President George W Bush
Saddam Hussein 'a danger'
President George W Bush vowed today that Saddam Hussein would be stripped of weapons of mass destruction 'one way or the other.'
He described the Iraqi leader as a danger, as he laid out efforts to thwart terrorist attacks on the US in a speech at FBI headquarters.
However, it is unlikely that the US will offer a fresh UN resolution aimed at authorising military action against Iraq before next week.
Asked when such a measure would be unveiled, spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters it was 'too soon to say' pending analysis of today's reports to the UN Security Council.
But Secretary of State Colin Powell said later the US would only give the process a short time to prove Iraq's commitment.
'We're talking weeks,' he said in an interview.
Cautious reaction to UNSC reports
At the Council, foreign ministers have cautiously welcomed the reports by Hand Blix and Mohamed El Baradei.
China's Tang Jiaxuan said the inspections should continue, and for France Dominique de Villepin said the reports gave no justification for war.
Ana de Palacio, Spain's minister, warned that further progress would be required if the UN were not eventually to have to go down that road.
But US Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was now time for the Council to begin to consider the serious consequences that Iraq should face for failing to disarm.
And Britain's Jack Straw said, 'I hope and believe that a peaceful solution to this crisis may still be possible but this will require a dramatic and immediate change of heart by Saddam.'
UNSCOM reports to the UNSC
News Special: the Security Council meeting
Iraq 'free of WMD'
Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein has again stated his country is free of weapons of mass destruction.
The Iraqi President has also issued a decree banning the production and trade of those weapons.
The UN has been asking Iraq to pass such legislation since the disarmament process began in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War.
Earlier, the head of the Iraqi team that liaises with the UN inspectors, Hossam Mohammed Amin, said the law had not been due for enactment until sanctions against Iraq were lifted.
But, he said, it was being speeded up at the request of the inspection team headed by Hans Blix.
Deputy PM meets Pope
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Tareq Aziz, today told Pope John Paul that his government would co-operate with the international community on disarmament demands.
The commitment was part of a statement issued after a meeting in the Vatican between the Pope and Mr Aziz, who is a Christian.
The statement also said the Pontiff had told Mr Aziz that Iraq must faithfully respect UN resolutions with what was termed concrete commitments.
