US President George Bush said Iraq was clearly not disarming and brushed aside increasingly frank opposition from allies, as the momentum for war grew.
He showed impatience with UN weapons inspectors who want more months to check Iraq's denials that it is developing chemical, biological or nuclear arms, and with fellow UN Security Council states that have backed their calls.
"It's clear to me now that he is not disarming," Bush said of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein. "Time is running out."
"How much more time do we need to be sure he is not disarming? This looks to me like a re-run of a bad movie and I'm not interested in watching it."
The US sees no need for further UN approval for an attack on Iraq.
With a crucial 10 days ahead on the path to war or peace, France and Russia underlined that the US would not get such a mandate any time soon and cautioned against conflict.
"We see no justification today for [military] intervention, since the inspectors are able to do their work," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said.
"We could not support unilateral action," he said
France, which has still left the door open to eventual use of force, has a veto on the 15-seat Security Council, along with the US, Britain, Russia and China.
Germany, also on the council, has said it will not join any attack and made clear on Tuesday it would not support UN authorization for war.
"Do not expect that Germany will agree to a resolution that legitimizes war," Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in his strongest indication yet of how Berlin would vote.
Bush is massing more than 150,000 troops in the oil-rich Gulf and has made clear he is ready to use them, with or without a new UN mandate, if it considers Iraq has not disarmed.
Oil prices hit two-year highs as the Pentagon ordered two more aircraft carriers and 37,000 troops to the Gulf.
Britain, Bush's main military ally, has also ordered thousands of troops to the region. Australia said yesterday it was sending troops and the transport ship Kanimbla to the Middle East this week for a possible war with Iraq.
The next 10 days appear crucial on the path to possible war.
White House officials said Bush would use his major State of the Union speech on Monday to underscore the threat posed by Iraq but would not deliver an ultimatum or declare war.
The same day, chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix delivers a report to the Security Council, which convenes two days later.
If he voices dissatisfaction with Iraq's cooperation -- and he has said there are still "many questions" unanswered -- it could mean war.
On Jan. 31, Bush hosts British Prime Minister Tony Blair for talks at Camp David which some see as a possible council of war.
Asked on Tuesday how much more time he would give Saddam to comply with UN demands to disarm or face military action, Bush said: "I will let you know when the moment has come."
"We have not seen anything that indicates the Iraqi regime has made a strategic decision to disarm," he told Congress later. "On the contrary, we believe Iraq is actively working to disrupt, deny and defeat inspection efforts."
Resolution 1441, passed unanimously by the Security Council in November to force Baghdad to come clean about its arms programs, threatens "serious consequences" in the event of a "material breach" -- meaning Iraqi evasion or obstruction.
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