Bush Warns Iraq of 'Serious Consequences'

Jan. 22 -- President Bush warned Iraqi troops of "serious consequences" should they use weapons of mass destruction, as the nation's top military officer said U.S. forces gathering in the Persian Gulf were prepared to initiate combat operations at any time.

"We're ready now," Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters. "The Iraqi regime should have no doubt."

Myers, a four-star Air Force general, said the tens of thousands of U.S. military troops gathering in the Persian Gulf could wait for months without losing their war-fighting edge.

Earlier, on a visit to St. Louis, the president said, "There will be serious consequences for any Iraqi general or soldier who were to use weapons of mass destruction on our troops or on innocent lives within Iraq."

Should any Iraqi receive such an order, Bush continued, "my advice is don't follow that order because if you choose to do so when Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried and persecuted [sic] as a war criminal."

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For the second day, the president also voiced frustration at those calling for U.N. weapons inspectors to be given more time in Iraq.

He accused Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of "playing hide-and-seek in a huge country" to deceive the inspectors and avoid having to give up weapons of mass destruction.

France and Germany Resist the Tide of War

However, France and Germany locked arms today to block moves toward a U.S.-led war on Iraq, saying they opposed a conflict there and thought U.N. arms inspectors needed far more time to do their job.

French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, speaking after celebrating 40 years as the key axis of power in the European Union, told television in their nations that war was "the worst of all solutions" to the crisis.

And when NATO ambassadors debated the matter at alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, diplomats said France and Germany blocked a decision on whether to prepare supporting measures for any U.S.-led conflict in Iraq.