UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned US President George W. Bush on Tuesday that his doctrine of pre-emptive military intervention posed a fundamental challenge to the United Nations and could lead to the law of the jungle.

In a speech shortly before Bush addressed the UN General Assembly, Annan took an unusually blunt swipe at the world's only superpower, delivering his strongest criticism to date on the doctrine of preventive war.

"My concern is that, if it were to be adopted, it could set precedents that resulted in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or without credible justification," said Annan to sustained applause. He did not mention the United States by name.

Annan spoke as states in the 191-member world body struggled to heal deep rifts caused by the war on Iraq, in which the United States acted without UN Security Council approval. He said that regardless of past differences it was vital for everyone to work toward a "stable and democratic Iraq."

But according to Annan, sidestepping the United Nations in waging war against Iraq or elsewhere called into question the entire structure of collective action forged when the United Nations was created out of the ashes of World War Two.

"Excellencies, we have come to a fork in the road," Annan said. "This may be a moment no less decisive than 1945 itself, when the United Nations was founded."

He cautioned against just denouncing unilateralism without trying to understand what motivates countries to feel "uniquely vulnerable" and address those concerns with collective action.

'REPRESENTS A FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE'

However, he questioned US arguments that nations have the "right and obligation to use force preemptively" against unconventional weapons systems even while they were still being developed and said the UN Charter allowed military action for the purpose of self defense.

"But until now it has been understood that when states go beyond that and decide to use force to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, they need the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations," he said.

"Now some say this understanding is no longer tenable since an 'armed attack' with weapons of mass destruction could be launched at any time..." said Annan.

"This logic represents a fundamental challenge to the principles, on which, however imperfectly, world peace and stability have rested for the last 58 years," he said.

He said he was establishing a "high-level panel of eminent personalities" to examine current challenges to peace and security and recommend ways the United Nations could reform its institutions.

Annan again berated UN members for not being able to agree on an expansion of the Security Council, which has remained nearly the same for 58 years.

"I would respectfully suggest to you, excellencies, that in the eyes of your peoples the difficulties of reaching agreement does not excuse your failure to do so," Annan said.

Jan Kavan, the outgoing assembly president from the Czech Republic said earlier that UN ambassadors alone could not resolve Security Council reform after a decade of trying.

"For that, you would need a major political breakthrough in the capitals of certain key member states," he said.

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