IT is clear, from his address to the United Nations yesterday, that President Bush is itching to go into war against Iraq.

To justify his stance, he is to present a dossier of evidence alleging that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction, and is prepared to use those weapons.

His hope is that the dossier will gain support for military action from his own citizens, his coalition partners and the United Nations.

If, after hearing the evidence they remain unconvinced, President Bush has made it plain that he is prepared to undertake unilateral action.

The consultation process, such as it is, is bogus. President Bush is effectively telling his coalition partners and the UN: "Heads I win, tails you lose."

In his speech yesterday, President Bush condemned Saddam Hussein for ignoring the implicit instructions of the UN. And yet he himself indicates he is prepared to ignore the wishes of the UN in his quest to topple the Iraqi regime.

President Bush cannot have it both ways. He cannot extol the virtues of international co-operation, then blatantly ignore it when it suits his purposes.

The United States has to play by the same rules it expects every other nation to obey.

We share President Bush's desire to see the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

No one doubts Iraq is an evil regime. No one doubts Saddam Hussein is flouting UN resolutions. No one doubts that it has the capability of amassing a threatening arsenal of weapons.

On those grounds alone, however, President Bush can pick a fight with countless many countries across the globe, some as unstable as Iraq.

The use of force can only be justified if there is a threat to other sovereign states.

The onus on President Bush is to publish irrefutable evidence that Saddam poses that threat, and thereby win over the UN and the bulk of world opinion to his way of thinking.

If he opts to go it alone, President Bush risks alienating the vast majority of the international community and undermining the UN.

The President's apparent willingness to veto the will of the rest of the world poses a graver long-term threat to peace and security than Saddam Hussein's weapons programme.