Iraq on war footing as Bush prepares for summit

2.00pm

BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON - Iraq put itself on a war footing today while President Bush braced the American people for military action on the eve of a crisis summit with close allies Britain and Spain.

As Bush spoke of his readiness to "confront a growing danger" in Iraq, Baghdad also invited the top UN weapons inspectors to visit as soon as possible to discuss outstanding disarmament issues.

Weapons inspector Hans Blix said he would discuss the invitation with his colleague, Mohamed ElBaradei, over the weekend. A UN spokeswoman in Vienna said the inspectors would consult the Security Council on Monday about the invitation.

The inspectors are due to give the Security Council a report on what Iraq must due to meet disarmament demands, and France, Germany, Russia, which oppose the US-led movement toward war, called for foreign ministers to convene a meeting of the council on Tuesday.

The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement nothing justified the use of force at this stage and now was not the moment to end UN weapons inspections in Iraq.

In Baghdad, the Revolutionary Command Council issued a decree that divided Iraq into four military districts under President Saddam Hussein "to take the necessary steps to repulse and destroy any foreign aggression," according to the state news agency INA.

Saddam's eldest son Qusay was put in charge of Baghdad and some other central areas.

In cities across the world, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in what many saw as a last-ditch global protest against any U.S.-led war on Iraq.

The protests ranged from pigeons being released into the skies over Bangkok as symbols of peace to the burning of effigies of Bush in Calcutta and the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands protested in Washington, surrounding the White House. The president was not at home.

Bush, who will meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on the Azores islands on Sunday after efforts to win new UN backing for war on Iraq floundered, said there was little hope Saddam would disarm.

"Crucial days lie ahead for the free nations of the world," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

"There is no doubt: we will confront a growing danger, to protect ourselves, to remove a patron and protector of terror, and to keep the peace of the world."

The tone of comments from Britain, where Blair has been desperate for a clear UN mandate for any war to placate opponents in his Labor Party and country, was equally heavy.

A spokesman said Blair was still working hard on diplomacy -- but Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said war now looked "much more probable" and a minister said it may only be days away.

US officials said the summit on the Portuguese islands 900 miles west of Europe was not a war council but aimed at increasing pressure on Saddam, diluted by France's vow to veto any Security Council resolution for war.

They said it was a last chance for diplomacy but, barring an 11th-hour compromise in the divided council, the White House would quickly shift to a war footing.

Diplomats at the United Nations said negotiations appeared to be all but over after Washington swiftly rejected a proposal by Chile to break the impasse over a second resolution.

Once diplomacy is exhausted, officials said, Bush would address the nation, issuing a final ultimatum to Saddam and giving aid workers and others time to leave Iraq.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Amer al-Saadi, an aide to Saddam, had written a letter of invitation to the chief UN weapons inspectors, Blix and ElBaradei.

"The letter included their invitation to discuss ways to speed up joint cooperation between Iraq and the parties they represent on all aspects, particularly on issues that were considered pending by Blix and ElBaradei," a statement said.

Blix told CNN he would study the invitation.

He rejected a suggestion the invitation was a last-minute stunt by Baghdad. "I certainly wouldn't use the word stunt. We will have to give serious thought to what the answer will be," Blix said.

In Iraq, UN weapons inspectors overseeing missile dismantling denied reports they had started to pull out.

Turkey - a key participant in the 1991 Gulf War - dashed US hopes it would play a similar role in any new conflict as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said his government would not move swiftly to approve US troop deployments.

In Washington, aides said Bush had signed off on plans for an "Iraqi Interim Authority" that could quickly take over certain government functions if Saddam was removed from power.

Iraqis march for Saddam

In Baghdad, thousands took part in government-organized marches to show their support for Saddam, chanting: "Bush, Bush, listen well; We all love Saddam Hussein!"

On Sunday, Bush, Blair and Aznar will meet at the Lajes US air base on the Azores.

The three have been trying for weeks to build a nine-vote majority on the 15-nation Security Council for a resolution paving the way to war.

Only one other council member, Bulgaria, has publicly backed them, while Russia has sided with France in threatening to veto any resolution.

Some UN diplomats say the summit may decide to withdraw the resolution rather than risk the humiliation, and legal complications, of seeing it voted down.

Bush has said he needs no further UN backing for a war, insisting that November's Resolution 1441 is sufficient.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq