Though neither NATO nor Moscow explicitly endorsed stripping Baghdad of weapons of mass destruction by force, their support for a UN disarmament ultimatum strengthened the US leader's hand in his confrontation with Iraq.

"The United Nations Security Council and now NATO have now spoken with one voice: The Iraqi regime will completely disarm itself of weapons of mass murder, or we, the United States, will lead a coalition of willing nations and disarm that regime," he told tens of thousands of people in Bucharest.

Bush also exulted in the invitation of seven ex-communist states to join the alliance, saying their enthusiasm -- born of a newly rewarded embrace of democracy -- would bolster NATO's will to eradicate global terrorism.

At a rain-soaked rally here, the US leader said Romanians would bring "moral clarity" to renew the alliance's sense of purpose as it confronts "the new enemies of freedom," Iraq and global terrorists.

Romania knows "that aggressive dictators cannot be appeased or ignored. They must always be opposed," he declared on Bucharest's Revolution Square, focal point of the uprising that overthrew the nation's Communist strongman in

The implicit slap at veteran alliance members like France and Germany -- which have been cool to Bush's push to disarm Iraq by force -- was a recurring theme of Bush remarks throughout the visit.

The tour's highlight was NATO's decision Thursday to invite Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become new members, most likely at a 2004 summit.

The alliance also approved a fundamental shift in its mission from containing communism in Europe to battling threats around the world by creating a rapid-reaction force for swift deployment to any global hotspot.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sounded the trip's only sour notes, using their seventh meeting since January 2001 to insist that Bush heed UN rules in his drive to disarm Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

"We do believe that we have to stay within the framework of the work being carried out by the Security Council of the United Nations," Putin said after their encounter outside his snow-dusted hometown of Saint Petersburg.

The Russian leader also expressed serious doubts about the White House's longstanding assertions that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are helping to win the war on terrorism.

He that 15 of the 19 September 11, 2001 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, and openly fretted that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was not doing enough to keep his country's nuclear weapons out of terrorists' hands.

"We are not sure on that aspect," he said, asserting that Osama bin Laden has "taken refuge" somewhere between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Saudi-born extremist's al-Qaeda network has claimed responsibility for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A handful of his top aides have been captured.

The Russian leader skeptically greeted NATO's expansion, calling it unnecessary but pledging to consider deepening ties with the alliance. He also successfully invited Bush back to Saint Petersburg in May 2003.

Putin's comments followed the White House release of a joint statement in which the two leaders called on Iraq to "cooperate fully and unconditionally in its disarmament obligations or face serious consequences."

That came two days after NATO leaders meeting in Prague to approve the alliance's widest-ever enlargement vowed to take "effective action" to enforce the UN Security Council resolution aimed at disarming Baghdad.

SPACE.WIRE