WASHINGTON, Feb 11: United States President George Bush has dismissed Iraq’s pledge to allow the use of American U-2 spy planes to help United Nations arms inspectors look for weapons of mass destruction as “a diplomatic game”.

After his talks with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard in Washington on Monday evening, Mr Bush said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was “continuing to stall for time”.

Baghdad sent a letter to UN inspectors on Monday, offering to allow the use of U-2 planes and to make a law next week banning all weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

The use of the surveillance planes has been a key demand from UN weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed El-Baradei.

Mr Bush said President Saddam had made such offers in the past as well, never meaning to implement.

Through such efforts, he said, the Iraqi ruler had been suc-cessfully fooling the international community for the last 12 years.

He reminded the international community the planes were needed only to disarm Iraq and if the Iraqi offer did not achieve this objective, it was of no use. Mr Bush again warned Baghdad to disarm itself or be ready to be disarmed by force.

Bush also said the Iraqi leader planned to use civilians as human shields in war.