Speaker after speaker, including ministers from such staunch US allies as Turkey and Italy, emphasized multilateralism over unilateralism -- diplomatic speak for telling Washington not to act alone in policing the world.

London and Washington have long referred to their "special relationship," and Britain is the closest ally in the U.S. war on terror. Yet Britain's Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett used the word "terrorism" only once in a speech on Friday that was devoted largely to climate change -- a phenomenon whose existence Bush questions.

The United States, one of 192 member-nations, pays about a quarter of the UN budget and Bolton has spearheaded a campaign to promote far-reaching reform of the institution.

A survey released this month at a symposium organized by the conservative Hudson Institute found that 57 percent of Americans believe the United Nations should be shut down and replaced if it cannot be made more effective.

But the same poll also found 73 percent want Washington to "take a more active role" in the United Nations because "it is the best way for us to influence world affairs."

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