Bush camp stands firm despite protests

THOUSANDS of Americans took to the streets at the weekend to oppose a war on Iraq, but the Bush administration stood firm and said it was time for the United Nations to act not debate.

Baghdad kept up its war of rhetoric with Washington, accusing it of trying to intimidate the UN Security Council into adopting a new draft resolution that could pave the way for military action. U S President George W Bush, well used to invective from Iraq, also faced vocal opposition at home on Saturday when thousands of Americans marched to oppose any war.

"This is going to be an ugly, unnecessary fight. Most of the world is saying 'no' to it," civil rights leader Jesse Jackson told a crowd at Washington's Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Organisers said 150,000 people took part in the anti-war protest in the U S capital, but witnesses put the number at fewer than 50,000. A river of marchers flowed to the White House to press the case that a war on Iraq would be a tragic mistake. Another 40,000 marched in San Francisco, with thousands more demonstrating in Amsterdam, Berlin and other European cities.