In mid-February the president delivered a major speech on the crisis. Saddam Hussein, he said, had responded to repeated orders from the Security Council with "tactics of delay and deception." "What if he fails to comply and we fail to act?" the president asked. "Well, he will conclude that the international community has lost its will. He will then conclude that he can go right on and do more to build an arsenal of devastating destruction. And some day, some way, I guarantee you, he'll use the arsenal."