....LMB: "Roundup"....

I lifted this from AOL's news at aol://4344:3167.WSiraq.21075063.712584135

Please note the passage in poaragraphs 9,10...
"Two protesters, chanting ''Inspections, not war,'' briefly interrupted Rumsfeld's testimony. A police officer escorted the women, who held banners with the same slogan, out of the hearing room.

Rumsfeld said the incident reminded him of the value of free speech, which he said Iraq does not provide its citizens."

I guess we not only are provided with free speech, but a police escort if we try to use it!!

By MATT KELLEY
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (Sept. 18) - Congress must authorize the use of military force against Iraq before the U.N. Security Council votes on the issue, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told Congress Wednesday.

''No terrorist state poses a greater and more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq,'' Rumsfeld told the House Armed Services Committee.

''The goal isn't inspections, the goal is disarmament,'' Rumsfeld said. ''That is what Iraq agreed to do.''

Rumsfeld's testimony came shortly after President Bush said Saddam is ''not going to fool anybody'' with his promise to admit weapons inspectors and predicted the United Nations will rally behind his Iraq policy despite signs of unease.

In an Oval Office meeting with congressional leaders, Bush thanked Democrats and Republicans alike for their commitment to vote on a congressional resolution on Iraq before November's elections.

''I think it's an important signal for the world to see that this country is united in its resolve,'' the president said.

Rumsfeld said that message must be given before further U.N. action on Iraq.

''Only certainty of U.S. and U.N. purposefulness can have even the prospect of affecting the Iraqi regime,'' Rumsfeld said. ''It is important that Congress send that message as soon as possible - before the U.N. Security Council votes.''

Two protesters, chanting ''Inspections, not war,'' briefly interrupted Rumsfeld's testimony. A police officer escorted the women, who held banners with the same slogan, out of the hearing room.

Rumsfeld said the incident reminded him of the value of free speech, which he said Iraq does not provide its citizens.

Rumsfeld said Iraq has stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and is trying to get enough weapons-grade material to build a nuclear bomb. He said the U.S. goal is to prevent Saddam from using such weapons of mass destruction to attack America or its allies.

''The last thing we want is a smoking gun. A gun smokes after it has been fired,'' Rumsfeld said. ''The goal must be to stop Saddam Hussein before he fires a weapon of mass destruction against our people.''

The Pentagon, meanwhile, said Tuesday it was seeking to move some B-2 bombers closer to Baghdad.

''We've got to be together in the United States supporting the diplomatic and military, if necessary, to solve this problem,'' House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., said after the White House meeting.

The president bristled at suggestions that some U.S. allies, particularly France and Russia, might allow the promise of inspections to replace the need for a tough new U.N. resolution demanding Saddam to disarm.

''All they've got to do is look at his record. His latest ploy, his latest attempt not to be held accountable for defying the United Nations. He's not going to fool anybody,'' Bush said.

''I'm convinced that when we continue to make the case about his defiance, his deception, the fact that time and time again - dozens of times - he has told the world, 'Oh, I will comply' and he never does, that nations who care about peace and care about the validity of the United Nations, will join us,'' the president said.

It was the second straight day that Bush has prodded the U.N. to move against Saddam, reflecting concerns about by senior advisers that Iraq has gained the upper hand in the public relations battle.

''Reasonable people understand this man is unreasonable,'' Bush said.

Democratic leaders sounded a note of bipartisanship as they emerged from the meeting.

Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., said, ''I think this is an important moment for our country and for the international community to work together.''

Bush promised to reveal in the next few days his proposal for a congressional resolution. U.S. officials say. He wants authority to use ''all appropriate means'' to counter Saddam, but Democrats did not commit to any wording Wednesday.

Daschle told reporters he would not ''make any precondition or any supposition about what the (congressional) resolution ought to say at this point.'' But he said he believes ''at the end of the day, the United Nations is going to be where it needs to be.''

Bush has raised the specter of military action to remove Saddam from power if the Iraqi leader fails to dismantle his chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs. Bush wants the authority to use force included, at least implicitly, in any new Security Council resolution - and in any congressional resolution, as well.

Daschle said: ''We need to insist on open inspections. We need to insist on the destruction of weapons of mass destruction.''

Officials said Tuesday the administration is seeking permission from Britain to base a small number of B-2 stealth bombers on the island of Diego Garcia in the northern Indian Ocean, instead of their current base in Missouri.

On Capitol Hill, a day before meeting Bush, Daschle said he expected a vote on Iraq before the November elections. Still, he said it was ''unfortunate'' that Bush had injected election-year politics into the Iraq issue.

''I expressed the concern weeks ago that the closer we get to the election the more likely this whole grave matter could be politicized,'' Daschle said. ''And I think that would be very, very destructive and harmful to the long-term message this country ought to be sending.''

On Friday, Bush had mocked Democrats for wanting to wait for a congressional vote until after the U.N. had acted.

AP-NY-09-18-02 1248EDT

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