Bush threatened nations that did not back Iraq war: report

In the transcript of a meeting on February 22, 2003 -- a month before the US-led invasion of Iraq -- published in El Pais newspaper, Bush tells Aznar that nations such as Mexico, Angola, Chile and Cameroon must know that the security of the United States is at stake.

He says during the meeting on his ranch in Texas that Angola stood to lose financial aid while Chile could see a free trade agreement held up in the US Senate if they did not back the resolution, the left-wing paper said.

But during the meeting with Aznar, Bush made it clear the US would invade Iraq by the end of March 2003 whether or not there was a UN resolution to authorize it, El Pais reported.

We will be in Baghdad at the end of March," Bush said in the transcript which was translated into Spanish by the newspaper.

"We can win without destruction. We are already planning a post-Saddam Iraq and I think there is a good basis for a better future. Iraq has a good bureaucracy and a relatively robust civil society," he added.

During the meeting Aznar tells Bush that he is worried by the US president's optimism.

"I am optimistic because I believe I am right. I am at peace with myself," Bush responded according to the transcript.

Asked by Aznar whether Saddam could leave with a guarantee that he would not be prosecuted, Bush replied: "No guarantee. He is a thief, a terrorist, a war criminal."

"Compared to Saddam, Milosovic is a Mother Teresa. When we go in we are going to find many more criminals and take them to the International Court of Justice in The Hague," he added.