WASHINGTON - President Bush warned Saddam Hussein yesterday that he had less than a week to fully disclose his weapons programs. Bush offered scant hope that the Iraqi regime would comply with this and other international demands, calling Iraq's behavior so far "not encouraging."
The president's bleak assessment came as Hussein faces a Sunday deadline, under a United Nations Security Council resolution, to catalog for the world his weapons of mass destruction.
"That declaration," Bush said in a speech at the Pentagon, "must be credible and complete, or the Iraqi dictator will have demonstrated to the world once again that he has chosen not to change his behavior."
White House officials said it was unlikely that Bush would take any immediate military action against Iraq, even if Hussein denies Sunday that he possesses any weapons of mass destruction. Rather, they said, U.S. intelligence officials would likely share with inspectors what they have learned about Iraqi weapons programs to help contest Hussein's claims.
At the same time, Bush began to build a case for why he believes Hussein is not complying with the new U.N. demands. The president pointed out, for example, that Iraq is continuing to fire at U.S. and British aircraft patrolling the "no-fly" zones in Iraq - provocations that the United States considers a "material breach" of the U.N. resolution.
And Bush said Hussein and his deputies have issued "letters filled with protests and falsehoods" about Iraq's weapons programs.
Taken together, the president said, these actions are proof that Hussein "is not taking the path of compliance."
In his remarks, Bush sought to shift attention from the U.N. weapons inspectors, who have spent five days at work in Iraq, toward his demand that Hussein's regime disarm.
The White House appeared concerned that Hussein might have gained political momentum after news reports suggested that in the first few days of inspections, the Iraqis have generally granted the monitors access to the facilities they wanted to examine for evidence of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
Bush, who first resisted a new round of weapons inspections but accepted them to win international support for a new confrontation with Hussein, played down their importance.
"Inspectors," he said, "do not have the duty or the ability to uncover terrible weapons hidden in a vast country."
"The responsibility of inspectors is simply to confirm the evidence of voluntary and total disarmament. It is Saddam Hussein who has the responsibility to provide that evidence as directed, and in full."
Further, Bush said, Hussein has a history of seeking weapons "even while U.N. inspectors were present in his country."
As part of a coordinated campaign by the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney also issued sharp words for the Iraqi leader in an address to senior Air National Guardsmen in Denver.
"We have now called an end to Saddam's game," Cheney said, echoing Bush's demand that Hussein fully document his weapons programs. "And this time, deception will not be tolerated."
Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammed Al-Douri, said Iraq's catalog of its weapons could be ready as early as tomorrow.
"There will be nothing surprising," Al-Douri said. "We have repeated our position several times that we have nothing hidden."
In his speech, the vice president also defended the administration against criticism from Democrats - notably former Vice President Al Gore, who is considering a run for the White House in 2004 - that Bush's focus on Iraq has diverted attention and resources away from the war on terrorism.
Cheney said there is "a grave danger that al-Qaida or other terrorists will join with outlaw regimes" such as Iraq "to attack their common enemy - the United States."
"That is why," he said, "confronting the threat posed by Iraq is not a distraction from the war on terror - it is absolutely crucial to winning the war on terror."
The vice president drew a close link between Iraq and al-Qaida, saying Hussein's regime "has had high-level contacts with al-Qaida" and has "provided training to al-Qaida terrorists." Like other administration officials who have made such accusations, the vice president did not elaborate with hard evidence.
The president made his remarks at a Pentagon ceremony at which he signed a bill authorizing $355.5 billion for the military. By minimizing the significance of the U.N. weapons inspections and suggesting that the prospect of war hinges on whether Hussein proves that he has disarmed, Bush and his team were going beyond the consensus of many U.S. allies.
Such nations as Russia, China and Syria voted for the Security Council resolution with the understanding that the weapons inspectors would be given time to do their work before any move was made to wage war against Iraq. Throughout Europe and the Middle East, nations have been lining up to support taking on Hussein - mostly with new inspections, not an immediate war.
The president seemed determined to avoid letting Americans or other world leaders fall into a sense of optimism after reports that the first days of the inspections had no major snags.
Paul Wolfowitz, deputy secretary of defense, carried Bush's message to Europe, where he was traveling to build support for a possible war. Wolfowitz said that it cannot be the inspectors' responsibility "to search out and find every illegal weapon or system."
To fully implement the new U.N. resolution peacefully, he said on a stop in London, there would need to be "a fundamental change in the attitude of the Iraqi regime."
During his trip, Wolfowitz met privately with leaders of the Iraqi opposition who could help the United States rebuild Iraq if Hussein were to be removed from power.
Sun staff writer Mark Matthews and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
The president's bleak assessment came as Hussein faces a Sunday deadline, under a United Nations Security Council resolution, to catalog for the world his weapons of mass destruction.
"That declaration," Bush said in a speech at the Pentagon, "must be credible and complete, or the Iraqi dictator will have demonstrated to the world once again that he has chosen not to change his behavior."
White House officials said it was unlikely that Bush would take any immediate military action against Iraq, even if Hussein denies Sunday that he possesses any weapons of mass destruction. Rather, they said, U.S. intelligence officials would likely share with inspectors what they have learned about Iraqi weapons programs to help contest Hussein's claims.
At the same time, Bush began to build a case for why he believes Hussein is not complying with the new U.N. demands. The president pointed out, for example, that Iraq is continuing to fire at U.S. and British aircraft patrolling the "no-fly" zones in Iraq - provocations that the United States considers a "material breach" of the U.N. resolution.
And Bush said Hussein and his deputies have issued "letters filled with protests and falsehoods" about Iraq's weapons programs.
Taken together, the president said, these actions are proof that Hussein "is not taking the path of compliance."
In his remarks, Bush sought to shift attention from the U.N. weapons inspectors, who have spent five days at work in Iraq, toward his demand that Hussein's regime disarm.
The White House appeared concerned that Hussein might have gained political momentum after news reports suggested that in the first few days of inspections, the Iraqis have generally granted the monitors access to the facilities they wanted to examine for evidence of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
Bush, who first resisted a new round of weapons inspections but accepted them to win international support for a new confrontation with Hussein, played down their importance.
"Inspectors," he said, "do not have the duty or the ability to uncover terrible weapons hidden in a vast country."
"The responsibility of inspectors is simply to confirm the evidence of voluntary and total disarmament. It is Saddam Hussein who has the responsibility to provide that evidence as directed, and in full."
Further, Bush said, Hussein has a history of seeking weapons "even while U.N. inspectors were present in his country."
As part of a coordinated campaign by the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney also issued sharp words for the Iraqi leader in an address to senior Air National Guardsmen in Denver.
"We have now called an end to Saddam's game," Cheney said, echoing Bush's demand that Hussein fully document his weapons programs. "And this time, deception will not be tolerated."
Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammed Al-Douri, said Iraq's catalog of its weapons could be ready as early as tomorrow.
"There will be nothing surprising," Al-Douri said. "We have repeated our position several times that we have nothing hidden."
In his speech, the vice president also defended the administration against criticism from Democrats - notably former Vice President Al Gore, who is considering a run for the White House in 2004 - that Bush's focus on Iraq has diverted attention and resources away from the war on terrorism.
Cheney said there is "a grave danger that al-Qaida or other terrorists will join with outlaw regimes" such as Iraq "to attack their common enemy - the United States."
"That is why," he said, "confronting the threat posed by Iraq is not a distraction from the war on terror - it is absolutely crucial to winning the war on terror."
The vice president drew a close link between Iraq and al-Qaida, saying Hussein's regime "has had high-level contacts with al-Qaida" and has "provided training to al-Qaida terrorists." Like other administration officials who have made such accusations, the vice president did not elaborate with hard evidence.
The president made his remarks at a Pentagon ceremony at which he signed a bill authorizing $355.5 billion for the military. By minimizing the significance of the U.N. weapons inspections and suggesting that the prospect of war hinges on whether Hussein proves that he has disarmed, Bush and his team were going beyond the consensus of many U.S. allies.
Such nations as Russia, China and Syria voted for the Security Council resolution with the understanding that the weapons inspectors would be given time to do their work before any move was made to wage war against Iraq. Throughout Europe and the Middle East, nations have been lining up to support taking on Hussein - mostly with new inspections, not an immediate war.
The president seemed determined to avoid letting Americans or other world leaders fall into a sense of optimism after reports that the first days of the inspections had no major snags.
Paul Wolfowitz, deputy secretary of defense, carried Bush's message to Europe, where he was traveling to build support for a possible war. Wolfowitz said that it cannot be the inspectors' responsibility "to search out and find every illegal weapon or system."
To fully implement the new U.N. resolution peacefully, he said on a stop in London, there would need to be "a fundamental change in the attitude of the Iraqi regime."
During his trip, Wolfowitz met privately with leaders of the Iraqi opposition who could help the United States rebuild Iraq if Hussein were to be removed from power.
Sun staff writer Mark Matthews and the Associated Press contributed to this article.