Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=03/17/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ / MIDDAY WRAP (L ONLY)

NUMBER=2-300805

BYLINE=JIM MALONE

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

INTRO: President Bush is about to deliver an ultimatum to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, "leave Iraq or face a U-S-led invasion." Mr. Bush will deliver an address to the nation later Monday (0100 UTC). The latest on the showdown with Iraq now from correspondent Jim Malone.

TEXT: Hopes for a diplomatic solution to the Iraq crisis faded quickly Monday.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer declared the diplomatic window closed. The comment came after the United States, Britain and Spain announced that they will not seek an additional vote in the United Nations Security Council on the use of force against Iraq.

Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters at the State Department that President Bush is about to give Saddam Hussein one last chance to disarm and avoid war:

/// POWELL ACT ///

In his speech, he clearly will issue an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein that the only way to avoid the serious consequences that were built into (U-N Resolution) 14-41 is for Saddam Hussein and his immediate cohort to leave the country and to allow this matter to be resolved through peaceful entry of force and not of conflict.

/// END ACT ///

U-S officials say a vote authorizing the use of military force against Iraq in the U-N Security Council would have been close. But the British Ambassador to the United Nations, Jeremy Greenstock, said the effort to win passage of the resolution was doomed by a veto threat from France:

/// GREENSTOCK ACT ///

We have had to conclude that (Security) Council consensus will not be possible in line with (U-N) Resolution 14-41. One country in particular has underlined its intention to veto any ultimatum, quote, "no matter what the circumstances", unquote.

/// END ACT ///

French officials say the use of military force against Iraq would not be legitimate at this point and said they believed a majority of U-N Security Council members supported that view.

U-N officials say they have been advised by the United States to pull their inspection teams out of Iraq. A number of foreign journalists are also on their way out of Baghdad as the likelihood of hostilities grows.

/// REST OPT ///

Military experts expect that if war does come, U-S-led forces would open the conflict with a massive bombing campaign intended to shock the Iraqi military.

Retired U-S Army General Barry McCaffery fought in the 1991 Gulf War. He told N-B-C television that coalition commanders expect some of Saddam Hussein's most loyal troops will put up a fight:

/// MCCAFFEREY ACT ///

But I think some of us are also very concerned that there is an assumption that the Iraqis won't fight. And some of them are going to fight, 15-thousand, 60-thousand. So the second-echelon assault forces are not there (to help the U-S) and many of us wish they were.

/// END ACT ///

In an apparent last-minute bid to avoid a U-S-led invasion Monday, Saddam Hussein told a Tunisian diplomat that although Iraq did possess weapons of mass destruction at one time, it no longer has such weapons. (Signed)

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