Preparing Americans for possible war, US President George Bush on Tuesday accused Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of showing ‘‘utter contempt’’ for the UN by practicing deception rather than obeying its demands that he disarm. In his State of the Union speech to Congress and the American people, Bush said over the past 12 years Saddam had systematically violated UN agreements to give up weapons of mass destruction. ‘‘Three months ago, UN’s Security Council gave Saddam Hussein his final chance to disarm. Instead, he showed utter contempt for UN, and for the world’s opinion.The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving.’’ Bush said ‘‘the gravest danger facing America and greatest danger facing the world.is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.’’ ‘‘These regimes could use such weapons for blackmail, terror and mass murder. They could also give or sell those weapons to their terrorist allies, who would use them without the least hesitation,’’ he said. Bush braced wary Americans for a possible war with Iraq by saying ‘‘some crucial hours may lie ahead’’. ‘‘If war is forced upon us, we will fight with the full force and might of the US military — and we will prevail,’’ Bush said. Earlier, Bush received strong backing from his main ally against Iraq, Britain, which said Baghdad was in ‘‘material breach’’ of UN disarmament demands. Bush’s State of the Union address comes one day after weapons inspectors told the UN that Iraq was dragging its feet in meeting their demands. Many US Allies have called for the inspectors to be given more time to work in Iraq and on Tuesday the Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix said he would welcome this if the UN Security Council offered it. ‘‘I think he was anxious to establish in our minds that he himself and UNMOVIC have not directly asked for an extension, but that if one is offered by the Security Council, they would welcome that,’’ European Parliament President Pat Cox of Ireland said. Building his case for a possible attack on Iraq, Bush has asked the UN Security Council to meet on February 5 to consider fresh evidence about Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s ‘‘illegal’’ weapons programs. Bush further said that Secretary of State Colin Powell would present new intelligence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to the UN next week and responded to critics who have said the threat from Iraq is not imminent. ‘‘Some have said that we must not act until the threat is imminent,’’ Bush said. ‘‘Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike?’’ The intelligence would form one part of the US push to persuade key countries — including UN Security Council veto-holders France, Russia and China — and a wary US public that military force may be necessary to disarm Iraq. (Reuters)
