Dreier Reaction to President's Address

March 17, 2003

Congressman David Dreier (R-CA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, issued the following statement tonight in reaction to the President's address to the nation:

"Like the President, I strongly supported pursuing a diplomatic solution to the question of disarming Saddam Hussein. We made a good faith effort at the United Nations and it did not yield an agreement. Yet it has not changed one key fact - Saddam Hussein remains a threat to our national security and he must be dealt with.

"As the President said in his State of the Union address, 'the course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others.' While we regret coming to this point, we are prepared to move forward with the strong support of our allies. If Saddam defies this final ultimatum, he will be disarmed by force. We will support our men and women in uniform as they fight to defend our security and our freedom."