In other Iraq news, President Bush is scheduled to address the United Nations Tuesday on Iraq and defend his decision to invade Iraq without UN backing.

Bush told Fox News yesterday, “I will make it clear that I made the right decision and that the others that joined us made the right decision.” Bush is also expected to announce his support for UN involvement in the writing of an Iraqi constitution and the oversight of elections.

Bush heads to the UN at a time when a new poll by Newsweek found that only 46 percent of the country back his Iraq policies.

Meanwhile in an interview with The New York Times, President Jacque Chirac called for a two-stage plan for Iraqi self rule to be carried out over the next six to nine months.