Iraq's pledge to give up dozens of banned missiles will be put to the test on Saturday when U.N. and Iraqi officials meet to discuss how to scrap them, but the United States seemed firmly set on its path to possible war. Iraq has said it will comply with a U.N. demand to start destroying the missiles, a development chief weapons inspector Hans Blix hailed as "a significant piece of real disarmament."

A spokesman for U.N. arms inspectors said that "the destruction process could start" following technical discussions on Saturday morning.

U.N. inspectors have determined that the range of the al-Samoud 2 missiles exceeds the 150-km (93-mile) limit set in U.N. resolutions.

Blix, executive chairman of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, gave Iraq until Saturday to begin destroying the rockets and associated hardware.

Washington Dismisses Decision as Propaganda

The United States dismissed Iraq's pledge to dismantle the missiles as "propaganda wrapped in a lie inside a falsehood" and said the move would still leave Baghdad short of U.N. demands it give up its alleged weapons of mass destruction.

"That's the problem with (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein. Every time he's under pressure, he tries to relieve the pressure by disarming just a touch, just a little, playing the game, playing the deception," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

President Bush himself appeared firmly on the track to war. "My attitude about Saddam Hussein is that if he had any intention of disarming, he would have disarmed," he told USA Today.

"We will disarm him now," Bush said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's staunchest ally in the crisis, also disparaged Iraq's letter.

"This is not a time for games," Blair told a news conference during a visit to Madrid

Bitter Divisions Within Security Council Continue

Iraq's promise to destroy one of its major weapons systems failed to heal bitter divisions in the U.N. Security Council, with the United States and Britain saying it meant little and France on Friday welcoming the decision.

Iraqi compliance will be crucial before Blix addresses a polarized U.N. Security Council late next week, several days before the United States and Britain want to push to a vote a draft resolution that lays the legal groundwork for war.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said Iraq's consent on the missile order was "an important step" and "showed U.N. arms inspections were producing results."

Fleischer dismissed the idea the Iraqi decision reflected progress toward disarmament. "This is the deception the president predicted," he said. "We do expect that they will destroy at least some of their missiles."

At the United Nations, deep divisions in the Security Council over the U.S.-British-Spanish draft resolution that opens the door for war showed no signs of closing. Russia, China, France and Germany want arms inspections to continue for at least four more months.

A resolution in the 15-nation Security Council needs a minimum of nine votes and no veto from its five permanent members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. Washington is still shy of nine votes.

Blix to Update Crucial Report

In a written report distributed to council members on Friday, Blix called Iraq's disarmament efforts "very limited so far." But he said he would update the report before addressing the council late next week to take account of the missiles.

Blix said his deputy was in Baghdad to discuss how to scrap the missiles.

"It's a big chunk of things. There are very many of these missiles and a lot of items that pertain to them which we have enumerated," he told reporters.

"It is to start tomorrow, so maybe tomorrow evening or Sunday we will have more to say," Blix said.

Other Key Developments Concerning Iraq

*_ For the sake of "international stability," Russia is prepared to veto a U.S.-British resolution in the U.N. Security Council authorizing the use of force in Iraq, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in Beijing.

* Washington said it may send a delegation to Baghdad to urge Saddam to cooperate with U.N. inspectors but will not press him to leave the country.

*_ Thousands of people marched in Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen, burning U.S. flags and effigies of Bush.

*_ US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld rejected an estimate by the U.S. Army chief this week that several hundred thousand troops would be needed for a post-Saddam occupying force in Iraq. The United States has deployed about 200,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region.

*_ Nearly all relatives of Russian officials working in Iraq have been evacuated from the country, the Interfax news agency reported.

* Kurdish leaders said Friday they will resist if the United States lets Turks join an invasion of northern Iraq, raising fears American troops will be caught in a generations-old ethnic struggle for control of the strategic border region.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Sea King helicopter lies on the deck of the Canadian destroyer HMCS Iroquois following a crash, February 27, 2003. Photo by Reuters