Bush says 'game is over' for Saddam

2.00pm

WASHINGTON - President Bush says he would support a new UN resolution authorising war on Iraq, saying "the game is over" for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and challenging the Security Council to stand up to Iraqi defiance.

With Secretary of State Colin Powell at his side, Bush today ratcheted up pressure on the Security Council, confidently signalling the United States is prepared to go to war with a coalition of like-minded nations with or without UN backing.

"Saddam Hussein has made Iraq into a prison, poison factory and a torture chamber for patriots and dissidents. Saddam Hussein has the motive and the means and the recklessness and the hatred to threaten the American people. Saddam Hussein will be stopped," a grim-faced Bush said.

Security Council members France, Russia and China have all expressed reservations about a war against Iraq, saying UN weapons inspections should be given more time, in spite of Powell's presentation yesterday alleging systematic Iraqi concealment of suspected weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi ties to terrorist groups.

Bush predicted a "last-minute game of deception" from Saddam but said it will not work.

"The game is over. All the world can rise to this moment. The community of free nations can show that it is strong and confident and determined to keep the peace. The United Nations can renew its purpose and be a source of stability and security in the world," he said.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, Powell said he thought the showdown with Iraq "will start to come to a head" when top UN weapons inspectors return next week from a trip to Baghdad and report to the UN Security Council on February 14.

"I think we are reaching an endgame in a matter of weeks, not a matter of months," he added.

In what appeared to be a coordinated effort, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in London he was confident of pulling France, Russia and other war doubters behind military action against Iraq if it was proved to be in breach of its disarmament obligations.

"The Security Council will show whether its words have any meaning. Having made its demands, the Security Council must not back down when those demands are defied and mocked by a dictator," said Bush.

He added: "The United States would welcome and support a new resolution that makes clear the Security Council stands behind its previous demands."

US officials said it was too soon to say whether they would want a deadline for Iraqi disarmament in any resolution. One official said Bush was open to a resolution because he wanted to present a unified front within the international community.

The Bush administration, facing a wary public at home about the prospect of war and uneasiness abroad, has support for war from Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic and most eastern European nations as well as Australia.

"We're working hard to expand this coalition that will face up to the tough decisions. We're still working to bring other countries on board," the official said.

Powell insisted his UN presentation was starting to sway doubting allies. He said he thought there may be more support "than some might think" for a second UN resolution to disarm Iraq by force.

"Later in the day when I spoke to each and every one of them and they heard what I said there was some shift in attitude ... that suggested more and more nations are realizing that this cannot continue indefinitely," he said.

Powell said overthrowing the Iraqi government could reshape the Middle East in ways that enhance US interests.

Powell said attacking Iraq could cause "some difficulties" for the United States in other areas in the Middle East during the conflict and in the months immediately after a war.

But he added, "I think there is also the possibility that success could fundamentally reshape that region in a powerful, positive way that will enhance US interests, especially if in the aftermath of such a conflict, we are also able to achieve progress on the Middle East peace."

The Bush administration has usually confined its argument for attacking Iraq to the alleged threat from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and the possibility that Saddam's government could pass them on to extremists hostile to the United States.

But Powell said Washington's problem with Iraq was not just over Iraqi cooperation with the United Nations in giving up any weapons of mass destruction it might have, but also with threats it poses to its neighbors.

Committee members generally praised Powell for the UN presentation that most said showed convincing evidence that Iraq was thwarting the inspections and had banned weapons. But Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, complained that he appeared to have "given up on inspections" prematurely.

- REUTERS

Herald feature: Iraq