Bush says Saddam makes United Nations `look foolish'

The Associated Press

DENVER -Saddam Hussein "has made the United Nations look foolish," President Bush said yesterday as the White House told skeptical U.S. allies their credibility rides on the coming vote to disarm Iraq.

Even as they launched a final push for a U.N. resolution to allow war against Saddam's Iraq, administration officials said the vote could be pushed back a week. That would delay a high-stakes showdown, and possible split with the United Nations, until after the Nov. 5 congressional elections.

Holding out hope for agreement, Bush and his advisers carried out their strategy to convince allies that the United States will confront Iraq regardless of the vote's outcome. They hope to force a choice between backing Bush or looking irrelevant as he goes ahead without them.

"If the United Nations doesn't have the will or the courage to disarm Saddam Hussein, and if Saddam Hussein will not disarm, for the sake of peace, for the sake of freedom, the United States will lead a coalition to disarm Saddam Hussein," Bush said during a Western-state political swing.

The White House has said it wants a U.N. Security Council vote by the end of the week on a resolution that calls on Iraq to disarm or face consequences, with an implicit threat of military action. The five council members with veto power remain divided. Bush aides said negotiators made progress behind the scenes yesterday, and the president was open to letting the vote slip until next week if the extra time would help.

Russia and France want a more cautious approach that would lead to more debate, not war, if Saddam fails to comply with a new resolution. Bush did not appear to win new support for his position at last weekend's Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Mexico.

More than a hundred protesters waved signs and chanted anti-war slogans as Bush's motorcade arrived at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum here.

"Drop Bush, not bombs!" read one sign. "Bush no! War no!" read another.