The extended U.N. Iraqi debate, followed by unanimous adoption of Security Council Resolution 1441, occurred in the context of a decade-long effort by Saddam Hussein to systematically conceal, deceive, and lie to avoid complying fully with a single one of the more than 16 United Nations resolutions that he has been obligated to meet.

These earlier U.N. Security Council resolutions obligated Iraq to do the following:

• Withdraw occupation forces from Kuwait.
• Allow international inspectors to oversee the complete destruction of all weapons of mass destruction.
• Halt development of any new nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons.
• Destroy all ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometers.
• Stop support for terrorism and prevent terrorist organizations from operating inside the country.
• Account for missing Kuwaitis and other foreign nationals following the Gulf War.
• Return stolen Kuwaiti property and bear financial liability for Gulf War damage.
• End repression of the Iraqi people.

Saddam Hussein has failed to meet any of these commitments. Moreover, the regime has not simply engaged in passive noncompliance but in active confrontation with the international community.

Saddam Hussein meets with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (left) in Baghdad in 1998 during the latter's attempt to resolve a standoff between the United Nations and Iraq. (AP Photo/Iraqi News Service, Pool)

Beginning as early as June 1991, Baghdad undertook a seven-year campaign of deception and intimidation directed against U.N. weapons inspectors. Iraqi authorities physically blocked access to suspicious facilities, prevented installation of monitoring devices and taking of aerial photographs, destroyed documents, hauled incriminating equipment away from locations scheduled for inspection, and refused to comply with demands for the destruction of proscribed facilities and weapons components.

Finally, in October 1998, the regime ended all pretense of cooperating in any fashion with UNSCOM, forcing its inspection teams to leave the country. In retaliation, the United States and Great Britain launched air assaults known as "Desert Fox" in December 1998, targeting suspected chemical and biological weapons facilities.

Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz (left) talks with Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf in 1998 before briefing the Iraqi parliament on the leadership's decision to suspend cooperation with U.N. inspectors. (AP Photo/Jassim Mohammed)

Today, Saddam's time is up.

With Security Council Resolution 1441, the international community has signaled that compliance with U.N. weapons inspectors and the demands of the United Nations must be total, unconditional, and without any limits or restrictions.

If Iraq continues to obstruct and deceive, however, the consequences will be severe.

As U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has stated:

The international community can expect Iraq to test its will. Backing Resolution 1441 with the threat of force will be the best way to not only eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction but also to achieve compliance with all U.N. resolutions and reach our ultimate goal: an Iraq that does not threaten its own people, its neighbors, and the world.

We do not seek a war with Iraq, we seek its peaceful disarmament. But we will not shrink from war if that is the only way to rid Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. The Security Council has confronted Saddam Hussein and his regime with a moment of truth. If they meet it with more lies, they will not escape the consequences.