Bush rebuked for Iraq invasion

7.30am - By DAVID USBORNE

UNITED NATIONS - United States President George Bush has been the target of stinging rebukes from other world leaders who accuse him of undermining multilateral security by going to war in Iraq without prior Security Council authorisation.

The unprecedented diplomatic fusillade this morning (NZ time) was led by the French President Jacques Chirac, who used the annual General Assembly of the UN, the first time that world leaders had gathered in New York since the invasion of Iraq, squarely to blame Mr Bush for the crisis of confidence now facing the world body. By extension his criticism was also directed at British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was not attending.

"The war, launched without the authorisation of the Security Council, shook the multilateral system," he said. "The United Nations has just been through one of the most grave crises in its history."

Mr Chirac's sentiments were echoed by Secretary General Kofi Annan, who warned that pre-emptive unilateral military action without the authorisation of the United Nations risked leading to the law of the jungle.

"My concern is that, if it were to be adopted, it could set precedents that resulted in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or without credible justification," Mr Annan told the assembly to sustained applause.

He did not mention the United States by name. As a result of the Iraqi crisis, the UN, he said, was at a "fork in the road".

Mr Bush for his part, defended the war without apology

, in spite of the continuing violence in the country and the continuing absence of any evidence to show that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Indeed, the President, raised the issue of the weapons once again.

"The regime of Saddam Hussein cultivated ties to terror while it built weapons of mass destruction. It used those weapons in acts of mass murder, and refused to account for them when confronted by the world," he said.

Tensions over Iraq and the war infused the mood of the Assembly's opening day.

Mr Bush also made an implicit jab at Mr Chirac, rejecting French proposals for an immediate transfer of symbolic sovereignty to the Governing Council in Iraq followed by the granting of full authority within nine months.

"The primary goal of our coalition in Iraq is self-government for the people of Iraq, reached by orderly and democratic means," Mr Bush said, before adding: "This process must unfold according to the needs of Iraqis - neither hurried nor delayed by the voices of other parties."

While acknowledging the differences that still remain over Iraq, the President nonetheless made an appeal to other nations to help in the reconstruction effort.

He also said he was ready to give the UN a greater role in helping to establish democratic rule.

"As in the aftermath of other conflicts, the United nations should assist in developing a constitution, training civil servants and conducting free and fair elections," Mr Bush said.

Behind the scenes, efforts are still underway to negotiate a new UN resolution, drafted by the US and aimed at encouraging countries such as India and Pakistan to contribute forces to help restore order in Iraq.

Despite the differences between Paris and Washington, Mr Chirac has signalled that his government will not use its veto to block the resolution.

Talking to reporters later, Mr Chirac played down his disputes with President Bush.

But before the full chamber of the assembly, he roundly voiced his complaints about the coalition invasion of Iraq. "No one should be able to accord himself the right to use force unilaterally and preventatively," Mr Chirac proclaimed.

"In an open world, no one can isolate themselves, no one can act alone in the name of all and no one can accept the anarchy of a society without rules. There is no alternative but the United Nations."

It was time, the Secretary General said, for members to re-commit themselves to multilateralism.

"We have come to a fork in the road," he declared.

"This may be a moment no less decisive than 1945 itself, when the United Nations was founded. It is not enough to denounce unilateralism, unless we also face up squarely to the concerns that make some states feel uniquely vulnerable, and thus drive them to take unilateral action. We must show that those concerns can, and will, be addressed effectively through collective action".

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