With resolve stiffened, Blair will meet Bush for council of war

The drumbeat of war grew ever louder last night with President George Bush laying down a tight diplomatic timetable to muster international support for his plans to overthrow Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

The diplomatic offensive will begin when Mr Bush's closest ally, Tony Blair, flies to the presidential retreat at Camp David this weekend for consultations. It will culminate in a speech to the United Nations next Thursday. The President said he would also speak to the leaders of China, Russia, France and Canada.

Administration officials, speaking off the record, told the Associated Press that Mr Bush was considering a UN Security Council resolution setting a deadline for Iraq to open its weapons sites to unfettered inspection. To prevent China or Russia vetoing the resolution, any threat of punitive action would be implied, rather than explicit.

Announcing his timetable at the White House, Mr Bush in effect conceded for the first time that the United States cannot launch a pre-emptive war against Iraq on its own and must state its case for action more clearly.

But he also hurled a volley of colourfully unforgiving rhetoric against President Saddam, saying it was time for everyone to recognise that the Iraqi leader was "stiffing the world".

"Saddam Hussein has side-stepped, crawfished, wheedled out of any agreement he had made not to harbour – not to develop weapons of mass destruction," he said, resorting to his beloved Texas vernacular. "Saddam Hussein is a serious threat. He is a significant problem. And it's something this country must deal with," the President added. "And today the process starts."

Mr Bush spoke after consulting senior congressional leaders, many of whom – especially those in the President's own Republican Party – have insisted on being told more clearly why the Bush administration thinks a war against Iraq is appropriate and what the full implications of a military offensive would be.

The President promised not to act without congressional approval – something he is not likely to have to work too hard to get. And he also indicated he wanted the United Nations to be on board, saying he would lay out the full case in his speech there.

How to approach the UN is likely to be high on the agenda in his talks with Mr Blair on Saturday. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said last night that the talks would provide "a useful opportunity to go over the issues flowing from Saddam's continuing violation of the UN resolutions".

The two leaders will have four hours together at Camp David, much of which will be spent in the absence of officials to allow utmost secrecy.

Ominously for the Iraqi regime, the last time Mr Blair flew to the President's retreat in Maryland was in November last year when the two leaders discussed the campaign to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Mr Blair is understood to have already been shown American invasion plans and it is possible that 30,000 British soldiers could join 200,000 US troops in an attack. British special forces are certain to be used in any assault. But senior Downing Street sources denied last night that the Camp David meeting would centre on military action.

Clare Short, the Secretary of State for International Development, warned that it would be "enormously dangerous" for America to take unilateral action against Iraq. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, was also reported yesterday to have detailed his concerns about an attack on Iraq in a private letter to the Prime Minister.