US Presidency
1998

I know I speak for everyone in this chamber, Republicans and Democrats, when I say to Saddam Hussein, You can not defy the will of the world, and when I say to him, You have used weapons of mass destruction before. We are determined to deny you the capacity to use them again. Last year the Senate ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention to protect our soldiers and citizens from poison gas. Now we must act to prevent the use of disease as a weapon of war and terror. The Biological Weapons Convention has been in effect for 23 years now. The rules are good, but the enforcement is weak. We must strengthen it with a new international inspection system to detect and deter cheating. In the months ahead, I will pursue our security strategy with old allies in Asia and Europe and new partners from Africa to India and Pakistan, from South America to China. And from Belfast to Korea to the Middle East, America will continue to stand with those who stand for peace.