US poised for invasion

By PATRICIA WILSON

KENNESAW - The United States says it has massed a big enough force in the Gulf to attack Iraq at any time and senior US officials say Washington will seek United Nations approval next week for a possible war.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, whose country is one of five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, said UN arms inspectors in Iraq were coming under pressure to produce reports that back the case for war and urged them to remain objective in carrying out their task.

Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, whose help the United States is seeking in obtaining a springboard for any military thrust into neighbouring northern Iraq, said he would make a statement today about the issue.

An official travelling with US President George W. Bush on a visit to Georgia said Washington would present a new resolution on Iraq - which the UN has ordered to scrap any weapons of mass destruction in its arsenal - to the Security Council next week.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the wording of the resolution was still under review but it would make clear Iraq had not fulfilled resolution 1441 passed in November.

The draft resolution is expected to be simple and say Iraq is in "further material breach" of the November 8 resolution. Washington and London say the words "material breach" can be used as justification for war.

The measure, which would be used as a legal basis for attacking Iraq, is likely to run into strong opposition from Security Council members France, Russia and China, who demand that arms inspectors be given more time.

"It will be a resolution that summarises the situation ... as it exists, that shows Iraq is not in compliance. I think the resolution will point out that lack of co-operation," Powell told BBC Television's Newsnight programme.

Powell said he did not expect the resolution to contain a deadline for compliance.

"But clearly time is running out. We cannot just allow this matter to drive along," he said, adding that the existing UN resolution 1441 contained adequate authorisation for the use of force.

"This next resolution need not say military action to provide the authority for the use of force."

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Public Television's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer that the military build-up in the Gulf had reached the point where US and British forces were now ready to invade Iraq if the order was given.

"I would characterise it as ample," Rumsfeld said of the force of tens of thousands of US and British troops massed in the area. "We are at a point where, if the President makes that decision [to attack], the Department of Defence is prepared and has the capabilities and the strategy to do that."

Asked if the US and British forces were ready to go to war now, Rumsfeld replied: "Yes."

Defence officials say the United States and Britain have gathered more than 150,000 troops in the region and dozens of warships and hundreds of aircraft. But Rumsfeld refused to discuss exact troop totals, saying "I don't do numbers."

The draft US resolution had been expected to be circulated to the 15 UN Security Council members this week, but diplomats said the Bush Administration first wanted to brief Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who visits this weekend.

Spain, who has a seat on the council, is a strong supporter of the US position on Iraq.

Bush, stumping in support of his economic policies, said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was "throwing away" his last chance to disarm voluntarily under UN auspices.

"If military force becomes necessary to disarm Iraq, this nation, joined by others, will act decisively in a just cause, and we will prevail," Bush said.

"For the oppressed people of Iraq ... the day of freedom is drawing near."

In comments in Moscow clearly aimed at Washington, Ivanov told reporters that UN arms inspectors were "being subjected to very strong pressure in order to provoke their departure from Iraq, as occurred in 1998, or to present to the Security Council assessments which could be used as a pretext for the use of force against Iraq".

The inspectors were withdrawn from Iraq in 1998 shortly before US and British aircraft attacked. Ivanov did not rule out vetoing a new UN resolution which endorsed the use of force, but said Moscow had no objections to examining a new resolution if it was aimed at helping the inspection process.

US war planners, meanwhile, were still awaiting word on whether Ankara would accept a US offer of aid in exchange for letting US troops be based in Turkey for a possible invasion.

US officials say the offer totals US$6 billion ($10.7 billion) in grants and up to US$20 billion in loan guarantees.

- REUTERS