NATO members have declared themselves united in backing U.N. efforts to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, but the 19-nation defense alliance stopped short of promising to go to war over it. In Prague, NATO allies issued a communique on Thursday saying they "were united in their commitment to take effective action to assist and support the efforts of the U.N. to ensure full and immediate compliance by Iraq" with the U.N. Security Council resolution demanding Iraqi disarmament.

The United States sought in vain to get a stronger statement of support for American efforts to disarm Iraq, by force if necessary. But opposition from some allies reluctant to back a war resulted in watered-down final wording.

President Bush, fresh off the NATO summit in Prague, was due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Friday to discuss Iraq and other matters including NATO expansion and the war on terrorism.

As members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization met in the capital of the Czech Republic, U.S. and British warplanes bombed two air defense radar sites in southern Iraq in the latest of a series of strikes in "no-fly" zones over northern and southern parts of the country, the U.S. military said.

The Pentagon said the target was Iraqi air defense radar, attacked because Iraqi forces had been spotted moving a missile battery into the southern no-fly zone. Iraq said the planes bombed civilian targets and had been driven off by Iraqi anti-aircraft fire.

Also, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States could fight Iraq in the summer, especially in the cool of the night, if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein waits until the winter passes and then obstructs U.N. weapons inspections.

The Security Council resolution sent U.N. arms inspectors back to Iraq this week after an absence of four years to search for and eliminate any nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The United States maintains that Iraq is concealing these weapons of mass destruction despite a prohibition on them imposed after the 1991 Gulf War.


Bush, interviewed by Russia's NTV television on the eve of talks with Putin, said he was well aware of Russia's long-standing interests in Iraq, with extensive cooperation in the oil sector extending back to Soviet times.

PHOTO CAPTION

Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell at the North Atlantic Council Summit in Prague November 21, 2002. NATO leaders issued a united declaration of support for efforts to disarm Iraq, papering over deep differences on the U.S. threat to go to war. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)