It is important to dismiss the notion that any military action against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq would be unilateral, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters January 23 at his early morning meeting with them.

Action, he said, would be largely multilateral, and he pointed to Great Britain, Spain, Australia, and eastern European member nations of NATO as partners who have pledged support. Italy, he said, "recently said that they'd prefer to go through the United Nations, but they'd stand by the United States.

"There is one particular nation that is opposed, and other (European) nations are not yet clear," Fleischer said, referring to France's warning that it might block a United Nations resolution authorizing military action.

"The United States is going at this with our friends and allies. There are a couple nations that may look in a different direction. It's entirely possible that France won't be on the line. The president is confident that Europe will heed the call, if the call is made," he said.

President Bush remains hopeful that U.S. and allied forces will not have to resort to the use of force, Fleischer said. But he told reporters that it has become increasingly clear that Saddam Hussein has entered a "final phase."

Responding to questions concerning recent polls which indicate a waning of U.S. public support for a U.S. attack on Iraq, Fleischer said, "If, in the president's judgment, force had to be used to protect the American people, and that had virtually no support by the American people, or it had unanimous support by the American people, the president would not be guided by what the polls said. He would be guided by what he, in his role as commander-in-chief, believes is necessary to protect the country."