Iraq is providing new information about its weapons and has reported the discovery of two bombs, including one possibly filled with a biological agent - moves that the chief U.N. weapons inspector said Tuesday signal real cooperation. President Bush, however, predicted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein would try to "fool the world one more time" by revealing the existence of weapons he has previously denied having. He urged the United Nations to back U.S. action against Iraq.


Canadian Plan to Reconcile Differences Between Doves & Hawks

With the Security Council deeply divided, Canada stepped forward Tuesday with a plan to reconcile differences between a U.S.-British-Spanish resolution seeking U.N. authorization for war and a French-Russian-German proposal to strengthen weapons inspections and continue them at least into July.

Canada, which isn't on the council, circulated a document to council members proposing a series of benchmarks Iraq would have to meet by the end of March. The council would then be asked to vote on whether Iraq was complying with its U.N. obligations, diplomats told The Associated Press.

The Canadian ideas were well received by some of the swing voters the United States is trying to court, but it was unclear how the five veto-holding powers would react. U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte seemed to reject the concept Monday when he said the only benchmarks Iraq had to meet were in Resolution 1441, which the council approved in November.

Bush Doesn't Need New UN Resolution

Bush said Tuesday it would be helpful to get U.N. backing for war, "but I don't believe we need a second resolution."

The United States and Britain, which introduced the new resolution on Monday, maintain they already have U.N. authorization to attack Iraq. The November resolution gave Iraq a final opportunity to disarm or face "serious consequences."

But British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar face strong opposition at home to a war without the approval of a new resolution.

For the time being All Appears to Hinge on Iraq's Decision on Al-Samud 2

The vote, expected in mid-March, could well be influenced by whether Iraq complies with an order last week from chief inspector Hans Blix to begin destroying its Al Samoud 2 missiles by Saturday because they exceed the 93-mile limit in U.N. resolutions.

Saddam hinted in an interview with CBS' Dan Rather that he might not destroy the missiles, repeating Iraq's position that they don't exceed the limit.

Blix, however, said the issue was not open for debate.

Despite Saddam's remarks, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz insisted Tuesday that no decision had been reached on the missiles.

Saturday is not only the deadline for Iraq to begin the demolition; it is also the date by which Blix must submit his next written report to the Security Council. Blix is then due before the council on March 7 with U.N. nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

Iraq Provides Inspectors with New Information on Weapons

Blix said Tuesday that Iraq had provided inspectors with half a dozen letters containing new information on weapons, including two R-400 aerial bombs. Blix said one of the bombs was "likely to be filled with biological stuff, it's a liquid that appears to be biological."

He gave no other details, but R-400 aerial bombs can be filled with biological or chemical agents.

He also said Iraq had also reported finding handwritten documents on the disposal of "prohibited items in 1991."

"This is cooperation on substance," Blix told reporters. "Substance is if you find weapons, you can destroy it. If you find documents, it may constitute evidence. That's not process."

"There are some elements which are positive which need to be explored further," Blix said.

But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer called the Iraqis' discovery "the very nature of the problem with Iraq - that all of a sudden (it) will start to discover weapons" it said it never had.

Other Key Developments Concerning Iraqi Crisis

*_ British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saddam has "one further final chance" to disarm in compliance with U.N. demands.

*_ The White House said Saddam and other Iraqi leaders would be legitimate targets for U.S. military forces in a war. "If you go to war, command and control are legitimate targets under international law," spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

*_ Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, the U.S. Army's top general, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that an occupying force for a postwar Iraq could total several hundred thousand soldiers. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said later that the estimate was "very sobering." "It sounded as though almost as large a contingent would need to remain as was there to begin with," Levin said.

*_ The Turkish government asked parliament to authorize the deployment of 62,000 U.S. combat troops, warplanes and helicopters, but disagreements on the conditions of the U.S. deployment delayed the vote.

*_ American warplanes bombed surface-to-surface missile systems in northern and southern Iraq and attacked surface-to-air missiles in the south, the U.S. military said. The strikes were the most extensive on a single day since the U.N. Security Council in November passed its latest resolution demanding that Iraq disarm.

*_ Spanish anti-war activists occupied Spain's embassy in Baghdad for three hours, saying diplomats who left Iraq while their country supported the threat of war have abandoned hopes for peace.

PHOTO CAPTION

Chief United Nations Weapons Inspector Hans Blix, left, chairs a meeting of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2003, at the UN in New York. (AP Photo/Kath