US may present Iraq intelligence next week

11.45am

WASHINGTON - The United States may present intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as early as next week in an effort to win over sceptical allies and a wary US public, US officials said today.

The intelligence would form one part of the US push to persuade key countries -- including France, Russia and China -- that military force may be necessary to rid Iraq of its suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programmes.

Under one scenario, US Secretary of State Colin Powell could make the case at the United Nations, a venue sure to draw comparisons to Adlai Stevenson's devastating exposure of Soviet missile deployments during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

If Washington were to make a convincing case, it would stand a far greater chance of securing a second UN resolution authorising force against Iraq, something the White House said would be desirable but not necessary before any attack.

Security Council members Russia, France, Syria, Germany and China have all said the inspections were working and should be given more time, a stance at odds with the US view that time is running out for Iraq, which denies having such weapons.

One US official acknowledged that it would be difficult to make as compelling a case as Stevenson did during the Cuban missile crisis, when he presented aerial photographs to the UN Security Council.

"In Cuba you had really large missiles spread out in a valley visible from the air," said the US official, who asked not to be named. "Saddam is much better at hiding things and he has had many years to hone his skills."

In an interview with European journalists carried out on Sunday and released by the State Department on Tuesday, Powell said the United States had additional intelligence about Iraq's suspected weapons programmes and hoped to disclose it next week.

"We do have a number of intelligence products that convince us that what we are saying is correct... that they are doing these things, and we hope in the next week or so to make as much of this available in public as possible," Powell said.

"Whether there will be a 'Stevenson' photo or 'Stevenson' presentation that would be as persuasive as Adlai Stevenson was in 1962, that I can't answer," he added.

Stevenson's dramatic presentation, and the Soviets' failure to respond convincingly, is viewed as a key turning point in world opinion during the Cuba crisis, which ended with the Soviet Union's withdrawal of its missiles.

"There is much more compelling evidence out there. I remember seeing it," said Kenneth Pollack, an ex-CIA analyst and former National Security Council staff member. "It would behoove the Bush administration to go out and state on the record sanitised versions of these reports so people can get a feel for how good this info is."

While Britain has remained firmly on US President George W Bush's side, France, Russia and China, veto-holding members of the Security Council, and important European ally Germany, have urged against hasty US military action against Iraq and in favor of giving UN inspections longer to work.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that "if Iraq starts hampering (the work of the inspectors) I do not exclude the fact that Russia could change its position."

Reaching out to sceptical allies, the White House said it would welcome a new UN resolution which could more explicitly authorise force. "It's desirable but it is not mandatory," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.

"The president's preference at all times is to do things with the most international support possible. But if there is insufficient support, it will not stop the president and the coalition that is forming from defending our interests if necessary," he added.

The comments came ahead of Bush's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night (3pm today NZDT), which will try to prepare Americans for the possibility of war although it is not expected to detail new evidence of Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction.

However, Fleischer said the administration would provide "additional information in the time period ahead."

Polls show most Americans do not believe Bush has made the case for force. The Washington Post quoted former US Gulf War commander Norman Schwarzkopf as saying he would need more information to support a pre-emptive invasion of Iraq.

As part of what the White House has called a "final phase" of consultations, Bush will meet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday and Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller on February 5.

- REUTERS

Herald feature: Iraq

January 28, 2003: