The White House and a top Senate Democrat yesterday dismissed an Iraqi invitation to the US Congress to inspect suspected weapons development sites, saying they wanted action from Iraq not talk.
"There's no need for discussion. What there is a need for is for the regime in Baghdad to live up to its commitment to disarm," US National Security Council spokesman Mr Sean McCormack said. He was speaking during a visit by President Bush to Pittsburgh.
Iraq yesterday invited Congress to send a mission to Baghdad and said it would be given free access to any sites alleged to be involved in the development of weapons of mass destruction.
Delaware Democrat Sen Joseph Biden, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also quickly poured cold water on the offer.
"Iraq must end its stalling tactics," he said in a statement. "If it has nothing to hide, it should comply with UN Security Council resolutions and allow immediate, unfettered access to UN weapons inspectors - which it has refused to do for nearly four years."
Mr McCormack reiterated the Bush administration's view that inspections were not the ultimate goal of international pressure on Iraq - the goal was the elimination of any Iraqi capability to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction.
The US is also committed to a policy of ousting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, which officials said was not linked to the inspections issue.
With speculation rising that Mr Bush is preparing military action to topple Saddam Hussein, Baghdad has responded with offers of talks on the weapons inspections issue. Iraq has barred UN weapons inspectors since 1998.
Mr Bush said on Saturday that US policy on Iraq was unchanged despite Iraq's overtures.
Yesterday he said: "There's no telling how many wars it will take to secure freedom in the homeland. But I know this, we will not, and we must not, allow the world's worst leaders to blackmail the United States and our friends and allies with the world's worst weapons.
"We've got a lot of tools. We've got a lot of friends as well. And I'm going to take our time to make sure we get the policy right," Mr Bush told a political fund-raising lunch.
Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General, Dr Kofi Annan, said yesterday he would ask Iraq to explain its invitation for weapons talks, indicating he expected Baghdad to show some willingness to allow UN arms inspectors to return.
Speaking to reporters after briefing UN Security Council members, Dr Annan said: "We would want to discuss with them the return of the inspectors. If Iraq is open to that idea, there are practical means to send the inspectors back."