Bush Promises Postwar Aid if Hussein Toppled

His declaration, never stated so directly in the past, goes to the heart of some of the gravest concerns he is facing in the United States and in the U.N. Security Council about what Washington would do to avoid chaos, and a new dictatorship, if it ousts Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

At the same time, he has kept up steady pressure to win approval for the use of force against Iraq, even as he said that he would direct U.S. forces to attack Iraq and rid it of weapons of mass destruction only if it is "essential to security and justice."

"Delay, indecision and inaction are not options for America, because they could lead to massive and sudden horror," the president said.

In three speeches Saturday delving into the tensions over how to confront the weapons of mass destruction the U.S. believes Iraq has, the president kept his focus on a message intended to win as great a margin as possible for a congressional resolution authorizing use of force. He also sought to overcome the strong reluctance of France and Russia, two Security Council members with veto power, to a resolution before the council giving Bush the go-ahead for military action if Iraq does not quickly disarm.

"We owe it to a peaceful world to deal with the threats we see," the president said. "We cannot ignore history. We must not ignore reality. We must do everything we can to disarm this man before he hurts one single American."

Separately, at a political luncheon, he added forcefully: "If Saddam Hussein makes the choice not to disarm, the United States and a lot of our friends will disarm him. For the sake of peace, for the sake of freedom, for the sake of our future and our children's future, we will disarm him."

In his weekly radio address, the president said that in the event of war, "the United States will work with other nations to help the Iraqi people rebuild and form a just government."

"We have no quarrel with the Iraqi people," he said. "They are the daily victims of Saddam Hussein's oppression, and they will be the first to benefit when the world's demands are met."