Leaders push case for high noon

WASHINGTON - America and Britain have launched a major bid for support for the overthrow of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the face of persistent opposition.

President George W. Bush met congressional leaders overnight after British Prime Minister Tony Blair, bidding to calm growing public alarm at the prospect, yesterday began preparing Britons for war with Iraq in his most uncompromising speech to date on the subject.

"I hate war. Every sensible person does. But sometimes it is the right thing to do," he said at his Sedgefield constituency in northern England, promising convincing evidence soon that Iraq was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.

"Iraq poses a real and unique threat to the security of the region and the rest of the world."

In other developments yesterday:

* Prime Minister John Howard sought to calm protests over possible Australian involvement in any military action against Iraq, saying Canberra would send troops only if it was "in the national interest".

His comments came after Australia's Returned Services League joined the growing list of critics of war talk.

* United States Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed as "utter nonsense" Iraq's call for talks on resuming weapons inspections and hinted that Bush is nearing a decision on how to deal with Saddam.

Powell said Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz' offer to discuss resuming United Nations searches for destructive weapons was an old trick played by Baghdad.

* Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said a US strike on Iraq would transform Iraq into a base for Osama bin Laden and for Afghanistan's former rulers, the Taleban.

"If America thinks that in carrying out such a [military] action, it will succeed in eradicating terrorism, I say the contrary."

Recent polls show half the American public would support the use of troops to depose Saddam, who the White House says is determined to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons against US interests or give them to terrorists who will.

US allies, Muslim countries and many other nations are wary of any unilateral action, demanding the UN should clarify Iraq's capabilities and intent, and sanction any attack should that effort fail.

Critics also say a pre-emptive strike could violate international law and undermine the US war on terrorism.

Members of Congress say Bush needs to do more to make the case for military action.

The President has been under pressure from sceptical lawmakers to update them on any war planning, although his legal advisers believe he has the authority to attack Iraq without Congress' approval.

Senate Republican leader Trent Lott said Congress could take up a resolution authorising military action against Iraq in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, in Britain, many newspapers embraced the Blair rhetoric with relish.

"War will not wait" splashed the tabloid Sun on its front page, while the Daily Mail trumpeted "Blair lights the fuse".

The Times joined the chorus with a front-page headline: "Everything points to war with Iraq."

Blair, who has twice taken his country to war - in Kosovo and Afghanistan - in just five years in power, said there was no realistic alternative to removing Saddam.

"Either the regime starts to function in a completely different way - and there's not much sign of that - or the regime has to change," he said.

"This is an appalling, brutal, dictatorial, vicious regime ... the people that would be most delighted if Saddam Hussein went would be the Iraqi people."

But Blair is facing an uphill struggle with an opinion poll this week showing 71 per cent of Britons were against the country joining any US attack on Iraq without the blessing of the UN.

The Guardian newspaper dubbed Blair's speech the Battle for Britain and said he had made a poor case for war.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper said Blair, who adopted the role of global salesman for Bush's "war on terror" after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington last year, was assuming the mantle again for a strike against Iraq.

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