US President George W. Bush addresses students at the Prague Atlantic Student Summit in Prague, November 20, 2002. Bush is in Prague to attend the NATO Summit before departing for Russia, Lithuania and Romania. [Reuters]

President Bush, recalling Europe's grim history of "excusing aggression," challenged skeptical NATO allies Wednesday to stand firm against Saddam Hussein as the alliance expands in size and might to combat terrorism.

Should the Iraqi leader deny next month that he possesses weapons of mass destruction, "he will have entered his final stage with a lie," Bush said on the eve of a two-day NATO summit.

"And deception this time will not be tolerated. Delay and defiance will invite the severest of consequences," he declared.

Even as Bush spoke, President Jacques Chirac of France renewed his position that the United States cannot determine on its own whether to wage war against Iraq.

The U.N. Security Council "is the only body established to put in motion action of a military nature, to take the responsibility, to commit the international community," Chirac said.

Czech President Vaclav Havel said he would prefer that Iraq disarm without force. "If, however, the need to use force does arise, I believe that NATO should give an honest and speedy consideration to its engagement as an alliance," he said.

A day before the formal NATO vote, Bush endorsed plans to usher seven former communist nations into the fold — Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. And he renewed his call for greater expansion.

"We strongly support the enlargement of NATO, now and in the future," the president said.

As leader gathered in the mediaeval city of cathedral spires, Bush used the centerpiece address of his five-day European trip to press them to "take up global responsibilities or choose to live in isolation from the challenges of our time."

While he did not directly accuse Europe's leaders of indifference toward Saddam, Bush's sternly worded appeal for action against terrorists and like-minded regimes was clearly aimed at the likes of Germany, which opposes military action in Iraq, and France, which forced the United States to water down a U.N. resolution to disarm Saddam.

"The world needs the nations of this continent to be active in the defense of freedom, not inward looking or isolated by indifference," the president told students in this Bohemian capital.

"Ignoring dangers or excusing aggression may temporarily avert conflict, but they don't bring true peace," he said.

The Bush administration has quietly contacted 50 countries, including Canada, Britain and Germany, to solicit contributions of troops and war material in the event Bush decides to use force, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

Saddam has until Dec. 8 to give the United Nations an accounting of his weapons of mass destruction. Bush said Iraq had a "short time" to come clean.

White House communications director Dan Bartlett refused to be pinned down on whether the United States intends to use any Dec. 8 Iraqi declaration it deems deceitful as automatic grounds for war.

"It's a huge hypothetical," Bartlett said. "We'll wait and see."

NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson predicted, "There will be total unity of the heads of state and governments on support for the U.N. Security Council resolution."

Diplomats said NATO will release a statement supporting the U.N. resolution, without committing alliance troops or specifically backing war against Iraq.

A new NATO anti-terrorism strike force won't be ready to confront Iraq, and Bush has not asked the alliance to pledge its collective support of military action.

"It's a decision that each country must decide as to how, if, and when they want to participate, and how they choose to participate," he said.

Even as Bush said allies are free to choose, U.S. officials said privately that leaders will face stiff pressure from Bush to help out in some way or face irrelevance in the eyes of Washington, senior administration officials said on condition of anonymity.

Bush refused to meet on the summit's sidelines with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, whose recent re-election campaign infuriated the president by focusing on opposition to U.S. Iraq policy.

The two leaders seemed to avoid each other at Wednesday night's black-tie NATO dinner; they sat at opposite ends of a large, round formal dining table and later lined up at opposite ends of a wide portrait of a regal Czech coronation ceremony.

As leaders filed into the room, Bush chatted easily with British Prime Minister Tony Blair while Schroeder followed several delegations behind.

Outside the summit's stately halls, several hundred protesters demonstrated against NATO and military conflicts. Heavy security and chilly weather seemed to ease the threat of large-scale actions.

In addition to strengthening NATO's military assets, Bush suggested that new NATO members will help remind Europe's old guard about the dangers of complacency.

"Members recently added to NATO, and those invited to join, bring greater clarity to purposes of our alliance, because they understand the lessons of the last century."

Those who suffered under Communist rule, or even Hitler's Nazi regime, learned that aggression left unchecked in dangerous to liberty, Bush said.

"Those who have lived through a struggle of good against evil are never neutral between them," he said.

In a news conference with Havel, the president promised wary allies that war against Iraq is his last choice, avoidable if NATO stands "strong and united and tough" against Saddam.

White House officials, however, said Bush believes it is highly unlikely that Saddam will avert war by complying with the U.N. resolution.

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