Washington: President George W Bush on September 18 said that he will craft by week's end a proposed resolution authorising him to take action against Iraq and said that the US Congress will vote on the matter by early October.

"It's an important signal to the world to see that this country is united in our resolve to deal with threats that we face," he said as he met with Republican and Democrat leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.

"I want to thank the leadership for its commitment to get a resolution done before members go home to campaign for the November elections, a break scheduled for early October," he said.

The President, who warned last week that US action is unavoidable if the United Nations does nothing to disarm Baghdad, also scorned Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's surprise agreement to allow the return of UN arms inspectors.