US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said overthrowing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could reshape the Middle East in a way that enhances US interests and helps end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Mr Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that attacking Iraq could cause "some difficulties" during the conflict and in the months immediately after a war.
But he added, "I think there is also the possibility that success could fundamentally reshape that region in a powerful positive way that will enhance US interests, especially if in the aftermath of such a conflict, we are also able to achieve progress on the Middle East peace."
He said Washington's problem with Iraq was not just over Iraqi co-operation with the United Nations in giving up any weapons of mass destruction it might have.
"We can't say we're not going to do anything because it will cause us some other problems in the region. This is the problem. It's not just 1441, it's Saddam Hussein as a threat to the region," he said.