Bush says he will lead coalition against Iraq

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico -- The White House said Saturday it would be "not very hard at all" to assemble an alliance to confront Saddam Hussein without the United Nations, a clear signal that President Bush's patience with the international organization is reaching its limits.

As France, Russia, Mexico and other allies seek to water down his zero-tolerance approach to Iraq, Bush renewed his call for the U.N. to confront Saddam or stand aside while the United States acts.

"If the U.N. does not pass a resolution which holds him to account and that has consequences, then, as I have said in speech after speech after speech, if the U.N. won't act -- if Saddam Hussein won't disarm -- we will lead a coalition to disarm him," the president said at the 21-nation Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Later, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the prospects for a tough resolution may be slipping away.

"I don't want to say that we're near a solution because it may evade us," he told reporters. "But I think we have successfully narrowed down the differences to a few key issues. And if we can resolve these few key issues in the days ahead, then I think we might get a resolution that would be strong."

"I don't think there's any doubt that the threat of force and the threat of consequences ... must be there or we know that Iraq will not respond," Powell said.

Demands on North Korea

Also during the two-day annual summit with Pacific Rim leaders, President Bush joined with Japan and South Korea on Saturday to demand that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons program "in a prompt and verifiable manner." They pledged to resolve the standoff peacefully.

The president met with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the sidelines of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, a two-day summit addressing terrorism's impact on people and economies across the globe.

"The three leaders called upon North Korea to dismantle this program in a prompt and verifiable manner and to come into full compliance with all its international commitments," the three leaders said in a statement.

Coming one day after Chinese President Jiang Zemin called for a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, the three-nation statement gave Bush a show of momentum as he tries to mobilize public opinion against North Korea.

But it fell short of what some advisers had sought -- a firm condemnation of North Korea's actions -- and did not even hint at economic or other sanctions. Secretary of State Colin Powell said it is too early to talk about possible punishments for North Korea.

He also told reporters the United States has no plans to open negotiations with North Korea as U.S. officials gave mixed signals about Bush's plans to isolate the reclusive communist regime.

Advisers said Bush won't allow U.S.-North Korean talk for now because he does not want to reward Pyongyang for its illicit nuclear weapons program. At the same time, Bush welcomed plans by Japan and South Korea to open talks with Pyongyang.

Asked about the apparent inconsistency, Powell said: "North Korea has isolated itself by this action."

Terrorism a main issue

Earlier, Bush pressed his case with Mexican President Vicente Fox, who is hosting the summit.

"The strategy is to make sure that our close friends and our allies and people with whom we've got relations work in concert to convince Mr. Kim Jong Il that a nuclear weapons-free peninsula is in his interests," Bush said.

Terrorism was a leading issue at the summit.

The two highest-profile terrorist attacks of recent years -- the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the Oct. 12 nightclub bombing on the Indonesian resort island of Bali -- took place in APEC nations. Other members of the 21-nation group, including Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, have been identified as possible havens for extremists linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network.

In another summit sidebar, Bush was meeting with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri to press for a crackdown against terrorist groups.

U.S. officials hope the Bali bombing shakes Indonesian leaders from what the administration has viewed as a complacent attitude toward terrorism.

Bush spoke at the side of Mexican President Vicente Fox, who hosted an economic conference of Pacific Rim nations. Mexico does not support the hard-line resolution Bush seeks.

Asked whether there would be consequences for any nation that does not support his views, Bush said, "The only consequence, of course, is with Saddam Hussein."

Fox, speaking through an interpreter, said he stressed with Bush his hopes the United Nations could resolve the impasse. But the Mexican leader gave no indication he would yield to Bush's demand for a resolution with consequences.

"We are listening and talking and we want to search for and do everything possible for a strong resolution, a resolution that will result in the prompt return of inspectors, that Iraq complies with the existing agreements with the United Nations," Fox said.

Bush was asked after the appearance whether he heard what he wanted to hear from Fox on Iraq. He shook his head and said yes.

"We did talk about world peace and Iraq," Bush said in the brief exchange with reporters. Though he speaks some Spanish, the president had the aid of an interpreter.

He noted that Mexico is a member of the U.N. Security Council. "We discussed how to keep the world peaceful, how to hold people to account, how to make sure the United Nations is effective."

Bush is unrelenting in his demand for a resolution that promises consequences, potentially military action, if the Iraqi president does not give up his weapons programs, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

The new resolution Bush wants also would hold Saddam in "material breach" of previous resolutions requiring him to give up those programs.

"We hope the council will be strong and send a signal to Saddam Hussein that this time the world means business," Fleischer said aboard Air Force One during Bush's flight to Mexico.

"No one has ruled out the possibility that the U.N. will fail (to live up) to the challenge of the threat of Saddam Hussein," Fleischer said.

Asked how difficult it would be to confront the Iraqi president without U.N. backing if Bush fails to win U.N. support, Fleischer replied, "Not very hard at all."

Fleischer dismissed reports by the French, Russia and other U.N. nations that a watered down version of a U.N. resolution on Iraq is gaining steam.

France said its new proposal has more support because it eliminates tough U.S. language that many fear could trigger an attack.

But the United States said its draft has equal backing -- if not more.

The decision by France and Russia to introduce their own proposals Friday and challenge the new U.S. draft resolution suddenly put three documents into the hands of the 15 Security Council nations, setting the stage for tense negotiations.

The rival documents reflect the division among the five veto-wielding permanent council members, who could not resolve their differences over a new approach to Iraq during six weeks of negotiations.

Russia, Iraq's closest council ally, wants to stick as closely as possible to current inspection rules and eliminate any language that could allow an attack on Baghdad.

France, which sees itself as a potential broker between Washington and Moscow, opposes any language possibly authorizing military action and wants to water down some U.S. inspection proposals.

U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham made clear the United States wants a vote on its resolution by the end of next week. Diplomats said the vote will almost certainly take place by Thursday.

The United States responded to the other proposals by formally submitting its resolution to the Security Council on Friday to ensure it remains the basis for discussion. The Russian and French proposals also could be introduced, but the U.S. move means its resolution likely would be voted on first.

For adoption, a resolution must receive nine "yes" votes and no veto by another permanent member -- Russia, France, China and Britain.