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'Sick and tired' Bush warns Iraq time running out
( 2003-01-15 08:14 ) (7 )

President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he was "sick and tired" of Iraq's deception on its suspected weapons of mass destruction and said time was running out for Iraq to comply with UN demands to disarm.

With UN weapons inspectors saying they need months to complete their work in Iraq, Bush signaled a growing impatience with Iraq, as a huge US military force gained strength in the Gulf and was likely to be ready for action by late February.

"So far I haven't seen any evidence that he has disarmed. Time is running out on Saddam Hussein. He must disarm. I'm sick and tired of games and deception. That's my view of the timetable," Bush told reporters as he met Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski.

The United States has sought to put the onus on Saddam to disarm as required by a UN resolution rather than on UN weapons inspectors to prove Iraq has chemical and biological weapons and is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

"The burden remains on Saddam Hussein. The issue is not how long the inspections will last, the issue is whether Saddam Hussein this time is finally willing to disarm," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

He added, "The inspectors have more time but time is running out. This is a question of not allowing Saddam Hussein to string the world along forever."

Some US allies have called for the UN weapons inspectors to be given more time to complete their work. And Saudi Arabia said on Monday a diplomatic solution should be sought even if the United Nations authorizes military action against Iraq.

Bush's top US ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has said no "arbitrary timescale" should limit the mission.

Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix is to give a report on Iraq's cooperation on Jan. 27, which had been seen by some US officials as a potential trigger for war but is now being described by spokesmen as an important date. Blix is to give Iraq key disarmament tasks at the end of March.

Bush's national security adviser Condoleezza Rice was in New York meeting with Blix, as the United States sought to persuade the inspectors to interview Iraqi scientists outside of Iraq, which Blix has been reluctant to do.

"It is important they be interviewed without their Iraqi minders and free from threat of violence or intimidation," said a senior Bush administration official.

The official also said the United States had made clear it would do everything it could to ensure the safety and well being of the scientists and their families.

US officials cited South Africa, Kazakhstan and Ukraine are examples of countries that voluntarily gave up weapons of mass destruction. South Africa gave up its nuclear weapons program while Kazakhstan and Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons left in their possession after the Soviet Union's collapse.

"Certainly we want to make sure the inspectors are given every opportunity to do their job, but their job isn't to hunt and peck around Iraq forever trying to find something. Iraq has to show it's willing to disarm," said a senior US official.

US experts and analysts said political and logistical pressure could delay any invasion of Iraq for months, despite the Pentagon's huge buildup of planes, ships and tens of thousands of troops in the oil-rich Gulf region.

According to a new poll by the Gallup organization, Americans' sentiments about going to war against Iraq are similar to the views they held just before the start of the Gulf War in early January 1991.

Gallup said 53 percent of those polled Jan. 3-5 believed Iraq was worth going to war over, and were more likely to predict a long war with Baghdad than they were prior to the 1991 hostilities.