By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, FEB. 17. Pointing out that the air strikes over the no-fly zone in Iraq late on Friday were ``routine'', the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, today warned the Iraqi President, Mr. Saddam Hussein, on weapons of mass destruction. ``We are going to watch very carefully as to whether or not he develops weapons of mass destruction and if we catch him doing so, we'll take appropriate action,'' he said during his first overseas trip to Mexico.

At a press conference after talks with his Mexican counterpart, Mr. Vincente Fox, the President, referring to the air raids in which British planes also participated, said, ``I want to assure those who don't understand U.S. policy that this is a routine mission.''

The White House said new radar facilities in the no- fly zone threatened allied planes. The President's permission was required in this instance because U.S. aircraft may have had to leave the no-fly zone in southern Iraq to hit the targets. But, no plane crossed the Northern Edge during the strike, the Pentagon said.

Mr. Bush said Washington would be strict in enforcing its policies over Iraq. ``It is part of a strategy, and until that strategy is changed, it doesn't change at all. We will continue to enforce the no-fly zone... Saddam Hussein has got to understand that we expect him to conform to the agreement he signed after Desert Storm. We will enforce the no-fly zone, both South and North. Our intention is to make sure the world is as peaceful as possible.''

For the first time since December 1998, U.S. and British warplanes went after targets outside the southern no-fly zone; and the strikes came at a time when the Bush administration was letting the world know it would hang tough on Baghdad which would include active support for the Iraqi opposition. In fact, the Iraqi Opposition leaders were meeting a State Department Official when the attack took place. The Bush administration has released millions of dollars to the anti-Saddam forces.

The Pentagon said the raids continued for two hours and that the planes flew from various positions in the Persian Gulf including aircraft carriers in the area. As many as 24 aircraft took part in the strikes and all of them returned to their bases.

The Iraqi Foreign Minister is due at the United Nations for talks with the U.N. Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and members of the Security Council. Although no Security Council member has asked for a debate on the attack, there is very little support for Washington's position on Iraq, either in an overall context or with respect to sanctions. In spite of the sanctions regime being in tatters and Washington having little or no support for its Iraq policy, the Bush administration is hopeful of cobbling together an anti-Iraq coalition.