US urged not to attack Iraq

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL Kofi Annan urged the United States to resist attacking Iraq, joining calls from leaders in Germany, China, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain yesterday for restraint in considering military action to topple Saddam Hussein.

The stepped-up opposition to a military strike against Iraq came after US Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday warned that the United States could face devastating consequences from any delay in acting to remove Iraq's government, which Washington accuses of trying to rebuild its banned weapons programs.

And on Tuesday, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared that the international community would back an eventual US attack on Iraq. "When our country does make the right judgments, the right decisions, then other countries do co-operate and participate," he said. Mr Annan said he favoured ongoing dialogue with Saddam's government and that if Washington decides to attack Iraq it would not reflect UN policy.