United Nations: on War & Peace
Barack Obama:
Iran sanctions not only to punish, but get to lasting deal
The goal of sanctions was not simply to punish Iran. Our objective was to test whether Iran could change course, accept constraints, and allow the world to verify that its nuclear program will be peaceful. The result is a lasting, comprehensive deal
that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while allowing it to access peaceful energy. And if this deal is fully implemented, the prohibition on nuclear weapons is strengthened, a potential war is averted, our world is safer.
When a terrorist group beheads captives, slaughters the innocent and enslaves women, that's not a single nation's national security problem -- that is an assault on all humanity. There is no room for accommodating an apocalyptic cult like
ISIL, and the United States makes no apologies for using our military, as part of a broad coalition, to go after them. We do so with a determination that there will never be a safe haven for terrorists. We will not be outlasted by extremists.
Source: Remarks by Pres.Obama to the United Nations General Assembly
Sep 28, 2015
Barack Obama:
We will not be outlasted by extremists
When a terrorist group beheads captives, slaughters the innocent and enslaves women, that's not a single nation's national security problem -- that is an assault on all humanity. There is no room for accommodating an apocalyptic cult like ISIL, and the
United States makes no apologies for using our military, as part of a broad coalition, to go after them. We do so with a determination that there will never be a safe haven for terrorists. We will not be outlasted by extremists.
Source: Remarks by Pres.Obama to the United Nations General Assembly
Sep 28, 2015
Carly Fiorina:
Impose crippling sanctions on Iran
Today the United Nations Security Council finally voted to impose new sanctions on Iran in response to that country's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community. But this vote was no victory for peace or security.
In order to get Russia and China on board, President Obama gutted the sanctions that were once promised to be "crippling' and later downgraded to "biting.' Today's sanctions are so watered down that Russian Prime Minister Putin vowed they would "not put
Iran's leadership or the Iranian people into difficulty.'
If Iran's leadership is not put "into difficulty' by these sanctions, American interests and those of our allies will be. This is the fourth round of U.N. sanctions on Iran, yet
Iran continues to work toward a nuclear weapon.
The United States Congress can impose its own sanctions on Iran, real sanctions that would cause Iran's leadership great difficulty.
Source: Press release on United Nations Iran Sanctions vote
Jun 9, 2010
Colin Powell:
Inspectors are inspectors, not detectives
Resolution 1441 gave Iraq one last chance to come into compliance or to face serious consequences. No council member that day had any allusions about the intent of the resolution or what “serious consequences” meant if Iraq did not comply. We called on
Iraq to cooperate with returning inspectors. This council placed the burden on Iraq to comply and disarm and not on the inspectors to find that which Iraq has gone out of its way to conceal for so long. Inspectors are inspectors; they are not detectives.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
The facts show Iraq has not disarmed
My purpose is to share with you what the US knows about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction as well as Iraq’s involvement in terrorism.
The material comes from a variety of sources. Iraq’s behavior demonstrates that Saddam Hussein has made no effort to disarm. The facts show that Saddam is concealing his efforts to produce weapons of mass destruction.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Iraq moved weapons to hide them from inspectors
Human sources tell us that the Iraqis are moving, not just documents & hard drives, but weapons of mass destruction to keep them from being found. While we were debating Resolution 1441 last fall, we know that a missile brigade outside Baghdad was
disbursing rocket launchers & warheads containing biological warfare agents to various locations in western Iraq. Most of the launchers & warheads have been hidden in large groves of palm trees & were to be moved every 1 to 4 weeks to escape detection.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Saddam has enough anthrax to kill thousands
Less than a teaspoon of dry anthrax in an envelope shutdown the US Senate. This forced several hundred people to undergo emergency medical treatment & killed two postal.
Iraq declared 8,500 liters of anthrax, but UNSCOM estimates that Saddam Hussein could have produced 25,000 liters. If concentrated into this dry form, this amount would be enough to fill tens upon tens upon tens of thousands of teaspoons.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
WMD inspectors eluded by producing weapons in mobile labs
Although Iraq’s mobile production program began in the mid-1990s, confirmation came later. The source was an engineer who supervised one of these facilities. He was present during biological agent production runs. He was also at the site when an
accident occurred in 1998. 12 technicians died from exposure. He reported that when UNSCOM was inspecting, the biological weapons agent production always began on Thursdays at midnight because Iraq thought UNSCOM would not inspect on the Muslim Holy Day.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Photo shows Iraqi jet modified to spray anthrax
Saddam has investigated biological agents causing diseases such as gangrene, plague, typhus, tetanus, cholera, camelpox and hemorrhagic fever, and he also has the wherewithal to develop smallpox. The regime has also developed ways to disburse lethal
biological agents. For example, Iraq had a program to modify aerial fuel tanks for Mirage jets. This video shows an Iraqi F-1 Mirage jet. Note the spray coming from beneath the Mirage; that is 2,000 liters of simulated anthrax that a jet is spraying.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Iraq has at least 100 tons of chemical weapons
Our conservative estimate is that Iraq today has a stockpile of between 100 and 500 tons of chemical weapons. That is enough agent to fill 16,000 battlefield rockets. Even the low end of 100 tons of agent would enable Saddam to cause mass casualties acro
more than 100 square miles of territory. Of the 122 millimeter chemical warheads, that the U.N. inspectors found recently, this discovery could very well be the tip of the submerged iceberg.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Iraq has been trying to enrich uranium
Saddam’s efforts to reconstitute his nuclear program have focused on acquiring material to produce a nuclear explosion. To make the material, he needs to enrich uranium. He has made repeated attempts to acquire high-specification aluminum tubes from
11 different countries, even after inspections resumed. We also have intelligence that Iraq is attempting to acquire magnets and high-speed balancing machines; both items can be used in a gas centrifuge program to enrich uranium.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Intelligence shows links between Iraq and terrorists
Iraq harbors a terrorist network headed by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. Zarqawi, a Palestinian born in Jordan, fought in the Afghan war more than a decade ago. Returning to Afghanistan in 2000, he oversaw a terrorist training camp. One of his specialties is
poisons. When our coalition ousted the Taliban, the Zarqawi network helped establish a training center in Iraq. Baghdad has an agent in the most senior levels of the radical organization. In 2000 this agent offered Al Qaida safe haven in the region.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Documented ties between Iraq & Al Qaida
Al Qaida coordinates the movement of people, money & supplies into Iraq, & they’ve been operating in the capital for more than eight months. Iraqi officials deny accusations of ties with Al Qaida. These denials are simply not credible. Last year an
Al Qaida associate bragged that the situation in Iraq was, quote, “good,” that Baghdad could be transited quickly. A detained Al Qaida member tells us that Saddam was willing to assist Al Qaida after the 1998 bombings of our embassies in Kenya & Tanzania
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Our future is frightening unless we act against Iraq
The nexus of Iraq & terror is old. Iraqi denials of supporting terrorism take the place alongside the other denials of weapons of mass destruction. It is all a web of lies. When we confront a regime that harbors ambitions for regional domination,
hides weapons of mass destruction & provides support for terrorists, we are not confronting the past, we are confronting the present. Unless we act, we are confronting an even more frightening future.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Saddam killed 5,000 Kurds with mustard & nerve gas
Saddam’s use of mustard & nerve gas against the Kurds in 1988 was one of the 20th century’s most horrible atrocities; 5,000 died. His campaign against the Kurds from 1987 to ‘89 included mass summary executions, disappearances, arbitrary jailing,
ethnic cleansing & the destruction of some 2,000 villages. Saddam ruthlessly eliminates anyone who dares to dissent. Iraq has more forced disappearance cases than any other country.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Post 9/11, we cannot allow Iraq to have nuclear weapons
Given Saddam’s history of aggression, his grandiose plans, and his terrorist associations, should we take the risk that he will not some day use these weapons at a time when the world is in a much weaker position to respond?
The US will not run that risk to the American people. Leaving Saddam in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post-September 11th world.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
Iraq close to facing serious consequences for defiance
Three months ago this council recognized that Iraq continued to pose a threat to international peace, and that Iraq had been and remained in material breach of its disarmament obligations. Today Iraq still poses a threat and still remains in
material breach. Indeed, by its failure to seize on its one last opportunity to disarm, Iraq has put itself in deeper material breach and closer to the day when it will face serious consequences for its defiance of this council.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
Colin Powell:
We wrote Resolution 1441 to preserve peace
We have an obligation to our citizens, we have an obligation to this body to see that our resolutions are complied with. We wrote 1441 not in order to go to war, we wrote 1441 to try to preserve the peace.
We wrote 1441 to give Iraq one last chance. Iraq is not so far taking that one last chance.
Source: Speech to the United Nations Security Council (Bush Cabinet)
Feb 5, 2003
George W. Bush:
No peace for Israel or Palestine without freedom for both
In the Middle East, there can be no peace for either side without freedom for both sides. America stands committed to an independent and democratic Palestine, living side by side with Israel in peace and security. Like all other people,
Palestinians deserve a government that serves their interests and listens to their voices. My nation will continue to encourage all parties to step up to their responsibilities as we seek a just and comprehensive settlement to the conflict.
Source: Address to the United Nations General Assembly
Sep 12, 2002
George W. Bush:
UN founded to fight threats like Saddam and 9/11
Our principles & our security are challenged today by outlaw groups & regimes that accept no law of morality and have no limit to their violent ambitions. In the attacks on America a year ago, we saw the destructive intentions of our enemies. Our greates
fear is that terrorists will find a shortcut to their mad ambitions when an outlaw regime supplies them with the technologies to kill on a massive scale. In one place-in one regime-we find all these dangers, in their most lethal and aggressive forms,
exactly the kind of aggressive threat the UN was born to confront.
If Iraq's regime defies us again, the world must move deliberately, decisively to hold Iraq to account. We will work with the UN Security Council for the necessary resolutions. But the
purposes of the US should not be doubted. The Security Council resolutions will be enforced-the just demands of peace and security will be met-or action will be unavoidable. And a regime that has lost its legitimacy will also lose its power.
Source: Address to the United Nations General Assembly
Sep 12, 2002
George W. Bush:
Calls on UN to do more in Iraq
Since the last meeting of this General Assembly, the people of Iraq have regained sovereignty. The UN, and its member nations, must respond to Prime Minister Allawi's request, and do more to help build an Iraq that is secure, democratic, federal, & free.
A democratic Iraq has ruthless enemies, because terrorists know the stakes in that country. They know that a free Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will be a decisive blow against their ambitions for that region.
So a terrorists group associated with al Qaeda is now one of the main groups killing the innocent in Iraq today-conducting a campaign of bombings against civilians, and the beheadings of bound men.
Coalition forces now serving in Iraq are confronting the terrorists and foreign fighters, so peaceful nations around the world will never have to face them within our own borders.
Source: Address to the United Nations General Assembly
Sep 21, 2004
Vladimir Putin:
Ukraine War caused by NATO expansion & Cold War thinking
The bloc thinking of the times of the Cold War is still present. They continue their policy of expanding NATO. What for? The Warsaw Bloc stopped its existence; the Soviet Union has collapsed. Nevertheless, NATO continues expanding its military
infrastructure. Then they offered the poor Soviet countries a false choice: either to be with the West or with the East. Sooner or later, this logic of confrontation was bound to spark off a grave geopolitical crisis. This is exactly what happened in
Ukraine, where the military coup was orchestrated from outside--that triggered a civil war as a result.We're confident that only through full and faithful implementation of the Minsk agreements can we put an end to the bloodshed and find a way out
of the deadlock. Ukraine's territorial integrity cannot be ensured by threat of force. What is needed is a genuine consideration for the interests and rights of the people in the Donbas region and respect for their choice.
Source: Speech to the United Nations General Assembly
Sep 28, 2015
Joe Biden:
If Russia prevails in Ukraine can any nation feel secure?
We don't need to agree on everything to keep moving forward on issues like arms control--a cornerstone of international security. After more than 50 years of progress under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Russia is shredding longstanding arms
control agreements, including announcing the suspension of New START and withdrawing from the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty. I view it as irresponsible, and it makes the entire world less safe.It is Russia alone that stands in the way of
peace because Russia's price for peace is Ukraine's capitulation, Ukraine's territory, and Ukraine's children. Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence. But I ask you this: If we abandon the
core principles of the [U.N. Charter] to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that they are protected? If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?
Source: Speech to the United Nations (2023 presidential hopefuls)
Sep 19, 2023
Donald Trump:
Sanctions on Venezuela: fight repressive socialist regime
Currently, we are witnessing a human tragedy, as an example, in Venezuela. More than 2 million people have fled the anguish inflicted by the socialist Maduro regime and its Cuban sponsors.Not long ago, Venezuela was one of the richest countries on
Earth. Today, socialism has bankrupted the oil-rich nation and driven its people into abject poverty.
Virtually everywhere socialism or communism has been tried, it has produced suffering, corruption, and decay.
Socialism's thirst for power leads to expansion, incursion, and oppression. All nations of the world should resist socialism and the misery that it brings to everyone.
In that spirit, we ask the nations gathered here to join us in calling for the
restoration of democracy in Venezuela. Today, we are announcing additional sanctions against the repressive regime, targeting Maduro's inner circle and close advisors.
Source: Pres.Trump Remarks to the 73rd Session of the United Nations
Sep 25, 2018
Page last updated: Jul 16, 2024