WASHINGTON (AP) — President Clinton on Sunday put off a decision on whether to use force to try to reopen Iraq's weapons sites to U.N. inspectors.

In a two-hour meeting with senior advisers, Clinton directed them to weigh for a few more days military and diplomatic strategies.

Among the considerations was that Iraq might respond to an attack by permanently banning the international search for illegal chemical and biological weapons.

And yet, over seven trying years, diplomacy has failed to compel Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to comply completely with the U.N. Security Council's attempt to ensure the elimination of all potential weapons of mass destruction.

Eight days ago, Saddam declared a halt to cooperation with the U.N. special commission that conducts searches for chemical and biological weapons.

Fifteen U.N. weapons inspectors, some of them experts on missiles, left Baghdad Saturday as the United Nations began to reduce its presence in Iraq.

On Sunday, as Clinton weighed military action, Iraqi ministers said they would not back away from a decision to bar U.N. inspections unless crippling economic sanctions were lifted.

Trade Minister Mohammed Mehdi Saleh said Iraq had suffered so long under the U.N. sanctions it had nothing to fear from new U.S. threats.

On Thursday, the Council condemned Iraq's declared halt to inspections, but the 15 nations remained divided on whether to authorize military strikes.

The Clinton administration has insisted there already is a legal basis for bombing Iraq and that the United States would act alone, if need be.

Only Britain has stood steadfast with Washington, though there is overwhelming sentiment in the Council that Iraq must comply with the U.N. commission's demand for unfettered inspection of suspect sites.

The Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, toured the Persian Gulf region last week seeking political support from Arab governments as well as promises of help if Clinton decided on bombing Iraq.

Sandy Berger, the president's assistant for national security affairs, held consultations, meanwhile, with allies in Europe.

Cohen, Berger and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who did much of her consulting by telephone, all met with Clinton for about two hours Sunday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains.

The president reviewed the diplomatic and military options with them and ``asked for a follow-up on both fronts,'' David Leavy, spokesman at the National Security Council, said.

``They will report to him over the next several days,'' Leavy said. ``The president has made no decision.''

Leavy and other administration officials described the situation as ``very serious.''

The New York Times reported on Sunday that the administration had concluded the U.N. inspection regime was no longer an effective instrument for restraining Saddam Hussein. The report quoted unidentified senior administration officials.

But Leavy said ``this whole situation is predicated on getting UNSCOM (the U.N. special commission) back on schedule.''

``We are not walking away from UNSCOM,'' the White House official said. `In fact, we are pulling for cooperation. We haven't abandoned UNSCOM.''

The Security Council resolution Thursday was a demand that Iraq cooperate with the inspectors, Leavy said.

Newsweek magazine, meanwhile, said that in response to ``a fruitless stance'' against Saddam the Clinton administration had quietly decided to avoid military action and to maintain international support for economic sanctions.

As a result, a new strategy was developed last Spring by Richard Clarke, a national security council official, in response to a plea from Berger, Newsweek said.

Clarke concluded it simply was not feasible to track down all of Iraq's biological and chemical weapons caches and that military strikes could not force him to let the United Nations in to search for them, the magazine reported.

Few inside the Pentagon seem to relish the idea of using force against Saddam, at least until additional diplomatic efforts are exhausted.

``The focus at the moment is principally on maintaining sanctions,'' a senior military officer said last week. ``You need to keep resources from reaching him.''

Retired Gen. John J. Sheehan, former commander of the U.S. Atlantic Command, told The Associated Press that little may be gained from bombing Iraq, and it might harm U.S. relations with Arab nations. It could even put in jeopardy efforts to forge an overall peace in the Middle East, he said.

``Bombing something into submission has never worked,'' the retired Marine general said. ``Is attacking Saddam Hussein going to do anything? I'm not certain. There are bigger issues involved.''

On the other hand, James P. Rubin, the State Department spokesman, last week ruled out suspending indefinitely searches designed to keep Iraq from developing weapons of mass destruction.

-- Barry Schweid - 11/09/98