President George W Bush said tonight the US would fight efforts to delay a decision on Iraq, insisting on bringing the disarmament standoff to a head "in a matter of weeks and not months."
"Saddam Hussein is not disarming. He is a danger to the world. He must disarm and that's why I have constantly said ... this issue will come to a head in a matter of weeks and not months," Mr Bush said after talks with his closest ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "Any attempt to drag the process on for months will be resisted by the US."
Mr Bush said a second UN resolution on Iraq would be welcomed but was not needed. "This needs to be resolved quickly. Should the UN decide to pass a second resolution, it would be welcomed if it is yet another signal that we're intent upon disarming Saddam Hussein." Mr Bush said the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was flouting a UN disarmament ultimatum.
Mr Bush and Mr Blair were meeting tonight to discuss whether a war to disarm Iraq should have UN authorization as Baghdad looked to UN arms inspectors to avert an invasion.
However, Mr Bush's view was at variance with that of Mr Blair who had called for a new UN resolution to approve any war on Iraq. "Absolutely, it's right that we go for a second resolution," Mr Blair told CNN television in an interview ahead of the summit.
"But the UN has got to be the way of dealing with this issue, not the way of avoiding this issue," he said.
The prime minister said the timing of any military action was "really governed by the judgement as to whether Iraq is cooperating or not" with UN weapons inspectors.
"I don't think we should have some arbitrary timetable," said Mr Blair, who is Mr Bush's strongest ally in the showdown with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein over weapons of mass destruction.