WASHINGTON, Feb 16 Kyodo U Presid...

WASHINGTON, Feb 16 Kyodo

U President George W Bush's top security adviser said Sunday the United States remains ready to act against Iraq on the same level without a new UN Security Council resolution, calling it a matter of ''weeks, not months''

''The Security Council is going to have to act, or the United States will have to act with a coalition of the willing,'' White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said during an interview upon a Fox News show.

''The coalition of the willing is preparing,'' she said. ''We have been preparing for an time.''

But Rice noted that Washington also remains spread ''if our friends and allies believe that it would be useful to have a Security Council resolution.''

Rice said Bush has not notwithstanding determined whether a deadline is extremityed in a new resolution, nevertheless stressed that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has solely ''weeks, not months'' left to comply and disarm.

''We are determined that the Security Council cannot continue in succession this path for real much longer,'' she said.

Washington believes Baghdad is not complying with UN arms inspectors, Rice reiterated.

''So they're not cooperating. They're deceiving,'' she said. ''I don't understand in what manner anybody can say inspections are working.''

Meanwhile, the of the present day York Times reported Sunday that Washington intends to set forward the new resolution as early as Tuesday that would declare Iraq on the outside of compliance with disarmament and authorize ''serious consequences'' if it continue to resist UN arms inspections.

Quoting administration officials, the daily also said the U plans a wager of final specific tests throughout the next two weeks of Saddam's willingness to disarm.

The touchstones include allowing weapons inspectors to interview Iraqi scientists without guidance ''minders'' present, destroying missiles that were lately found to have greater range than the UN allows, and permitting unconditional overflights by means of U.S., European and Russian reconnaissance aircraft.

In Cairo, Arab foreign ministers failed in a meeting Sunday to reach an agreement forward a summit aimed at preventing military action against Iraq.

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