Washington: The United States said it would be decided within a week whether there
will be a war against Iraq or the issue will be settled peacefully.
"There is still time for Iraq President Saddam Hussein to come clean. In a few weeks
the inspectors will return to make a report. By then, we will know enough to bring
this to a conclusion one way or the other," Secretary of State Colin Powell said the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"We are reaching an end game in a matter of weeks, not a matter of months," he said
a day after laying out the United States' case against Iraq before the United
Nations.
Powell suggested that there is enough authority for the US and its allies to go to
war under old resolutions but the US would welcome a second resolution in the
Security Council.
He said that increasing the number of inspectors (as suggested by France and others)
would not help unless Saddam Hussein co-operates.
On the response to his speech in the Security Council on February 5, Powell said
that some of those who spoke after him (disagreeing with him) had printed their
speeches in advance and distributed them to the press.
Later in the day, when he spoke to every one of them, he said, he sensed a shift in
attitude that suggested that there was more support for a second resolution than one
might think.
Powell said the Untied States is providing weapons inspectors with "all of the
information they can use". He said "60 different sets of data" have been submitted
to inspectors.
Asked whether the danger to the United States was greater from Iraq's weapons
programmes or from war - and the possibility it could lead to new terrorist attacks,
Powell said, "I don't think we can simply turn away because we're afraid that if
military action is required it would cause some other problems with respect to
terrorism."
Powell received effusive praise from committee members, both Democrats and
Republicans. Democrats, especially, have been reluctant to endorse war with Iraq
even while agreeing that Baghdad has a record of years of defiance.
The committee's top Democrat, Senator Joseph Biden said, "I am proud to be
associated with you.
"I think you did better than anyone could have because of your standing, your
reputation and your integrity as it is understood by our European friends as well as
others around the world," he said.
But Biden also encouraged Powell to keep seeking support of the members of UN
Security Council.
"Although it's a Herculean task, I believe that it is possible to bring most along
and leave others in a position where they are not objecting," he said.
PTI
