Iraq set to respond on missiles

Iraq kept the United Nations waiting yesterday for word of whether it would begin destroying banned rockets by tomorrow's deadline, as the chief arms inspector prepared to declare results on disarmament "very limited", according to a draft report obtained by media.

As the UN Security Council, under intense pressure from both hawks and doves, began discussing a US-British-Spanish draft resolution that lays the groundwork for war against Iraq, US President George W. Bush predicted Iraq would destroy its al-Samoud 2 rockets, but said they were the tip of the iceberg.

"The only question at hand is total, complete disarmament, which he (Iraqi President Saddam Hussein) is refusing to do," Mr Bush said.

Iraq, threatened with war if it does not fully disarm, said it would respond to the UN order to destroy its al-Samoud missiles within two days, without hinting at its response. Earlier this week, Mr Hussein denied in an interview with a US TV network that the rockets were in violation of UN limits.

An Iraqi official said Baghdad was "seriously and genuinely" studying a UN request that it destroy missiles which inspectors say exceed range restrictions, and would reply in a letter to the Security Council within the next two days.

The US predicted yesterday that Iraq would begin destroying the rockets and that the last-minute decision was part of a "campaign of deceit" aimed at keeping the international community off-balance.

"The discussion about these rockets is part of his campaign of deception," Mr Bush said. "See, he'll say 'I'm not going to destroy the rockets' and then he'll have a change of mind this weekend and destroy the rockets and say, 'I've disarmed.'"

UN arms inspectors say the al-Samoud 2 rockets violate the 150-km range limit imposed after the 1991 Gulf war and called for Iraq to start destroying them by tomorrow.

The Iraq statement came shortly before the Security Council opened discussions on a US-British-Spanish draft resolution that said Saddam had "failed" to meet disarmament demands, diplomatic language that could trigger war.

It also came a day after chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix issued his harshest criticism of Baghdad in a month, saying while there was evidence of increased activity by Iraq it was still not clear Saddam had made a "fundamental decision" to disarm.