UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - US President George W. Bush and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan were set to trade barbs on the opening day of the two-week session of the UN General Assembly, with the aftershocks of the Iraq war still at the top of the international agenda.
A day after another US hostage was beheaded by militants, Annan was expected to take another jab at Bush for spurning international law in his decision to wage war on Iraq, while the US president appeared set to defend the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of a sweeping global campaign to fight terror in the name of freedom.
"Never in the history of the United Nations have we faced so many opportunities to create a safer world by building a better world," the US president said on Saturday, in a preview of his speech which will follow Annan's opening address.
"For the sake of our common security, and for the sake of our common values, the international community must rise to this historic moment. And the United States is prepared to lead," said Bush.
Annan stoked the fires again last week by calling the US-led Iraq war "illegal" and while UN officials have blamed the comment on prodding by an aggressive interviewer, there can be no disguising the lingering anger about the war.
Throughout the past year, Annan has repeatedly argued that while terrorism may be top priority for the world's lone superpower, many people around the globe are more concerned with poverty, sanitation and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Annan has said the rule of law should be a central theme of this year's talks -- but over the past year he has also repeatedly acknowledged that the world body has been at a "fork in the road" since the war.
The bitter divisions over what he called the "unilateral" US decision to oust Saddam Hussein have not healed, and it is unclear how the world body might cope with a mighty nation determined to set its own course of action.
Annan has made it a matter of urgency to reform the UN Security Council, and has appointed a high-level panel to come up with proposals by December that he would like to present at next year's session.
"Quite honestly, I do not believe that anyone will consider the UN reform complete without Security Council reform bringing it into line with today's realities," he said earlier this month.
Brazil, Germany, India and Japan are planning to use their time here to make a unified push for all four nations to join an expanded council when or if any reform of the current structure can be agreed.
More than 90 heads of state or government are on hand for the meeting, which is being seen as largely a preparatory session for next year's drive to overhaul the world body.
"Next year should be a year of decision and the secretary general is reminding everybody of that," a senior member of Annan's cabinet said on Monday in a preview of his opening address, due to begin at 1400 GMT.