HIGHLIGHTS: European Countries May Turn to UN for Cover to Fall Behind Washington's War on Iraq||'Why Should Iraq Allow UN Inspectors Back, If Washington Was to Attack Any Way?' Taha Yassin Ramadan||Iraqi Opposition to Elect Government-in-exile Next Month||Muslims on the Receiving End Everywhere, Musharraf|| STORY: Muslim and European states kept up pressure on Washington on Thursday to avert an attack on Iraq but Vice President Dick Cheney brushed aside their concerns and hammered home the case for preemptive action.

Islamic countries said an attack, which Washington says is justified by President Saddam Hussein's development of weapons of mass destruction and links with terrorism, could unleash fresh turmoil by widening a gulf between Muslims and the West.

European countries put the emphasis on resuming U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq ordered after the 1991 Gulf War, but, in a subtle shift led by Belgium, they reminded Iraq to abide by U.N. resolutions or risk the consequences.

Some analysts say U.S. allies in Europe, which have long expressed concerns over possible U.S. action, may now be turning to the United Nations to get political cover for eventually falling in behind an American war on Iraq.

French President Jacques Chirac warned strongly against a U.S. go-it-alone attack, but sources close to him said concerns that Baghdad might build weapons of mass destruction meant the U.N. Security Council might ultimately agree to use force.

Iraq joined the debate Thursday by saying there was no point in allowing U.N. weapons inspectors back into the country, because an "insane, criminal" U.S. administration was determined to attack and oust Saddam Hussein.

Cheney, speaking to Korean War veterans in San Antonio, Texas, repeated charges from Monday that the Iraqi leader posed a "mortal danger" to the United States.

"The elected leaders of the country have a responsibility to consider all available options and we are doing so," he said. "We must not simply look away, hope for the best and leave the matter for some future administration to resolve."

Cheney said weapons inspections, interrupted four years ago, could not guarantee Iraqi compliance with U.N. disarmament resolutions.

A U.S. official said Wednesday Washington would seek "regime change" whether or not inspections were resumed, which Iraq has anyway said it will not accept.

While Saddam sent ministers to Damascus, Beirut and Beijing seeking support, ordinary Iraqis went about business as usual, seeming to accept whatever comes with fatalistic calm.

"We are not scared any more by American bombs," said one Baghdad shopkeeper. "If they start bombing, let them do so."

The Iraqi opposition will hold a conference in Europe in a month to elect a government-in-exile backed by the United States, opposition sources told Reuters.

MUSLIMS ON THE RECEIVING END EVERYWHERE

Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf, a vital U.S. ally in its war on terror, said Washington would not have the broad backing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forecast this week if it launched a strike against Baghdad.

"This would have very negative repercussions around the Islamic world," Musharraf told BBC Radio.

"Muslims are feeling that they are on the receiving end everywhere. So there is a feeling of alienation in the Muslim world and ... this will lead to further alienation," he said.

Muslims around the world believe they were the main casualty of Washington's war on terror amid rising anti-Islamic sentiment and a perceived Western bias against their faith.

Many say issues close to their heart, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and protecting civilians in war, have received short shrift while Washington plowed ahead with its agenda to rout alleged terrorists across the globe.

Indonesia's biggest mainstream Muslim organization, the 40-million strong Nahdlatul Ulama, also said it strongly opposed any U.S. attack.

Rumsfeld's assertion that a U.S. strike would win international support has already triggered negative reactions from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, two strategically important nations should U.S. President George Bush take on Baghdad.

SUBTLE SHIFT IN EUROPE

In Europe, where NATO allies have often said they opposed attacking Iraq, Belgium led a subtle shift of tone Thursday, putting the onus on Iraq to prove it was sticking to U.N. resolutions if it wanted to avert a strike.

Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said: "Europe will find it very difficult to remain squarely opposed to a preventive strike" if Baghdad refused to abide by the resolutions.

Michel said he hoped foreign ministers of the 15-nation bloc meeting in Denmark Friday and Saturday would discuss Iraq.

In Britain, the Foreign Office said it would consider pressing for a deadline by which Iraq had to comply with the resolutions.

Separately, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the Financial Times that the return of weapons inspectors was only a first step, adding Britain did not rule out military action.

"What we are doing, what I want to do, is putting the ball back in Saddam Hussein's court," the paper quoted him as saying.

Chirac said a U.S. attack would be "counter to the French notion of collective security, a notion based on cooperation between states, the respect of law, and the authority of the (U.N.) Security Council."

But he added: "If Baghdad continues to refuse the unconditional return of (U.N. arms) inspectors, it must be up to the Security Council to decide what measures to take." Sources close to him said possible U.N.-approved measures "ran the whole gamut."

Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh also said forcing Baghdad to take back weapons inspectors must be the priority.

PHOTO CAPTION

(Top L) Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri (L) is invited by his Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan (R) to a meeting at the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing August 27, 2002.. REUTERS/Guang Niu
- Aug 28 9:34 AM ET

(Top R) Vice President Dick Cheney speaks to several hundred members of the Chosin Few, a Korean War veterans group, in San Antonio, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2002. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
- Aug 29 4:17 PM ET

(Bottom L)French President Jacques Chirac delivers a speech to French Ambassadors about France's foreign policy , at the Elysee palace August 29, 2002. (Jacky Naegelen/Reuters)
- Aug 29 1:08 PM ET

(Bottom R) German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder listens to a journalist's question during a news conference in Berlin on August 28, 2002. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuter