‘Saddam not serious on disarming’

US PRESIDENT George W Bush said last night that Iraq’s weapons declaration showed Saddam Hussein was not serious about disarmament and marked “a disappointing day for those who long for peace.”

"We expected him to show that he would disarm and ... it's a long way from there," the president said.

Mr Bush has given the go-ahead to double the 50,000 US troop deployment in the Persian Gulf region in early January, a senior administration official said.