Iraq, threatening a "fierce war" if attacked, rejected yesterday a draft US-proposed Security Coun-cil resolution requiring Baghdad to comply with new arms inspection rules within 30 days or face military action.
Iraq's defiant rejection came amid a US and British diplomatic campaign to persuade other members of the UN Security Council to overcome grave concerns and back the proposal designed to rid Iraq of any nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said Iraq would not accept any extra procedures for weapons inspections as contained in the draft resolution envisaging a 30-day deadline for Baghdad to declare all its weapons of mass destruction programs.
Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz warned that the US would sustain huge losses if it attacked Iraq and that his country would fight a "fierce war."
US President George W. Bush, whose avowed policy of "regime change" in Iraq means toppling President Saddam Hussein, has pledged to act without UN approval if necessary.
Under threat of force, Washington wants to significantly change the ground rules for UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, demanding access to any site and protecting inspectors with a security force, according to those familiar with the UN draft.
The proposed UN Security Council resolution, backed by Britain, would declare Iraq has already violated current UN demands and authorize military action if Baghdad fails to comply by accounting for its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
Meanwhile, more than 50,000 protesters marched through central London yesterday to urge Prime Minister Tony Blair and Bush not to go to war.
In Washington, Democratic opposition to any unilateral US war on Iraq continued to rise Friday while Bush cast the rivalry in unusually personal terms by describing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as the man who "tried to kill my dad."
Bush might have added fuel to the Democratic fire by casting his rivalry with the Iraqi dictator in personal terms at a political fundraiser in Houston, Texas, Thursday night.
"This is a guy that tried to kill my dad at one time," Bush said, referring to the 1993 assassination attempt on former president George H.W. Bush during a visit to Kuwait, which the US blamed on Iraq.
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