, and supports terror. We also see Iranian citizens risking intimidation and death as they speak out for liberty, human rights, and democracy. Iranians, like all people, have a right to choose their own government, and determine their own destiny and the United States supports their aspirations to live in freedom.
On the Korean peninsula, an oppressive regime rules a people living in fear and starvation. Throughout the 1990s, the United States relied on a negotiated framework to keep North Korea from gaining nuclear weapons. We now know that the regime was deceiving the world, and developing those weapons all along. And today the North Korean regime is using its nuclear program to incite fear and seek concessions. America and the world will not be blackmailed. America is working with the countries of the region South Korea, Japan, China, and Russia to find a peaceful solution, and to show the North Korean government that nuclear weapons will bring only isolation, economic stagnation, and continued hardship. The North Korean regime will find respect in the world, and revival for its people, only when it turns away from its nuclear ambitions.
Our Nation and the world must learn the lessons of the Korean peninsula, and not allow an even greater threat to rise up in Iraq. A brutal dictator, with a history of reckless aggression … with ties to terrorism … with great potential wealth … will not be permitted to dominate a vital region and threaten the United States.
Twelve years ago, Saddam Hussein faced the prospect of being the last casualty in a war he had started and lost. To spare himself, he agreed to disarm of all weapons of mass destruction. For the next 12 years, he systematically violated that agreement. He pursued chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons even while inspectors were in his country. Nothing to date has restrained him from his pursuit of these weapons not economic sanctions, not isolation from the civilized world, not even cruise missile strikes on his military facilities. Almost three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave Saddam Hussein his final chance to disarm. He has shown instead his utter contempt for the United Nations, and for the opinion of the world.
The 108 UN weapons inspectors were not sent to conduct a scavenger hunt for hidden materials across a country the size of California. The job of the inspectors is to verify that Iraqs regime is disarming. It is up to Iraq to show exactly where it is hiding its banned weapons … lay those weapons out for the world to see … and destroy them as directed. Nothing like this has happened.
The United Nations concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein had biological weapons materials sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax enough doses to kill several million people. He has not accounted for that material. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed it.
The United Nations concluded that Saddam Hussein had materials sufficient to produce more than 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin enough to subject millions of people to death by respiratory failure. He has not accounted for that material. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed it.
Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard, and VX nerve agent. In such quantities, these chemical agents also could kill untold thousands. He has not accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.
U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up 16 of them, despite Iraqs recent declaration denying their existence. Saddam Hussein hasnot accounted for the remaining 29,984 of these prohibited munitions. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.
From three Iraqi defectors we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs. These are designed to produce germ warfare agents, and can be moved from place to place to evade inspectors. Saddam Hussein has not disclosed these facilities. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a nuclear weapon, and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium for a bomb. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide.
The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving. From intelligence sources, we know, for instance, that thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the UN inspectors sanitizing inspection sites, and monitoring the inspectors themselves. Iraqi officials accompany the 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 UN inspectors in disarming Iraq will be killed, along with their families.
Year after year, Saddam Hussein has gone to elaborate lengths, spent enormous sums, taken great risks, to build and keep weapons of mass destruction but why? The only possible explanation, the only possible use he could have for those weapons, is to dominate, intimidate, or attack. With nuclear arms or a full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein could resume his ambitions of conquest in the Middle East, and create deadly havoc in the region. And this Congress and the American people must recognize another threat. Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody, reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al-Qaida. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own.
Before September 11, 2001, many in the world believed that Saddam Hussein could be contained. But chemical agents and lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist networks are not easily contained. Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons, and other plans this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take just one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. We will do everything in our power to make sure that day never comes.
Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option.
This dictator, who is assembling the worlds most dangerous weapons, has already used them on whole villages leaving thousands of his own citizens dead, blind, or disfigured. Iraqi refugees tell us how forced confessions are obtained by torturing children while their parents are made to watch. International human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape.
If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning. And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation.
The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. America will not accept a serious and mounting threat to our country, our friends, and our allies. The United States will ask the UN Security Council to convene on February 5th to consider the facts of Iraqs ongoing defiance of the world. Secretary of State Powell will present information and intelligence about Iraqs illegal weapons programs; its attempts to hide those weapons from inspectors; and its links to terrorist groups. We will consult, but let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm, for the safety of our people, and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him.
Tonight I also have a message for the men and women who will keep the peace, members of the American Armed Forces: Many of you are assembling in and near the Middle East, and some crucial hours may lie ahead. In those hours, the success of our cause will depend on you. Your training has prepared you. Your honor will guide you. You believe in America, and America believes in you.
Sending Americans into battle is the most profound decision a president can make. The technologies of war have changed. The risks and suffering of war have not. For the brave Americans who bear the risk, no victory is free from sorrow. This Nation fights reluctantly, because we know the cost, and we dread the days of mourning that always come.
We seek peace. We strive for peace. And sometimes peace must be defended. A future lived at the mercy of terrible threats is no peace at all. If war is forced upon us, we will fight in a just cause and by just means sparing, in every way we can, the innocent. And if war is forced upon us, we will fight with the full force and might of the United States military and we will prevail. And as we and our coalition partners are doing in Afghanistan, we will bring to the Iraqi people food, and medicines, and supplies … and freedom.
Many challenges, abroad and at home, have arrived in a single season. In two years, America has gone from a sense of invulnerability to an awareness of peril … from bitter division in small matters to calm unity in great causes. And we go forward with confidence, because this call of history has come to the right country.
Americans are a resolute people, who have risen to every test of our time. Adversity has revealed the character of our country, to the world, and to ourselves.
America is a strong nation, honorable in the use of our strength. We exercise power without conquest, and sacrifice for the liberty’s of strangers.
Americans are a free people, who know their freedom is the right of every person, and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world. It is God’s gift to humanity.
We Americans have faith in ourselves, but not in ourselves alone. We do not claim to know all the ways of Providence, yet we can trust in them, placing our confidence in the loving God behind all of life, and all of history.
May He guide us now, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
Thank you. (http://www.dajiyuan.com)
