Bush says Iraq defies UN, Allies urge caution

WASHINGTON - US President George W Bush used his state of the nation speech to say Iraq had shown "utter contempt" for the United Nations, but key allies urged him on Wednesday not to bypass the world body in his march towards war.

In the highest-profile address of his presidency so far, Bush said US Secretary of State Colin Powell would deliver new intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to the UN Security Council next week to strengthen the case for an attack.

Bush said intelligence, including secret communications and statements from suspects now in custody, also revealed Saddam "aids and protects terrorists" including members of al Qaeda and could provide them with weapons of mass destruction.

"The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving," he told Congress on Tuesday night.

The European Union, which has so far been sceptical of Washington's assertion of links with the al Qaeda network behind the devastating September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, welcomed the intelligence offer.

European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana also reiterated the widely held view that any decision on whether to disarm Iraq by force should be taken by the United Nations.

Washington says it would prefer the UN Security Council to back military action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein but that there are ample legal grounds for it to go ahead alone if its allies remain reluctant to explicitly sanction force.

The council was due to convene at 11:30am (0530NZT) to discuss a report this week by weapons inspectors on what they had found in 60 days of scouring Iraq for banned arms.

Russia, one of five countries with veto powers on the 15-member council, said on Wednesday it saw no grounds for the use of force against Iraq. A foreign ministry spokesman also called on the international community to allow UN weapons inspectors more time to continue their work.

A day earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin had urged Baghdad not to hamper the inspectors' work and said he might be prepared to adopt a tougher line against Saddam.

In his lengthy speech, the US president accused Saddam of continuing to produce and hoard chemical and biological weapons and plotting to use them to dominate the Middle East.

Bush said Saddam had failed to account for 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents, 38,000 litres of botulinum toxin -- which he said could kill millions -- and materials that could produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve gas.

He said the United States would ask the Security Council to reconvene on February 5 to hear new intelligence findings he said would show Saddam had systematically violated UN agreements that he should give up his weapons of mass destruction.

"Almost three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave Saddam Hussein his final chance to disarm. He has shown instead utter contempt for the United Nations, and for the opinion of the world," he said.

Before the speech, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said Baghdad was prepared to improve co-operation with the inspectors but struck a defiant note, saying it would attack American troops in neighbouring Kuwait if necessary. Kuwait said Iraq would "pay a high price" if it carried out that threat.

Bush's State of the Union address came just one day after weapons inspectors led by Swedish diplomat Hans Blix told the Security Council Iraq was not fully co-operating with them and dragging its feet in meeting their demands.

The US president's arguments in favour of toppling Saddam by force if necessary have left many countries unconvinced that Iraq poses an immediate threat and could arm anti-Western groups like those that carried out the September 11 attacks.

Many US allies have called for the inspectors to be given more time to work in Iraq and on Tuesday Blix said he would welcome this if the UN Security Council offered it but that he doubted a few months would be enough to complete the job.

"I don't want to raise any expectations," Blix said in an interview with Reuters television.

The intelligence Bush has promised would form part of the US push to persuade key countries -- including permanent Security Council members France, Russia and China -- and a wary US public that military force may be necessary to disarm Iraq.

On world markets, analysts said the inspectors' report seemed to make war virtually inevitable.

Worries that the United States is moving closer to war with Iraq sent Tokyo's Nikkei average tumbling more than two per cent to an 11-week low on Wednesday.

US forces are assembling in the Gulf region and expected to be ready for combat next month.

Bush said sending Americans into battle was "the most profound decision a president can make" and added: "If war is forced upon us, we will fight with the full force and might of the United States military -- and we will prevail."

Bush had already received strong backing from his main ally against Iraq when Britain said Baghdad was in "material breach" of UN disarmament demands. On Friday, Bush meets British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is expected to urge further patience with the UN approach for now.

Meanwhile Blair said on Wednesday (GMT) Iraq had links with al Qaeda militants, echoing assertions from US President George W Bush.

"We do know of links between al Qaeda and Iraq, we cannot be sure of the exact extent of those links," Blair told parliament, adding that there was no evidence that Baghdad had any role in the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York.

Britain has been more equivocal up to now. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said on Monday the UK government was aware of well-established links between the Iraqi regime and terror organisations but he said the ties with al-Qaeda were "much less strong".

- REUTERS

Herald feature: Iraq

January 30, 2003:
George Bush's State of the Union speech

January 28, 2003: