FINDING GOOD REASON FOR WAR COULD TAKE MONTHS, BUSH WARNS
US Prepared to Fight With or Without Reason, President
Assures Nation
Amid growing calls for a good reason to go to war with
Iraq, President Bush warned today that finding such a reason was “like a needle
in a haystack” and could take months.
“There are those who would have us spend month upon month trying to find a good
reason for this war,” the President said in his weekly radio address. “While it
would be nice to have such a reason, we are fully prepared to go forward without
one.”
The President’s words were echoed at the Pentagon today, where Deputy Secretary
of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said that it is “the duty of the Iraqis to give us a
reason for this war, not the other way around.”
Mr. Wolfowitz cautioned that if the United States delays attacking Iraq until a
persuasive reason for such a war can be found, “we’ll be looking at some really
bad weather over there.”
Bush administration sources say that over the next few days the White House may
start making its case to the American people that “the weather” is a good enough
reason for waging war in Iraq.
“It’s not exactly the same thing as proving that Iraq has weapons of mass
destruction, but we believe that most Americans will agree that bad weather is a
good reason to attack another country,” one White House aide said.
As for the weather in Iraq, meteorological forecasts for February predict
temperatures in the forties, partly cloudy skies, and a ninety-five percent
chance of ten thousand bombing sorties a day.
Borowitz Report
