U.S. Strike on Iraq Still an Option, Bush Warns

President Bush issued an ominous warning to Saddam Hussein on Wednesday, saying the Iraqi president “needs to understand I am serious” about launching preemptive strikes beyond Afghanistan to eliminate terrorist threats against the United States.

“Make no mistake about it: If we need to, we will take necessary action to defend the American people,” Bush said in reply to a reporter’s question about his intentions toward Iraq. “I will reserve whatever options I have.”

Echoing previous public messages to Baghdad, the president’s latest threat came as serious planning is underway in his administration for a campaign to topple Hussein.

Bush’s remarks also came a day after former Vice President Al Gore called for a “final reckoning” with Iraq, a nation he described as a “virulent threat in a class by itself.”

In his State of the Union address last month, the president identified Iraq, Iran and North Korea as “an axis of evil” that poses “a grave and growing danger.” The warning prompted consternation among many U.S. allies in the campaign against Afghanistan’s former Taliban rulers and Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terrorist network.

Bush’s language has also revived concern in foreign capitals that he is resuming a unilateral approach to foreign policy. Such criticism marked Bush’s first months in office but was muted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as he painstakingly built a broad anti-terrorism coalition.

Among those voicing concern was Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, who, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal this week, warned that Iraq was “completely different” from Afghanistan and should not become a target of unilateral military action.

Administration officials say no military action against Baghdad is imminent. But Bush on Wednesday did not back away from his strong words of two weeks ago.

Speaking at the White House during a joint news conference with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Bush left little doubt about his determination to fight terrorism beyond Afghanistan.

“I meant what I said the other night: that there are some nations in the world which develop weapons of mass destruction with one intention, and that is to hold America hostage and/or harm Americans and/or our friends and allies,” Bush said.

He added that he anticipates “working with the world to bring pressure on those nations to change their behavior,” but he pointedly left open the possibility of military action against Iraq.

Referring to Iraq, Iran and North Korea, Bush in his January speech to Congress declared that “the price of indifference would be catastrophic” and warned that “I will not stand by as peril draws closer and closer.”

He said Wednesday that “I think that statement was clear enough for Iraq to hear me, and I will reserve whatever options I have. I’ll keep them close to my vest. . . . Saddam Hussein needs to understand I’m serious about defending our country.”

The administration expects to complete a full review of its policy toward Iraq by the time Vice President Dick Cheney leaves next month for the Middle East, where he will outline U.S. intentions.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell confirmed in testimony to Congress on Tuesday that the administration was weighing options to bring down Hussein.

Gore spoke Tuesday evening to the Council of Foreign Relations in New York. Although the unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate in 2000 has backed Bush’s leadership in the counter-terrorism campaign, he also gently chided the president for not adhering to a more multilateral approach.

“The administration in which I served looked at the challenges we faced in the world and said we wished to tackle these--with others if possible, alone if we must,” Gore said.

“This administration sometimes seems inclined to stand that on its head--so that the message is: with others if we must, by ourselves if possible.”

Bush deflected criticism Wednesday about the U.S. handling of immigrants and suspected terrorists since Sept. 11.

“My most important job is to protect innocent Americans, and it’s exactly what I’m going to do,” he said after a Pakistani journalist stated that the Pakistani community “has especially been targeted by law enforcement agencies.”

“We’re still under threat,” Bush said. “But we treat people with ultimate respect. . . . We never said, ‘Let’s go single out a particular group of citizens.’ ”

Bush said terrorist suspects are “being treated incredibly humanely here and in Guantanamo Bay.”

“But I want to assure you we will do, within our power, within the Constitution of the United States, what it takes to defend the American people,” he said.

Bush met with Musharraf for nearly an hour in the Oval Office. Then they spent an hour over lunch in the upstairs residence of the White House.

During their joint appearance, Bush lauded Musharraf’s participation in the campaign against terrorism and said the United States hopes to “facilitate meaningful dialogue” between India and Pakistan so that they can reach a peaceful resolution of their dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Bush also said that the warming relations between the United States and Pakistan, which supported the Taliban until Sept. 11, will not be “just a short-term dance . . . so long as we share the same ideals and values and common objectives.”

The White House said Wednesday that Bush has agreed to provide $200 million to Pakistan to help it pay down its debt.