Is War With Iraq Already Reality?

Nov. 20 -- The White House warned today that Dec. 8 — the day Iraq is required to fully disclose all its weapons of mass destruction — will be the crucial date for determining war or peace.

On that day, if the United States believes Iraq's declaration to be false, Saddam Hussein "will have entered his final stage with a lie," President Bush said. The president made his comments in Prague, Czech Republic, where he is attending a NATO summit.

Judging by today's events, U.S. officials are already preparing to be disappointed. Iraqi military forces tried to shoot down U.S. planes patrolling the southern no-fly zone while Western aircraft dropped strategic bombs inside Iraq, according to U.S. military officials.

With a unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution in hand that warns of military action against Iraq if it doesn't disarm, Bush and his administration are working to build a military coalition in case of war. About 50 nations have been asked what kinds of assistance — from troops and equipment to intelligence and transport — they would be willing to contribute in a campaign against Iraq, U.S. officials said.

Bush has made clear he wants a military option to be ready immediately should Saddam refuse to cooperate with the inspections.

"Should he choose not to disarm, the United States will lead a coalition of the willing to disarm him," Bush said.

White House aides described the diplomatic campaign as "a parallel effort" to the U.N. weapons inspections, a way of keeping the pressure on Baghdad by making the threat of force very real.

But the administration's efforts may have been undermined by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who poured scorn on the United Nations while en route to Prague.

"The United Nations sat there for years with 16 resolutions being violated. So just as we've seen a pattern of behavior on the part of Saddam Hussein, we've also seen a pattern of behavior on the part of the United Nations," Rumsfeld said.