Vote Proves World United Against Saddam, Bush Says

Bush also spoke about the need for Congress to quickly pass legislation forming the Department of Homeland Security.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 on Nov. 8 presents Iraq with a final test, the president said. "Iraq must now, without delay or negotiations, give up its weapons of mass destruction, welcome full inspections and fundamentally change the approach it has taken for more than a decade," Bush said.

Iraq now has until Friday to decide to honor the resolution. Under it, Saddam Hussein must allow U.N. weapons inspectors immediate and unrestricted access to every site, every document and every person necessary to ensure the regime is truly cooperating in destroying its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs. "Iraq can be certain that the old game of cheat and retreat, tolerated at other times, will no longer be tolerated," the president said.

The United Nations will read any Iraqi delay or defiance as an added breach and a clear signal that Iraq is not complying with the world's demands. "If Iraq fails to fully comply with the U.N. resolution, the United States, in coalition with other nations, will disarm Saddam Hussein," Bush said.

When the 107th Congress reconvenes this week the president wants it to enact legislation creating the new the Cabinet-level department and to pass budget bills. "The single most important item of unfinished business on Capitol Hill is to create a unified Department of Homeland Security that will vastly improve our ability to protect our borders, our coasts and our communities," the president said. "The Senate must pass a bill that will strengthen our ability to protect the American people and preserve the authority every president since John Kennedy has had to act in the interests of national security. Congress needs to send me a bill I can sign before it adjourns this year."