U.S. Doesn’t Seek Destruction of Iraq, Bush Says

WASHINGTON —  President Bush said today that the United States is fighting a “just war” that does not seek the destruction of Iraq.

In a speech to religious broadcasters, Bush repeatedly described the conflict in moral terms. “It has nothing to with religion, per se,” said the President. “It has, on the other hand, everything to do with what religion embodies: good versus evil, right versus wrong.”

He added: “Every war is fought for reasons, but a just war is fought for the right reasons, for moral, not selfish reasons. We seek nothing for ourselves.”

Looking to the future of the region, Bush said: “We do not want a country so destabilized that Iraq itself could be the target of aggression.

“We do not seek the destruction of Iraq,” he said. “We have respect for the people of Iraq, for the importance of Iraq in the region.”

Bush said the United States made every effort to resolve the Persian Gulf crisis peacefully but that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein rejected all overtures.

“Some ask whether it’s moral to use force to stop the rape, the pillage, the plunder of Kuwait, and my answer: Extraordinary diplomatic efforts having been exhausted to resolve the matter peacefully, then the use of force is moral.”

He said the United States and its allies “are doing everything possible, believe me, to avoid hurting the innocent.”

Bush told the National Assn. of Religious Broadcasters that “when this war is over, the United States, its credibility and its reliability restored, will have a key leadership role in bringing peace to the Middle East.”

Acknowledging dissent to the war, Bush said: “I know some disagree with the course we’ve taken. . . . I am convinced that we are doing the right thing.”

“The first principle of a just war is that it supports a just cause,” said the President. “And our cause could not be more noble. We seek Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait, immediate, completely, and without conditions.”