The last day of Hussein's regime

US President George W Bush has relinquished all diplomatic efforts and gave Saddam Hussein a 48-hour ultimatum on Monday night, demanding him to leave Iraq. The ultimatum expires on Wednesday night at 3.00 a.m. (Romania’s time) and then the war may break out at any moment.
“All the decades of deceit and cruelty have now reached an end. Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing.”
This is in essence the historical speech of the American President broadcast on Monday night at 2000 hours (US time, 3.00 a.m. Romania’s time).
Iraq rejected U.S. President George W. Bush’s ultimatum yesterday. Saddam Hussein promised victory against the United States in “Iraq’s final battle.” The statement was made yesterday during the weekly meeting of the Revolutionary Command Council in Baghdad and was broadcast by the Iraqi state-run TV station.
France, Russia, Germany, which are all against the American policy, have immediately reacted and did not approve giving up a peaceful solution. President Bush’s main ally, Tony Blair had lost three of this Cabinet ministers by yesterday, as they were unhappy with the pro-US policy. Still, he sought the House of Commons for approval to join the US in a possible war against Iraq.
“Our good faith has not been returned. The Iraqi regime has used diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage. It has uniformly defied Security Council resolutions demanding full disarmament,” the US President said.
President Ion Iliescu called for calm yesterday, saying Romania’s security was not at risk due to the new international conflict. The head of state pointed out Romania was not going to war, and if there was a military conflict in Iraq, then it would dispatch only post-conflict units. The Supreme Defence Council (CSAT) had been summoned to Cotroceni for last night, in order to decide on the security measures the Romanian State would take in case of a war. The American President’s ultimatum to the leader in Baghdad to quit was “the only way to avoid a war” at the moment, the Romanian PM Adrian Nastase yesterday said. Romania will “behave responsibly” and keep its commitment made a month ago, including the Parliament’s endorsement for the American troops to be stationed in Romania. This is a “conduct that confirms our consistent attitude as a trustworthy ally to our strategic partners,” the Prime Minister said. He added Romania had 2 billion dollars to recover from Iraq and therefore wanted to participate in the reconstruction of the country after the war.