Bush seeks Russian support

The meeting took place as Bush served notice that the US will shift its military strategy away from the deterrence that characterised the Cold War and toward pre-emptive action against terrorists and rogue states seeking weapons of mass destruction.

”The United States can no longer solely rely on a reactive posture as we have in the past,” Bush wrote. “We cannot let our enemies strike first.”

And Pentagon planners are reported to have earmarked February as the best time to launch a military campaign against Iraq.

When Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov left the White House today he said: “Russia and the United States firmly believe that the international UN inspectors must return to Iraq.”

But the United States considers searching for illicit weapons inadequate. American diplomats are preparing a UN resolution to threaten Iraq with military force if it does not disarm.

And on this, Ivanov was silent as he talked to reporters in the White House drive. “We agreed to pursue an exchange of views on how to make the inspectors more effective,” he said.

Ivanov and Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov then went to the State Department to continue their talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Russia is looking for US support in its threat to attack Chechen rebels in Georgia. “I believe the US shares some of our concerns,” the Defence minister said.

The Defence minister told the ITAR-Tass news agency as saying that Russia’s position on Iraq would depend on the information the Bush administration provides about Baghdad’s possession of weapons of mass destruction.

However, Russia held to its view that an Iraqi offer to readmit weapons inspectors should be accepted. Information on Iraq’s weapons programs could be confirmed or disproved only “on the spot,” Ivanov said.

Bush wants Congress to approve a resolution authorising the use of military force against Iraq in what would be a show of unity to back the president’s effort to gain support on Iraq from Russia and other wary nations.

Both Democratic and Republican leaders welcomed a draft proposal that Bush offered Thursday, in which Congress would authorise the president to “use all means,” including military force, to defend US national security interests against the threat posed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Senate Republican leader Trent Lott said both the House and Senate could vote on the resolution as early as the first week in October before politicians go home to campaign for the November 5 election. He said he was “perfectly happy with the language.”

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle agreed that “there is absolutely no difference of opinion with regard to the threat that Saddam Hussein poses” but said Democrats wanted some changes in the wording of the proposal.

The White House today released a policy document emphasizing a change in US military strategy toward reliance on a first-strike or pre-emptive stance in the post-Cold War era of terrorist threats.

Bush often has talked of this changing national security posture, and ”The National Security Strategy of the United States” is a report that the president must, under law, submit to Congress.

”America is now threatened less by conquering states than we are by failing ones,” states the document.

Bush initially said he didn’t need the approval of Congress to take military action against Iraq. But a show of support from Congress Hill would be a boost to the president as he presses for a UN Security Council resolution authorising force and tries to put together an international coalition to force Iraq to disarm.

Russia and France, which hold veto power as permanent members of the Security Council, have voiced strong reservations to a new resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq.