NEW YORK, Oct 8: President George W. Bush on Monday night declared that US will use full power of military if needed to force Iraq to disarm underscoring that the threat posed by Baghdad and its suspected weapons of mass destruction only grows worse with time.

In a skillfully orchestrated speech delivered to a select partisan audience at the Cincinnati Museum, he said: “We refuse to live in fear.”

The speech was broadcast live on CNN and other news networks, including Fox Television, which pre-empted a major baseball championship game, it was not carried by the three major US broadcast networks, two of which said the White House had advised them the speech “wasn’t going to make news.”

Laying out the American case against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Bush sought to shape public opinion and influence the debate in Congress to ensure overwhelming support for a resolution in the coming days authorizing the use of military force against Iraq if needed.

“The danger is already significant and it only grows worse with time,” Bush said, outlining allegations that Saddam possessed chemical and biological weapons and could develop a nuclear bomb in less than a year if he obtained a small amount of enriched uranium.

Bush said he hoped military action would not be required but that it might be necessary and could be difficult. He warned Iraqi generals to resist any orders from Saddam for “cruel and desperate measures”, which Bush aides said would be a chemical weapon attack against an invading army or Iraqi minorities.

“If we have to act, we will take every precaution that is possible. We will plan carefully. We will act with the full power of the United States military. We will act with allies at our side. And we will prevail.”

Bush noted that “some citizens wonder after eleven years of living with this problem, why do we need to confront it now? There is a reason. We have experienced the horror of Sept 11. We have seen that those who hate America are willing to crash aeroplanes into buildings full of innocent people. Our enemies would be no less willing — in fact they would be eager — to use a biological or chemical weapon, or, when they have one, a nuclear weapon.” However, it may be pointed out that to date, US officials have presented no evidence linking Iraq to the Sept 11 attacks.

Nevertheless, Bush emphasized that “knowing these realities, America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof — the smoking gun — that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.

Bush also said the United States is prepared to lead a coalition against Iraq if necessary, as Washington presses the UN Security Council to approve a tough new resolution requiring Baghdad to disarm or face military action, amid scepticism by Russia and France that such a step is necessary.

Bush asserted that Iraq possesses ballistic missiles with a likely range of hundreds of miles, powerful enough to strike Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey and other nations in a region where more than 135,000 American civilians and military service members are located.

What is more, he said, Iraq had a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas. “The United States is concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using unmanned aerial vehicles to target the United States.

Although Bush was directing his message to the American people, a secondary audience was overseas, as he sought to demonstrate US determination and overcome doubts within the UN Security Council over authorizing force against Iraq.

Bush said congressional approval of a resolution against Iraq would send a signal to Baghdad and the United Nations the country was united.

“Approving this resolution does not mean that military action is imminent or unavoidable,” Bush said. “The resolution will tell the United Nations and all nations that America speaks with one voice and is determined to make the demands of the civilized world mean something.”

Bush, under pressure from Democrats to spell out a vision of a post-Saddam Iraq, said the United States would help provide a better life for the people of Iraq.

“America is a friend to the people of Iraq,” Bush said. “Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children.”