pd24mr03 Proclamation 7654--Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration...

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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
 [frwais.access.gpo.gov]
                         

[Page i]
 
Monday, March 24, 2003


[[Page i]]

Weekly Compilation of

Presidential

Documents



<DOC>
[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
 [frwais.access.gpo.gov]
                         

[Page i-iii]
 
Pages 329-352
 
 Contents

[[Page ii]]

  

  


 Addresses to the Nation

     Iraq--338, 342

 Addresses and Remarks

      See also  Addresses to the Nation; Meetings With Foreign Leaders
     Cabinet meeting--343
     Congressional leaders, meeting--347
     Radio address--329

 Communications to Congress

     Federal ocean and coastal activities, message transmitting report--
        342
     Iraq
        Letter on commencement of military action--348
        Letter on conclusion of diplomatic efforts--341
        Message reporting on confiscation and vesting of certain Iraqi 
            property--345
    Terrorism
        Letter reporting on U.S. efforts in the global war--346
        Message transmitting report on national emergency with respect 
            to persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support--349

 Communications to Congress--Continued

     UNITA, message transmitting report on national emergency--342
     United Nations and its affiliated agencies, message transmitting 
        report on U.S. participation--342

 Communications to Federal Agencies

     Determination Pursuant to Section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and 
        Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, as Amended, memorandum--346

 Executive Orders

     Confiscating and Vesting Certain Iraqi Property--344

 Interviews With the News Media

     Exchange with reporters in the Oval Office--347
     News conference with Prime Minister Durao Barroso of Portugal, 
        President Aznar of Spain, and Prime Minister Blair of the United 
        Kingdom in the Azores, Portugal--330
  
(Continued on the inside of the back cover.)

   Editor's Note:  The President was at Camp David, MD, on March 21, the 
closing date of this issue. Releases and announcements issued by the 
Office of the Press Secretary but not received in time for inclusion in 
this issue will be printed next week.



              WEEKLY COMPILATION OF
          ------------------------------
              PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Register, National 
Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408, the Weekly 
Compilation of Presidential Documents contains statements, messages, and
other Presidential materials released by the White House during the 
preceding week.

The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is published pursuant to
the authority contained in the Federal Register Act (49 Stat. 500, as 
amended; 44 U.S.C. Ch. 15), under regulations prescribed by the 
Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, approved by the 
President (37 FR 23607; 1 CFR Part 10).

Distribution is made only by the Superintendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The Weekly Compilation of 
Presidential Documents will be furnished by mail to domestic subscribers 
for $80.00 per year ($137.00 for mailing first class) and to foreign
subscribers for $93.75 per year, payable to the Superintendent of 
Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The charge 
for a single copy is $3.00 ($3.75 for foreign mailing).

The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is also available on the Internet on the GPO Access service at http://www.gpo.gov/nara/nara003.html.

There are no restrictions on the republication of material appearing in 
the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.


[[Page iii]]

Contents--Continued

 Joint Statements

     Statement of the Atlantic Summit: A Vision for Iraq and the Iraqi 
        People--336
     Statement of the Atlantic Summit: Commitment to Transatlantic 
        Solidarity--336

 Letters and Messages

     Nowruz, message--344
     Saint Patrick's Day, message--338

 Meetings With Foreign Leaders

     Portugal, Prime Minister Durao Barroso--330, 336
     Spain, President Aznar--330, 336
     United Kingdom, Prime Minister Blair--330, 336

 Proclamations

     Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and 
        American Democracy--341

 Statements by the President

     House of Representatives passage of the budget resolution--348
     Social Security Trustees, 2003 report--337

 Supplementary Materials

     Acts approved by the President--352
     Checklist of White House press releases--351
     Digest of other White House announcements--349
     Nominations submitted to the Senate--351

[[Page 329]]




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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
 [frwais.access.gpo.gov]
                         

[Page 329-330]
 
Pages 329-352
 
Week Ending Friday, March 21, 2003
 
The President's Radio Address


March 15, 2003

    Good morning. This weekend marks a bitter anniversary for the people 
of Iraq. Fifteen years ago, Saddam Hussein's regime ordered a chemical 
weapons attack on a village in Iraq called Halabja. With that single 
order, the regime killed thousands of Iraq's Kurdish citizens. Whole 
families died while trying to flee clouds of nerve and mustard agents 
descending from the sky. Many who managed to survive still suffer from 
cancer, blindness, respiratory diseases, miscarriages, and severe birth 
defects among their children.
    The chemical attack on Halabja, just one of 40 targeted at Iraq's 
own people, provided a glimpse of the crimes Saddam Hussein is willing 
to commit and the kind of threat he now presents to the entire world. He 
is among history's cruelest dictators, and he is arming himself with the 
world's most terrible weapons.
    Recognizing this threat, the United Nations Security Council 
demanded that Saddam Hussein give up all his weapons of mass destruction 
as a condition for ending the Gulf war 12 years ago. The Security 
Council has repeated this demand numerous times and warned that Iraq 
faces serious consequences if it fails to comply. Iraq has responded 
with defiance, delay, and deception.
    The United States, Great Britain, and Spain continue to work with 
fellow members of the U.N. Security Council to confront this common 
danger. We have seen far too many instances in the past decade, from 
Bosnia to Rwanda to Kosovo, where the failure of the Security Council to 
act decisively has led to tragedy. And we must recognize that some 
threats are so grave and their potential consequences so terrible that 
they must be removed, even if it requires military force.
    As diplomatic efforts continue, we must never lose sight of the 
basic facts about the regime of Baghdad. We know from recent history 
that Saddam Hussein is a reckless dictator who has twice invaded his 
neighbors without provocation, wars that led to death and suffering on a 
massive scale. We know from human rights groups that dissidents in Iraq 
are tortured, imprisoned, and sometimes just disappear; their hands, 
feet, and tongues are cut off; their eyes are gouged out; and female 
relatives are raped in their presence.
    As the Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said this 
week, ``We have a moral obligation to intervene where evil is in 
control. Today, that place is Iraq.''
    We know from prior weapons inspections that Saddam has failed to 
account for vast quantities of biological and chemical agents, including 
mustard agent, botulinum toxin, and sarin, capable of killing millions 
of people. We know the Iraqi regime finances and sponsors terror. And we 
know the regime has plans to place innocent people around military 
installations to act as human shields.
    There is little reason to hope that Saddam Hussein will disarm. If 
force is required to disarm him, the American people can know that our 
Armed Forces have been given every tool and every resource to achieve 
victory. The people of Iraq can know that every effort will be made to 
spare innocent life and to help Iraq recover from three decades of 
totalitarian rule. And plans are in place to provide Iraqis with massive 
amounts of food, as well as medicine and other essential supplies, in 
the event of hostilities.
    Crucial days lie ahead for the free nations of the world. 
Governments are now showing whether their stated commitments to liberty 
and security are words alone or convictions they're prepared to act 
upon. And for the Government of the United States and the coalition we 
lead, there is no doubt: We will confront a growing danger, to protect 
ourselves, to remove a patron and protector of terror, and to keep the 
peace of the world.
    Thank you for listening.

[[Page 330]]

Note: The address was recorded at 10:21 a.m. on March 14 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 15. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 14 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his 
remarks, the President referred to President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The 
Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of this address.


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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 330-336]
 
Pages 329-352
 
Week Ending Friday, March 21, 2003
 
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao 
Barroso of Portugal, President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, and Prime 
Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom in the Azores, Portugal

March 16, 2003

    Prime Minister Durao Barroso. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. 
I am very pleased to welcome here in the Azores the leaders of three 
friends and allied countries, the United States, Spain, and United 
Kingdom; President Bush, Prime Minister Aznar, and Prime Minister Tony 
Blair.
    This meeting in the Azores also shows the importance of 
transatlantic relations and also shows the solidarity among our 
countries. Actually, these agreements have approved two statements, one 
statement on transatlantic relations and a statement on Iraq.
    We have joined this initiative, and we organized it here in the 
Azores because we thought this was the last opportunity for a political 
solution. And this is how we see it: This is the last possibility for a 
political solution to the problem. Maybe it's a small chance, a small 
possibility, but even if it's one in one million, it's always worthwhile 
fighting for a political solution. And I think this is the message that 
we can get from this Atlantic summit.
    As I was saying, for my English-speaking guests, I'll speak English 
now. First of all, let me say, welcome, George Bush, to Europe. I think 
it's important that we meet here, in a European country, in Portugal, 
but in this territory of Azores that is halfway between the continent of 
Europe and the continent of America. I think it's not only logistically 
convenient; it has a special political meaning, the political meaning of 
our friendship and our commitment to our shared values.
    So welcome to all of you. Welcome to you. And I now give the floor 
to President George Bush.
    President Bush. Jose, thank you very much for your hospitality. 
You've done a great job on such short notice. And I'm honored to be 
standing here with you and two other friends as we work toward a great 

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