President Bush, speaking in Washington Tuesday, indicated the parliament is powerless and that the final decision rests with President Saddam Hussein. Earlier, a White House spokesman (Scott McClellan) characterized the Iraqi parliament's move as "pure theater."
Iraq's parliament voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend rejection of the new U-N resolution that demands Baghdad disarm or face the consequences. But the 250-member National Assembly left the final decision on the matter to a council headed by President Saddam.
Hours before the vote, President Saddam's eldest son -- Uday -- urged approval of the resolution, but said U-N disarmament teams should include Arab experts.
The Iraqi parliament opened an emergency session Monday to consider the U-N resolution, which many deputies denounced and Speaker Saadoun Hammadi dismissed as a preamble for war.
Iraq has until Friday to accept or reject the resolution, which was approved unanimously last week by the U-N Security Council.
The Security Council is demanding that Baghdad give inspectors searching for banned weapons of mass destruction access to any location in Iraq at any time. Top officials of the U-N inspection team say they are prepared to travel to Baghdad next Monday for initial work.