Iraq's disarmament efforts have not amounted to the voluntary, active cooperation demanded by UN resolutions, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said this evening.
He said that the "clock continues to tick" for the regime of Saddam Hussein. "I still find what I heard this morning a catalogue of non-co-operation," Mr Powell told the UN Security Council following a report by UN weapons inspectors in Iraq.
Mr Powell stated that the "small steps" taken by Baghdad to comply with the inspection teams could not be described as genuine intiatives as they had not been taken willingly or freely.
"They have been pulled out or have been pressed out by the possibility of military force," he said.
"If Iraq wanted to disarm, the co-operation would be voluntary and even enthusiastic, not coerced," he added.
Mr Powell said Iraq had chosen not to comply with disarmament demands and that the United States wanted the UN Security Council to vote on new resolution authorizing the use of force "in the very near future."
"We believe that the resolution that has been put forward for action by the council is appropriate and in the very near future we should bring it before this council for a vote," Mr Powell said.
"The clock continues to tick and the consequences of Saddam Hussein's continued refusal to disarm will be very, very real," he told the meeting.
AFP