President Bush, backed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his staunchest ally, has warned that the Iraqi crisis would come to a head in a matter of weeks, rather than months. For the first time, Bush broached the idea of a second United Nations resolution to authorize war on Iraq but made clear such a resolution although welcome, was not necessary. Nevertheless diplomats at the United Nations expected Washington to push for a resolution in about two weeks, if it looked as if such a measure might be successful.

"This needs to be resolved quickly. Should the United Nations decide to pass a second resolution, it would be welcomed, if it is yet another signal that we're intent upon disarming (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein," Bush told a joint news conference after his talks with Blair on Friday.

But Bush said he would brook no delay in his quest to disarm Saddam.

UN Arms Chief Inspectors Defer Trip to Baghdad

Iraq, which denies U.S.-British charges that it has weapons of mass destruction, has invited chief U.N. arms inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei to visit before their next report to the Security Council on Feb. 14.

The inspectors' report, to be delivered at about the time U.S. forces now pouring into the Gulf are expected to be ready to launch an invasion, is seen as a milestone in Bush's war planning.

Blair said Baghdad's invitation was part of a long-established pattern of playing for time while Bush dismissed it as a deception and a charade.

"The only way that he can show that he (Saddam) is truly a peaceful man is to not negotiate with inspectors, is not to string the inspectors along, but to disarm in front of inspectors," he said.

Blix and ElBaradei told Iraq they hoped for positive steps before making any trip to Baghdad, such as allowing spy plane over flights without conditions and private interviews with scientists, according to diplomats.

Resistance to War

Both Bush and Blair are meeting opposition at home and in various world capitals for the idea of a preemptive strike against Iraq without explicit U.N. backing.

On Friday Former President Jimmy Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said: "Our government has not made a case for a preemptive military strike against Iraq, either at home or in Europe."

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Friday underlined the divisions in Europe over whether to support Washington's war plans, saying his opposition to an Iraq war was supported by an overwhelming majority in Germany and Europe.

"Military force must not be a normal means of policy, it must remain something ... that one can and must call a last resort and requires the most sensitive and careful reasoning if one has to decide to use it," Schroeder told an election campaign rally in Hanover.

Germany and France -- which has said it will coordinate its Iraq policy with Berlin -- were left isolated this week by a letter signed by eight European leaders backing the tough U.S. stance on Iraq and urging unity.

To get a second resolution would require persuading France and Russia to support it. They each hold veto power on the 15-member Security Council, and both want to give inspectors more time.

Blair voiced support for a new resolution, saying "What is important is that the international community comes together again and makes it absolutely clear that this is unacceptable."

Blair next week is to meet French President Jacques Chirac, a sharp critic of Bush's war plans.

Powell to Reveal Classified Evidence Iraq Has WMD to UN Security Council

Secretary of State Colin Powell is due to present to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday what Washington says is evidence that Iraq maintained weapons of mass destruction in violation of U.N. resolutions passed after the 1991 Gulf War.

Newsweek magazine reported that Powell would release National Security Agency spy tapes, which intelligence officials say show Iraq repeatedly lied to weapons inspectors.

A Reuter's survey of 20 defense and Middle East experts on Thursday showed a consensus that the United States was highly likely to lead an invasion of Iraq in the next two months and the war should be over by the end of June.

PHOTO CAPTION

President George W. Bush answers a question during a press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the White House, January 31, 2003. (Larry Downing/Re