CBS News
The initial reluctance of some U.S. allies to go to war against Iraq appears to be breaking down, with momentum building toward a tough United Nations ultimatum to Iraq: Submit to unrestricted weapons inspections or face the consequences.
President Bush is working furiously to build a coalition against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Since Friday he's consulted the five permanent members of the U.N. security council, the chiefs of the U.N. and NATO, the presidents of Turkey, the European Union, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
On Monday he cajoled Canada's reluctant prime minister, Jean Chretienin, in face-to-face meetings. Their public event was about border security, but as CBS News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts reports, the broader message was unmistakable.
"We realized, at least in our country, that we have become a battlefield, and we've got to confront those threats," Mr. Bush said.
While the level of threat posed by Saddam is still uncertain a report from the prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies released Monday highlights grave concerns.
The report said Iraq retains substantial chemical and biological weapons and the capability to quickly produce more. It said the regime has hidden away around a dozen medium-range missiles but that much is unknown about its weapon programs.
"War, sanctions and inspections have reversed and retarded but not eliminated Iraq's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and long-range missile capabilities," said the report.
The Institute's John Chipman said Iraq right now lacks the ability to make its own nuclear material but if it were "able to obtain fissile [fissionable] material from abroad, steal it or buy it in some way, we certainly believe it has the ability to put together a nuclear weapon very quickly, in a matter of months."
The United States has been calling for action to stop Iraq's efforts to build weapons of mass destruction, saying Baghdad poses a threat to U.S. and international interests.
On Thursday President Bush is expected to present the U.S. case for action against Saddam Hussein to the world's nations at the start of the General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he had spoken to Mr. Bush Monday and was waiting to hear what he said, but he has repeatedly stated his opposition to a war on Iraq.
Annan on Monday stressed the importance of bringing this critical issue before the Security Council.
"It is important to stress that the council, which has been seized with this Iraqi issue for so long, should have something to say," he said. "I think it is appropriate that the council pronounces itself on the issue."
Russia and China — both veto-wielding members of the council with close ties to Iraq — oppose any military action.
Annan would not comment directly on a two-step proposal by French President Jacques Chirac that could lead to military action, but only with approval by the Security Council.
After talks with Chirac in Paris last week, he told reporters it would be "unwise to attack Iraq" because "it will raise international tensions."
"I am, of course, sure President Bush will bear all this in mind," he said.
Speaking to reporters on his arrival at U.N. headquarters on Monday, Annan said many people are worried about unexpected consequences of an Iraqi attack.
"The question is the morning after," he said. "What sort of Iraq do we wake up to after the bombing? What happens in the region? What impact could it have? These are questions leaders I have spoken to have posed."
Britain has pledged strong support for Washington, but most of America's allies are hesitant, urging President Bush to work through the United Nations for a political solution.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bush did his best to make his case to Chretien, who said last week he has yet to see evidence that would justify Canadian support for a military campaign against Iraq.
On Monday, Mr. Bush continued his diplomatic efforts on Iraq in telephone calls to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer of Turkey, the president of the European Union, Denmark's prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, along with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.
"The president is calling as part of his ongoing consultations with leaders around the world about the situation in Iraq and also urging them to listen carefully to his speech to the United Nations" on Thursday, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, while declining to further describe the conversations.
