World waits for Blix's verdict on Iraq

Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, was today expected to tell the Security Council that he has been less than impressed with Iraq’s co-operation since his last report.

The report will be presented at 3.15pm Irish time.

But UN officials said he will stop short of saying Baghdad has been obstructive. The reaction of the 15-nation council, which is split over what to do about Saddam Hussein, could pave the way for war.

America and Britain were expected to insist the Iraqi dictator is still deceiving the inspectors and will push for a second resolution that would authorise the use of force.

Blix’s presentation was unlikely to resolve the deep disagreement between the US and other members over whether the inspections should continue.

France, Russia and China – who all hold vetoes as permanent council members - believe the monitors should continue their work, and France has laid out plans for a beefed-up inspections regime as a way to avoid war.

But US President George Bush said the UN must help him confront Saddam or “fade into history as an ineffective, irrelevant, debating society”.

Senior US officials have signalled that Americans should be prepared for “a fairly long term commitment” in Iraq if the US goes to war.

Secretary of State Colin Powell told the House Budget Committee he had no estimate of the cost of war with Iraq. But he did say he thought Iraq should be able to adjust quickly afterwards – in contrast to the slow pace of recovery in Afghanistan.

“I would hope that it would be a short conflict and that it would be directed at the leadership, not the society,” he said.

Iraq has an effective bureaucracy, rich oil resources and a developed middle class, he said.

With the prospect of huge peace marches across Europe and elsewhere tomorrow, the chief UN inspectors have said they want to continue hunting for evidence of banned weapons in Iraq.

“We are still in midcourse, but we are moving forward, and I see no reason for us to bring the inspection process to a halt,” Mohamed ElBaradei, the UN’s chief nuclear watchdog, said as he drafted his report on a flight from Vienna, Austria, to New York.

UN officials said Blix, who heads the hunt for Baghdad’s biological and chemical weapons, would address the French proposal to triple the number of inspectors.

But during a visit to Mayport Naval Station in Florida, Bush told cheering sailors: “I’m optimistic that free nations will show backbone and courage in the face of true threats to peace and freedom.”

“I believe when it’s all said and done, free nations will not allow the United Nations to fade into history as an ineffective, irrelevant, debating society,” he said.

“We’ll protect America and our friends and allies from these thugs,” he said.

On Capitol Hill, Democratic politicians questioned whether the president’s focus on Iraq could hurt the broader war against terrorism, particularly the fight against al-Qaida.

“The clear and present danger that we face in our country is from terrorism and from al Qaida,” said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California as politicians heard testimony from Powell,

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Pelosi said it was important that “we don’t take our eye off that ball”.

The US and Britain say Iraq has weapons of mass destruction in violation of several UN resolutions. Baghdad denies it. Bush has said war is his last resort to disarm Saddam – while making it clear that time is running out for any other options.