US President George W. Bush warned the UN General Assembly yesterday that "action will be unavoidable" against Iraq unless the UN took a hard line forcing Baghdad to disarm.
Bush laid out a harsh indictment of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, saying he has engaged in a "decade of defiance" of post-Gulf War demands from the UN by developing weapons of mass destruction.
PHOTO: REUTERS
And he challenged the world body, which included many skeptical member nations, to act swiftly on a new Iraq resolution, or face the prospect of possible unilateral action by the US.
"The Security Council resolutions will be enforced -- the just demands of peace and security will be met -- or action will be unavoidable," Bush said. "And a regime that has lost its legitimacy will also lose its power."
Senior US officials said Washington wanted a short deadline for compliance, or Baghdad would face the consequences. A senior aide said Bush was by no means giving up his options for dealing with Iraq, including military force.
In contrast, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the General Assembly that only the UN could authorize the use of force in cases that go beyond straightforward self-defense.
Annan acknowledged that the UN Charter gave every country the right to self-defense if attacked.
But, he said: "When states decide to use force to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, there is no substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations."
Annan did not refer directly to the US but the thrust of his remarks was unmistakable.
"The more a country makes use of multilateral institutions, ... the more others will trust and respect it and the stronger its chance to exercise true leadership," he said.
Annan also urged Iraq to comply "with its obligations for the sake of its own people and for the sake of world order."
Bush, however, insisted that Iraq's refusal to abide by previous resolutions threatened the authority of the UN and he said the US would work with other members of the Security Council on a new resolution.
"If Iraq's regime defies us again, the world must move deliberately and decisively to hold Iraq to account," Bush said. "The purposes of the United States should not be doubted."
The president's ultimatum completed the steady expansion of his war on terrorism, first launched after the Sept. 11 attacks against alleged mastermind Osama bin Laden, to a campaign to remove what he has called "tyrants" such as Saddam.
Senior Bush aides made it clear Washington felt time was running out. "We don't need months. They know what they have to do, we know what they have to do," said a senior US official.
"He [Bush] is not giving up any of his options and he is in no way watering down his strong views about what must be done," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bush left little doubt the US would respond on its own if need be.
"If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will immediately end all support for terrorism and act to suppress it, as all states are required to do by UN Security Council resolutions," Bush said.
Iraq must end all support for terrorism and act to suppress it, cease persecution of its civilian population, release or account for all Gulf War personnel whose fate is still unknown, and end illicit trade outside the oil-for-food program.
"If all these steps are taken, it will signal a new openness and accountability in Iraq," Bush said.
The senior official said Secretary of State Colin Powell would work on the wording of a new resolution with his counterparts among the permanent five members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, France, Russia and China.
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