Every once in a while, the scope of TweakTown goes beyond that of the technology arena. Today is one of those days.

The President of the United States, George W. Bush, has given Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq. If they have not left Iraq in that time frame, U.S. and Coalition forces will forcibly remove him from power.

Bush addressed the nation from the White House to lay out the challenge to Saddam, who has vowed not to leave, and explain why he was intent on a military solution after the United States, Britain and Spain abandoned their efforts to win U.N. support for war.

 

"Events in Iraq have reached a final stage," Bush said. "... The Iraqi regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."

 

While Bush said "we believe in the United Nations," he said the U.N. Security Council had failed to "show resolve. The United Nations Security Council has not lived up to its responsibilities, so we will rise up to ours."

"This danger will be removed," Bush said, claiming full authority under previous U.N. resolutions to remove Saddam from power.

"This is not a question of authority," he said. "It is a question of will. ... The tyrant will soon be gone."