Secretary of State Colin Powell will present photographs of mobile biological weapons and transcripts of overheard Iraqi conversations to convince allies that Saddam Hussein has potent arsenals in defiance of UN disarmament demands, an administration official said.
Powell sifted through classified US intelligence on Monday to choose what he will make public today to the UN Security Council. He is expected to display the photographs and refer to transcripts, an official said.
PHOTO: AFP
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Duncan Hunter, said he expected the evidence to show details of a transfer of technology from other countries and the relocation of weapons systems within Iraq.
"He can go into a level of detail with respect to the present maintenance of the stock that he hasn't gone into before," Hunter said in an interview.
Senator Jay Rockefeller, who like Hunter has received intelligence briefings, said he would not be surprised if Powell disclosed to the Security Council information that had not been made available to Congress.
Rockefeller, the senior Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said he had not seen enough evidence to justify war against Iraq.
"At this point, I don't think it is compelling," he said.
Iraq's UN Ambassador Mo-hammed Al-Douri said he sent a letter to the council on Monday asking to participate after the government decided against sending a high-ranking official to respond to Powell.
As the administration sought to expand its network of potential coalition partners, Powell met with the king of Bahrain, Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. King Hamad then called on US Vice President Dick Cheney and saw US President George W. Bush at the White House.
Bahrain, which provides a base for the Navy's 5th Fleet, was the target of Scud missiles fired by Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War that reversed Iraq's annexation of Kuwait. Pro-government newspapers reported Sunday that Arab countries were deploying Patriot missile batteries to counter any possible long-range missile threats.
Bush, sitting alongside Hamad in the Oval Office, paid warm tribute to the Arab leader as a man who "fully understands the position of the United States and he has been incredibly supportive."
Hamad responded that he "came all the way from Bahrain to show this warm relationship and to support the president in what he is doing for our stability and progress."
The two took no questions from reporters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Moscow there was no need for another Security Council resolution on Iraq but he would not rule one out -- as Bush said he was not doing, either.
"The inspectors need to tell us what more they need from Iraq, what else can be demanded of Iraq so their works could be more effective," Putin said.
His statement suggested that Russia could be imposing more pressure on Baghdad, even though it favors a political solution.
Russia and France, both of whom have veto power in the Security Council, are prime targets for Powell, who said in an article published Monday by The Wall Street Journal that "we will not shrink from war if that is the only way to rid Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction."
From Baghdad, though, came another rhetorical blast of defiance. Parliament speaker Saadoun Hammadi told a group of European legislators, "American aggression will end up in a catastrophe for them. They will incur casualties beyond their imagination."
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