Washington warned its reluctant ally Turkey time was fast running out to agree on the deployment on its soil of an Iraq invasion force of U.S. troops, as the two states wrangled over the size of a multi-billion-dollar aid package for Ankara. The strength of the anti-war mood was clear in a debate at the United Nations , where country after country spoke out against war and said inspectors looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq should instead continue their work.

President Bush insisted that mass peace protests around the world had not blunted his determination to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by force if necessary, either with or without a new U.N. resolution.

"Evidently some in the world don't view Saddam as a risk to peace. I respectfully disagree," Bush said on Tuesday as Washington ordered 28,000 troops to the Gulf region, where it has already massed more than 180,000 troops.

The U.S. force is expected to eventually total well over 200,000. Britain has mobilized some 40,000 troops.

"War is my last choice, but the risk of doing nothing is even a worse option," said Bush. "I owe it to the American people to secure this country. I will do so."

Secretary of State Colin Powell accused countries like France that want more time for arms inspections in Iraq of being "afraid" to take responsibility.

Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been pouring troops, planes and warships into the Gulf, to the south of Iraq.

They insist no deadline for war has been set, but military experts say the huge military build-up has been designed for action in March, before temperatures in the region soar.

Questions remain over the force expected to invade Iraq from Turkey to the north.

U.S. Ambassador Robert Pearson said on Wednesday in Ankara Turkey had not yet reached agreement on deploying U.S. troops.

"Time is a critical issue for us," he told reporters after delivering a message to the Turkish foreign ministry replying to the latest Turkish proposals for financial compensation to cushion against damage inflicted by any war.

A NATO committee, meeting without France, approved on Wednesday the deployment of defense equipment to Turkey, which fears possible counter-attacks from Iraq in the event of war.

U.N. Security Council endorsement of the use of force against Iraq in a new resolution will allow Washington's key allies to go a long way toward overcoming opposition to war among their publics.

SIMPLE RESOLUTION

Resolution 1441, approved last November, threatens "serious consequences" if Iraq refuses to disarm, but many U.S. allies want further U.N. endorsement of any use of force.

A White House spokesman said the United States might propose a new resolution as early as this week but possibly next week. "I think it's going to be a relatively simple resolution, not very lengthy," he added.

Currently most Security Council members support France, which says weapons inspectors must be given more time. The United States and Britain face a struggle getting even the minimum nine votes out of 15 needed to adopt a resolution.

Diplomats said they expected any new resolution to follow the language of 1441. London and Washington are also considering putting a set of conditions to Iraq with a tight deadline to disclose any banned weapon programs.

One suggested option -- that Saddam be given an ultimatum to relinquish power -- is considered unlikely. This would be tantamount to a call for "regime change" which most of the 15 council members would reject as illegal, diplomats said.

South Africa has organized a debate at the United Nations to give nations without a seat on the Security Council a chance to air their views. Twenty-seven ambassadors spoke on Tuesday and 29 will address the council on Wednesday.

On Tuesday Iraq's neighbors spoke out against war in the Middle East and said U.N. inspections should continue.

"All the countries in the region with the exception of Israel are appealing to prevent war on Iraq," said Yahya Mahmassani, the U.N. representative for the Arab League.

Australia and Japan strongly backed the tough U.S. position, also supported in part by Peru and Argentina.

The 23 other nations that spoke, including South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, India and Cuba as well as Middle Eastern countries from Iran to Algeria, called for further inspections rather than military action.

In a newspaper interview published on Wednesday, German Environment Minister Juergen Trittin echoed the chants of many anti-war protesters by saying Washington's real motive was not to disarm Iraq.

"A war is not justified. This debate is distracting from the real interests of the United States," Trittin told Die Welt.
"Those are geo-strategic and oil interests. The critics are quite right with their motto 'no war for oil."'

PHOTO CAPTION

A U.S. Air Force C-130 transport plane lands at an airbase near the southeast Turkish city of Diyarbakir February 17, 2003. U.S. preparations for war with Iraq suffered a new setback Feb. 18 when Turkey dug in its heels in negotiations over its role as a launch pad for an invasion. (Reuter