Chuck Noe, NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2002

"We will not allow the world's worst leaders to threaten us with the world's worst weapons,” Bush said in Trenton, N.J.

"I want to see strong resolutions coming out of that U.N. A resolution which says the old ways of deceit are gone. A resolution which will hold this man to account. A resolution which will allow freedom-loving countries to disarm Saddam Hussein before he threatens his neighborhood, before he threatens freedom, before he threatens America and before he threatens civilization.”

Speaking to a cheering crowd at a fundraiser for Senate nominee Doug Forrester, who hopes to unseat embattled Democrat incumbent Robert Torricelli, Bush combined the issues of Iraq, the war on terrorism and homeland security.

"We have a responsibility to our citizens to defend the homeland," Bush said. "And that not only means dealing with real, immediate threats, it also means anticipating threats before they occur, before things happen. It means we've got to look out into the future and understand the new world in which we live and deal with threats before it's too late.

"And that's why I went into the United Nations the other day. And I said to the United Nations, we have a true threat that faces America; a threat that faces the world; and a threat which diminishes your capacity.

"... I'm talking about Iraq."

United Press International reported, "While the president was speaking, negotiations were continuing at U.N. headquarters in New York, where the United States was attempting to not only woo supporters but also prevent either France, China or Russia – permanent members of the Security Council – from blocking a resolution by casting a veto.”

Gore Flip-Flops on Iraq

In San Francisco, failed Democrat presidential nominee Al Gore attacked Bush's push for war against Iraq.

"After Sept. 11, we had enormous sympathy, goodwill and support around the world," Gore said. "We've squandered that, and in one year we've replaced that with fear, anxiety and uncertainty, not at what the terrorists are going to do but at what we are going to do."

The remarks contradicted his previous stances. As the Associated Press noted: "Gore always has supported overthrowing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and was one of the few Senate Democrats who voted in favor of the Gulf War resolution after Iraq attacked Kuwait. He said he felt betrayed by the first President Bush's ‘hasty withdrawal from the battlefield.’"

More Democrat attacks Monday came from Capitol Hill, where lawmakers continued to complain about a draft congressional resolution on Iraq the White House delivered Friday.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said Bush’s resolution was "incredibly broad" and "appears to actually authorize the president to do virtually anything anywhere in the Middle East."

'American People Are Adverse’

"They're talking now about liberation. Those are troublesome words," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the House's second-ranked Democrat. "Certainly the American people are averse to our taking unilateral action."

She said Democrats would probably not offer a single alternative but were working on a number of approaches she hoped would become a part of the resolution Congress finally votes on.

The president thinks Congress already has plenty to do in the final days of its session. It must pass a terrorism insurance bill to stimulate the economy, Bush said. He chided Democrat senators – who depend on forced "contributions” from union members – for wanting the 170,000 proposed workers in the new Department of Homeland Security to retain all union privileges.

Bush said he would veto any legislation that did not allow flexibility in the hiring, firing and transfer of employees, something that other presidents have had in times of national emergency and that some departments already have.

'Senate Is More Interested in Special Interests’

"I asked Congress to give me the flexibility necessary to be able to deal with the true threats of the 21st century by being able to move the right people to the right place at the right time so we can better assure America we're doing everything possible. The House responded, but the Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people," the president said in Trenton.

"I will not accept a Department of Homeland Security that does not allow this president and future presidents to better keep the American people secure.”

Bush's trip to New Jersey, expected to raise $1.5 million for Forrester, was the first of four campaign visits this week. "Even fellow Democrats consider Torricelli the most vulnerable incumbent running this year,” Fox News reported.

The Democrat-run Senate ethics panel "severely admonished" Torricelli in July for taking illegal gifts from businessman David Chang. Even as the Democrat incumbent is free to run for re-election, Chang is serving 18 months in prison for making the illegal donations.

In other developments Monday: