President Bush said Saturday there is little reason to hope that Iraq's Saddam Hussein will disarm and avoid a U.S.-led military attack.
Bush's comments, in his weekly radio address, came one day before his Sunday summit to discuss Iraqi diplomacy with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.
The meeting in Portugal's Azore Islands was billed by Bush aides as an indication of the president's willingness to go the last mile to win international support to confront Saddam. It also was portrayed as a final chance to salvage a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Yet on the radio, Bush sought to prepare both Americans and Iraqis for a war, saying U.S. troops taking part in any attack would have "every tool and resource" and that every effort would be made to spare innocent Iraqis from harm.
"There is little reason to hope that Saddam Hussein will disarm," the president said.
Foreign and U.S. diplomats said the most likely outcome from the Sunday meeting would be the leaders' decision to abandon their U.N. resolution giving Saddam a March 17 deadline to prove he is disarming, rather than allow the plan to face certain defeat in the Security Council.
If the resolution is withdrawn, war could begin within days, administration officials said.
British military officers said they expected attacks to begin in the early hours of Wednesday or Thursday, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. One general forecast: "Things will be very different by this time next week." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
