WORLD IN BRIEF : IRAQ : U.S. Would Veto Bid to Ease Sanctions

The United States is prepared to veto any attempt by France and Russia to ease U.N. sanctions against Iraq, the State Department said. “We will do whatever we have to do,” spokesman Nicholas Burns said, signaling a potential clash with the two allies when the United Nations opens debate on the economic sanctions next week. His remarks reflected deep U.S. skepticism that Iraq has dropped its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq has admitted that it secretly manufactured two kinds of deadly bacteria before the U.S.-led Persian Gulf War to free Kuwait, but Baghdad said it scrapped the program before fighting started.