Powell: the case against Iraq

Colin Powell, the American Secretary of State, laid bare before the United Nations Security Council what he described as "irrefutable and undeniable" evidence yesterday that Iraq is concealing an array of weapons of mass destruction and is working without pause to hide them from international inspectors.

In a presentation replete with projections of satellite images as well as audio intercepts of conversations between Iraqi officers, General Powell said the evidence he was sharing, much of it buttressed by reports from informants on the ground, should remove all doubt as to Iraq's failure to disarm.

It was a grave and urgently paced performance meant to show that Iraq had already failed the test set down in UN Resolution 1441 of last November and now had to face the consequence – military punishment. "Saddam Hussein and his regime will stop at nothing until something stops him," he said.

While his speech may help sway American public opinion, whether it will close divisions in the Council is not clear. Dominique de Villepin, France's Foreign Minister, replied with a contrary plan radically to reinforce the inspections, not abandon them. "The use of force can only be final recourse," he said.

"Let us double, let us triple the number of inspectors," he went on. "Could we not ... set up a specialised body to keep under surveillance the sites and areas that have already been inspected?" Several other states, including Russia and China, also pleaded for more time for inspections. Igor Ivanov, the Russian Foreign Minister, said General Powell's points required "very serious and thorough study" by the inspectors.

Iraq responded with disdain. An Iraqi official in Baghdad dismissed General Powell's speech as a "typical American show complete with stunts and special effects."

Much now hinges on a visit by Hans Blix, the chief inspector, to Baghdad this weekend and what, if any, new information he gleans from the Iraqis. More important even than yesterday will be a Council meeting on 14 February, when Mr Blix will give another report on the progress of the inspections. If he is again harsh on Iraq, the momentum to war may become unstoppable.

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, gave instant support to General Powell in the chamber, saying he had made a "most powerful" case. Mr Straw told the Council that President Saddam was "gambling that we will lose our nerve rather than enforce our will".

While focused mostly on Iraq's concealment efforts, the Powell presentation concluded with a description of alleged links between President Saddam and international terrorist groups. General Powell asserted that there was a "sinister nexus" between Baghdad and senior al-Qa'ida operatives. Iraq had become the base for some followers of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror network, with tentacles reaching Britain and other European states. Earlier, General Powell played tapes of alleged conversations between Iraqi military officers. One appeared to deal with excising incriminating references to "nerve agents" in written communications between them. Another reflected the concerns of one officer that "modified vehicles" should not be found. The Secretary of State also showed satellite images indicating Iraqi efforts to empty and even destroy bunkers once used to store chemical and biological weapons. One seemed to show how a bunker site at al-Musayyib had been bulldozed.

He said Iraq possessed as many as 18 large lorries that were mobile laboratories for making biological agents.

After General Powell's presentation, Condoleezza Rice, President George Bush's national security adviser, said the problem was Iraq itself and that there would be "tremendous skepticism about whatever they do".