By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent

Washington -- In remarks during a speech on the U.S. economy in St. Louis, Missouri, January 22 President Bush again spoke of the threat posed to the United States and the world by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.

"My hope is that Saddam Hussein will disarm voluntarily; that's my hope," said Bush. "I take seriously the commitment of any troops into combat. I desire peace. But in the name of peace, in the name of securing our future, if Saddam Hussein will not disarm, the United States of America and friends of freedom will disarm Saddam Hussein."

"And should that path be forced upon us," Bush said, "there will be serious consequences for the dictator in Iraq. And there will be serious consequences for any Iraqi general or soldier who were to use weapons of mass destruction on our troops or on innocent lives within Iraq.

"Should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from Saddam Hussein, or his sons, or any of the killers who occupy the high levels of their government, my advice is, don't follow that order." Bush warned that if they chose to do so, they would be tried as war criminals once the fighting was over.

Bush told the people of Iraq that if the United States is forced into action, they will be freed from oppression, torture, and murder, and will be able to realize their full potential.

"The dictator of Iraq has got weapons of mass destruction. He has used weapons of mass destruction. He can't stand America and what we stand for. He can't stand our friends and allies. He's a dangerous, dangerous man with dangerous, dangerous weapons. And that's why the world came together at the United Nations Security Council and said, Mr. Saddam Hussein must disarm. The message was as clear as can possibly be delivered -- Mr. Saddam Hussein must disarm.

"And the first step of that disarmament was for him to make a declaration of his weapons -- 12,000 pages of deceit and deception were placed at the U.N. Security Council. We know what it means to disarm; we know what a disarmed regime does. We know how a disarmed regime accounts for weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein is not disarming, like the world has told him he must do.

"He's a dangerous man, with dangerous weapons. He's a danger to America, and our friends and allies. And that's why the world has said, disarm," Bush said.

"But Saddam Hussein has learned lessons from the past. See, the first time he was told to disarm was 11 years ago. He is adept at deception and delays and denying. He asked for more time so he can give the so-called inspectors more runaround. He's interested in playing hide and seek in a huge country. He's not interested in disarming."

Bush said he hopes the world has learned the lessons from the past, just as he hopes Saddam Hussein has learned the lessons from the past.

"It's time for us to hold the world to account, and for Saddam to be held to account. We must not be fooled by the ways of the past. After all, we just discovered undeclared chemical warheads in Iraq. It's incredibly troubling and disturbing ... evidence of a man not disarming."

"He wants to play a game," said Bush. "For the sake of peace, we must not let him play a game. And so the resolutions of the Security Council will be enforced."

Bush also discussed the U.S. war against terrorism that began after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

Even though September 11 "appears to be distant in our rear-view mirror, our country is still under threat," Bush said.

"We're making progress. Sometimes you'll see it, sometimes you won't. And progress comes in different kinds of ways. Our friends in Great Britain have recently uncovered and have arrested a group of al Qaeda that they think were intending to poison the British people. Slowly but surely, we're rounding them up. That coalition of freedom-loving people still stands: Either you're with us and those of us who love freedom, or you're with the enemy," he said.

"We've got an obligation to our children to hunt these people down. We've also got an obligation to our children to address problems before they come back to America, and in my judgment, in my considered judgment, there is a real risk to America and our friends and allies in Iraq," Bush said.

Earlier in the day, on Air Force One en route to Missouri, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer noted that a day after the White House issued its 22 page pamphlet detailing Saddam Hussein's disinformation and propaganda from 1990 to 2003, he again "this morning lied to the Iraqi people and the world.

"Iraq claimed to have shot down a Predator [drone] this morning. There is no truth to the Iraqi claim. They couldn't even wait 24 hours to show the world that they, once again, lie," Fleischer said.

Asked by reporters on the plane about recent public opinion polls in the United States, some of which indicate a decrease in support for military action against Iraq, Fleischer said, "there should be no misunderstanding the position of the American people on this. Pollsters can ask every type of follow-up question they want, but the basic fundamentals are unchanged, and that is the strong majority of the American people are willing to support military action if it comes down to that. And if the president makes that case to the American people, I think you will see even more of the country supporting" it.