US will act without UN approval

WASHINGTON - United States Government officials say they would have zero tolerance for any Iraqi breaches of the United Nations disarmament resolution, and would meet them with overwhelming military force - with or without Security Council approval.

"The UN can meet and discuss, but we don't need their permission," White House chief of staff Andrew Card said on NBC television yesterday.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein called an emergency session of Parliament yesterday to debate the UN resolution amid growing signs he may accept its conditions.

As Washington warned Iraq that war was the only alternative to acceptance, US officials would not confirm leaked plans for an attack on Iraq with up to 250,000 troops.

But reports of the plans were accompanied by warnings that Saddam should take them as a message Washington was serious about ending his weapons programmes.

"If I were Saddam Hussein I would take this with a great deal of concern and seriousness," Secretary of State Colin Powell told CBS television. "He knows what we're doing. He can see what's going on."

The UN Security Council last week unanimously adopted a resolution ordering Saddam to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction programmes or face "serious consequences".

The US had assured fellow security council members France, Russia and China that failure by Iraq to comply would not automatically trigger military action.

US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said she was "very sceptical" the Iraqi President would meet all the terms of the resolution.

"We have to have a zero-tolerance view of the Iraqi regime this time," Rice said.

"The next material breach by Saddam Hussein has got to have serious consequences. I think it's pretty clear what that may mean."

Bush has approved a war plan for Iraq that could involve 200,000 troops once initial footholds had been captured, US officials said on Sunday. But the Administration aides declined to discuss these plans yesterday.

Under the UN resolution, Iraq has until next Friday to declare its willingness to co-operate. There would be no negotiations, the officials said.

Iraqi state television reported yesterday that Saddam had ordered Parliament to convene to discuss the UN resolution, and a source said the body was to meet early this morning.

Baghdad appears to be setting the stage to welcome back UN arms inspectors while arguing the resolution has foiled Washington's attempt to secure approval for an automatic use of force. The signs that it would accept the resolution before the November 15 deadline were growing.

As well as the emergency session of Parliament, state-run papers ran a report by the state INA news agency saying the Iraqi leadership would "issue the appropriate signal [on the resolution] ... in the coming days".





Powell said Washington hoped top Iraqi military officers would defect if force were used against Iraq.

"If military action comes, the outcome is certain ... these generals had better make a judgment as to which side of the wall they want to be on when it's all over."

In other developments yesterday:

* American and British warplanes bombed anti-aircraft missile sites in the southern Iraqi "no-fly" zone, the first such action since the UN passed a resolution. Damage was still being assessed.

* Four people were killed and scores injured in clashes in the southern Jordanian city of Maan after a security sweep to round up Islamist activists before a possible war in Iraq.

One official said the crackdown was aimed at putting behind bars those who might foment unrest or carry out sabotage in the event of a war.

- AGENCIES

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