Bush Prepares Nation for War.

Publication: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

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COPYRIGHT 2003 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News

Knight Ridder Washington Bureau Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 7--WASHINGTON -- A grim President Bush prepared the nation for war Thursday, issuing a blunt review of Iraqi misdeeds, charging that Saddam Hussein has authorized the use of chemical weapons against U.S. troops and saying "The game is over."

His statement from the White House came a few hours after the Army's 101st Airborne Division, a premier unit that often spearheads invasions, received orders to deploy overseas.

The Army's only air-assault division and one with a particularly rich history, the 101st Airborne and its helicopter gunships will deploy to the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility, which includes the Persian Gulf, military officials said.

Administration officials say war against Iraq could start at the beginning of March.

"All the world can rise to this moment," Bush said with Secretary of State Colin Powell standing by his side. "The community of free nations can show that it is strong and confident and determined to keep the peace. . . .

"Saddam Hussein has the motive and the means and the recklessness and the hatred to threaten the American people. Saddam Hussein will be stopped."

In a related development, the State Department issued a new worldwide caution Thursday to Americans overseas, based on what officials said was new intelligence about threats to U.S....

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