President Bush, describing U.N. arms inspections of Iraq as "a re-run of a bad movie," says President Saddam Hussein has failed to disarm and his time is running out. With U.S. and British forces being deployed to the Gulf region in increasing strength, a senior U.S. diplomat issued a blunt warning to Baghdad on Tuesday that alternatives to war were nearly exhausted.

Bush made no secret of his impatience with nations that want to give U.N. weapons inspectors looking for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction more time.

Asked how much more time he would give Saddam to comply with U.N. demands to disarm or face military action, Bush said:

"I will let you know when the moment has come."

Bush is massing more than 150,000 troops in the oil-rich Gulf and has made clear he is ready to use them, with or without a new U.N. mandate. Britain, his main military ally, has also ordered thousands of troops to the region.

Inspectors Need More Time

For their part, the inspectors said they needed several more months to check Iraq's denials that it was developing chemical, biological or nuclear arms. Security Council powers France, Russia and China called for more time for diplomacy.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the U.N. nuclear agency chief who will report with Blix on Monday, said the inspectors needed "quite a few months" more to finish their work. He told Reuters: "I am pleading for the inspection process to take its course."

Oil prices hit two-year highs as the Pentagon ordered two more aircraft carriers and 37,000 troops to the Gulf. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said the alternatives to using force against Baghdad were "just about exhausted."

Chief U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix is to deliver a report to the Security Council on Monday. If he voices dissatisfaction with Iraq's cooperation -- and he told Reuters on Tuesday there were still "many questions" unanswered -- it could mean war.

The Security Council meets two days later on Jan. 29 and Bush will meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Jan. 31.

White House officials said Bush will use his State of the Union speech on Jan. 27 to underscore the threat posed by Iraq but will not deliver an ultimatum to Baghdad or declare war.

Washington has made clear it sees no need for further Security Council approval for an attack on Iraq -- and France for one underlined it will not get that mandate any time soon.

Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said Paris wanted to rally the European Union against a hasty decision to fight: "We see no justification today for a (military) intervention, since the inspectors are able to do their work," he said in Brussels.
"We could not support unilateral action."

The EU is sharply divided, with Germany firmly against any war and Britain mobilizing alongside the Americans.

Russia, too, spoke out against a hasty switch from a policy of diplomacy and inspections to one of bombing and invasion.

"Most countries in the Security Council and in the international community at large believe that it is vital to pursue both political and diplomatic efforts," Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in Moscow.

"And most countries believe that opportunities for a diplomatic solution are far from exhausted," Ivanov said.

Turkey to Host Regional Summit

Turkey, a staunch NATO ally that has misgivings about helping start a war on its own doorstep, said it would host a meeting of regional foreign ministers in Istanbul on Thursday. They would urge Baghdad to obey U.N. disarmament demands.

PHOTO CAPTION

The amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard makes its way out of San Diego harbor as part of a flotilla of seven U.S. warships that set sail from San Diego Naval Station January 17, 2003. The ships, carrying about 10,000 Marines and sailors, are bound for the Gulf region for use in a possible war with Iraq, the Navy said. (Mike Blake/Re