Bush, Blair endorse new U.N. resolution

Allies urge world leaders to stand strong on Iraq disarmament

Washington ? President Bush said Friday he would welcome a second U.N. resolution on Iraq but only if it led to the prompt disarming of Saddam Hussein. Pushing more forcefully for the measure, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called confronting Iraq “a test of the international community.”

Both leaders dismissed Iraq’s invitation to U.N. weapons inspectors before their next interim report. Bush called it a charade meant to “string the inspectors along.”

Showing little patience for the Iraqi leader or for allies trying to slow his pace toward war, Bush said: “Any attempt to drag this process out for months will be resisted by the United States.”

Buffeted by criticism both at home and abroad, the staunch allies met for three hours in Bush’s private White House quarters to review their plans for diplomacy and war — and to turn up pressure on Saddam.

The leaders conducted a news conference without revealing any deadlines for war or new strategies for curbing stiff international resistance to their views.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, left, and President Bush have been buffeted by critics at home and abroad about their push toward war with Iraq. The two leaders met Friday at the White House and reiterated their demands that Iraq disarm.

“This issue will come to a head in a matter of weeks,” Bush said.

“Time is running out,” echoed Blair.

On the idea of a new U.N. resolution authorizing war to disarm Iraq, Bush said, “It’d be welcome if it is yet another signal that we’re intent upon disarming Saddam Hussein.” He was less positive about the idea than Blair, who said it was important that the United Nations “comes together again” and passes a resolution.

The U.N. Security Council voted 15-0 last fall to demand that Saddam rid Iraq of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons or face “serious consequences.”

Friday’s developments in the Iraq crisis:

¢ After a White House meeting, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Iraq was not disarming and the world must hold it to account. Bush said a second U.N. Security Council resolution would be “welcome if it is yet another signal that we’re intent upon disarming Saddam Hussein.”

¢ Vice President Dick Cheney told GOP activists that the administration’s aggressive policy toward Iraq was crucial to waging the war on terror.

¢ The two chief U.N. weapons inspectors said they would accept a new invitation by Baghdad to visit only if Iraq met certain conditions.

¢ Iraq said the United States could try to plant evidence that the country had banned weapons.

¢ Iraq began expelling families from a 20-mile-long strip of land between the autonomous Kurdish north and the rest of the country, leading to speculation Saddam was creating a buffer to defend against a U.S. invasion.

¢ Iraqi opposition leaders entered the Kurdish enclave from Iran to prepare for a mid-February meeting that could lay the groundwork for a post-Saddam government. “If we want to fight Saddam, we’ll fight Saddam in Iraq,” said Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress.

¢ Iraqi foes of Saddam will begin to receive training for combat support roles this weekend at a base in central Hungary, the U.S. Army said.

¢ U.S. aircraft dropped 360,000 leaflets over southern Iraq telling Iraqis where they can hear anti-Saddam radio broadcasts.

¢ Turkey’s top military and civilian leaders endorsed basing foreign troops in the country, a move that could open the way for U.S. soldiers to use Turkey as a base for military action against Iraq. The decision by the National Security Council also called for government and parliamentary approval to sending Turkish soldiers abroad.

¢ Loading trucks onto trains in a light snowfall in Wuerzburg, Germany, about 1,800 members of the U.S. Army’s storied 1st Infantry Division began deploying for a possible war with Iraq that has already seen some 90,000 troops sent to the Gulf. The troops’ destination was classified, with officials saying only it was in support of U.S. Central Command operations.

¢ Former President Jimmy Carter declared that President Bush had “not made a case for a pre-emptive military strike against Iraq” and urged instead permanent inspections and monitoring to disarm the Iraqi regime.