*EPF103 06/16/2003
White House Report: Bush Defends His Decision to Use Military Force in Iraq
(Bush speech in New Jersey) (270)

President Bush June 16 branded as "revisionist historians" those who now criticize his decision to use military force to oust Saddam Hussein from power.

"This nation acted to a threat from the dictator of Iraq. Now there are some who would like to rewrite history; revisionist historians is what I like to call them," the president said in a speech to small business owners in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Bush stopped in New Jersey on his way back to Washington after a long family weekend in Kennebunkport, Maine.

"Saddam Hussein was a threat to America and the free world in '91, in '98, in 2003. He continually ignored the demands of the free world, so the United States and friends and allies acted," Bush said.

"And this is for certain: Saddam Hussein is no longer a threat to the United States and our friends and allies."

"[O]ne of the biggest challenges is to make sure that we continue to fight and win the war on terror," Bush said. "We're cooperating with our friends and allies, we're sharing intelligence, we're running down their [terrorist] money trails. ... This government will use whatever technologies and skill is necessary to secure America by hunting down those who would harm us, one person at a time. It is a charge we have been given and it is a charge we will keep."

In his remarks, Bush also discussed his economic policies, and touted new tax breaks meant to spur businesses to invest in equipment.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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