US/IRAQ: The White House now sees February 28th, the day the chief weapons inspectors make a further progress report to the UN, as a key moment for decision on war, according to US officials quoted in the Washington Post. March 14th is preferred by France and Germany for another UN debate, writes Conor O'Clery, North America Editor.
Following massive anti-war protests, the British government is under severe domestic pressure not to take action against Iraq without international backing at the UN.
The UN Security Council yesterday began a debate on Iraq - delayed five hours because of New York's snow storm - at which 60 countries will speak. A spokesman at the Greek mission confirmed that Greece would produce the statement of the EU summit on Monday on behalf of EU members. Ireland will not make a separate contribution.
President Bush expressed impatience yesterday as the momentum for war flowed strongly against the US at the UN.
"Unless the United Nations shows some backbone and courage, it will render the Security Council irrelevant," Mr Bush said. War remained a final resort, but "the risk of doing nothing is even a worse option as far as I'm concerned".
Washington has been trying to regain the momentum lost when the chief weapons inspector, Dr Hans Blix, told the UN on Friday of concessions by Iraq, prompting a majority of council members to call for more time for inspectors.
Baghdad yesterday allowed a U-2 flight over Iraq - a key US demand - to show more co-operation in an attempt to avoid war. However several Iraqi weapons scientists yesterday refused untaped interviews with UN inspectors, as the UN has demanded.
Mr Bush said he was undeterred by the size of the weekend's anti-war protests around the world and in the US.
"Size of protest, it's like deciding, well I'm going to decide policy based upon a focus group," he said. "The role of a leader is to decide policy based upon the security - in this case - security of the people." However the anti-war protests have put the White House on the defensive.
The White House spokesman, Mr Ari Fleischer, began his daily briefing yesterday by reading newspaper clips about demonstrations against US missiles in Germany in the 1980s, when "America stood on principle . . . and as a result the Berlin Wall came down".
Washington has also suffered a setback in its preparations for war, with Turkey stalling in negotiations over its role as a base for air and ground forces in a US-led invasion of Iraq.
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Yasar Yakis, said military facilities could only be opened to US forces when Washington met Turkish demands for twice the $26 billion in economic aid offered to cushion its economy from the effects of a war. "We continue to work with Turkey as a friend, but it is decision time," Mr Fleischer said.