It would be folly for Saddam to repeat past defiance of United Nations demands to give up his deadly weapons, Bush said in a forceful speech on the eve of a NATO summit.

"We now call an end to that game of deception and deceit and denial. Saddam Hussein has been given a very short time to declare completely and truthfully his arsenal of terror," he said.

"Should he again deny that this arsenal exists, he will have entered his final stage with a lie, and deception this time will not be tolerated. Delay and defiance will invite the severest consequences," Bush told an audience of students in Prague,

The president ratcheted up the rhetoric against Iraq as NATO leaders converged on Prague for a meeting dedicated to enlarging the 19-nation Atlantic alliance and transforming it to meet 21st century security threats, overshadowing the formal agenda.

Earlier, mindful of European anxieties over U.S. policy, Bush said he hoped Iraq would cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors and that the country would disarm voluntarily.

War would be the last option, Bush said. "I hope we can do this peacefully."

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