US: US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell said that nations would fight alongside American forces if the US went to war without UN Security Council approval.
The US administration showed no signs of backing down on its war plans against Iraq yesterday, despite stiffening resistance at home and abroad to early military action .
The US is facing an unprecedented face-off with two of its closest allies, France and Germany, which have called for UN weapons inspectors to be given more time to do their work. The Bush administration insists that time is running out.
Washington was accused of arrogance towards allies after US Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld dismissed France and Germany as "old Europe" out of touch with the situation. French Finance Minister Mr Francis Mer said yesterday he was "profoundly vexed" by the remarks.
The transatlantic rift has resulted in a rare rebuke for Washington by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which blocked a US request to begin military preparations for a war.
Mr Powell and Mr Rumsfeld gave a secret briefing on war plans to the 100 members of the US Senate on Capitol Hill late yesterday.
Asked about growing international isolation, Mr Powell said: "I don't think we will have to worry about going it alone. I am sure it will be a strong coalition."
White House spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer named the UK, Italy, Spain, east European countries and Australia as loyal allies of the US.
"The President is confident that Europe will heed the call" in the event of action against Baghdad he said, though he acknowledged that "it's entirely possible that France won't be on the line".
His remarks indicate that the US will try to to cajole its allies into following Mr Bush's lead after the critical report to the UN on Monday by weapons inspectors, just as Washington prodded Security Council members over six weeks to get a resolution on inspections in November. The US will decide whether to seek a second resolution authorising force after hearing the report by Dr Hans Blix and UN nuclear agency head Dr Mohamed ElBaradei.
"To say never mind now, or walk away from this problem or allow it to be strung out, I think, would be a defeat for the international community and a serious defeat for the United Nations " Mr Powell said.
In Washington, British Foreign Secretary Mr Jack Straw also said the authority of the UN was at stake, adding however "there are still ways that this can be resolved peacefully." Mr Straw said all 15 members of the council who unanimously approved a resolution in November authorising weapons searches "knew what they were saying" when they warned of serious consequences if Iraq did not disarm.
Ireland was a member of the council at the time of the vote.
Adding to the pressure on Washington, a Wall Street Journal/NBC news poll yesterday showed that 63 per cent of Americans believe the US should only go to war against Iraq with UN support - up from 55 per cent in December. Only 29 per cent endorse action without UN backing.
National security adviser Dr Condoleezza Rice said in a New York Times article that South Africa, Ukraine and Kazakhstan had shown how to disarm peacefully by leading inspectors to banned weapons sites, and accused Saddam Hussein of failing "in spectacular fashion" to do the same.
Joining in a concerted White House campaign to sway opinion, Deputy Defence Secretary Mr Paul Wolfowitz said that as terrorists were seeking weapons of mass destruction, "disarming Iraq of its chemical and biological weapons and dismantling its nuclear weapons is a crucial part of winning the war on terror".
At the UN, Dr Hans Blix said that there were still some problems with inspections, including the blockage of a U2 spy plane and too many minders.
"If Iraq showed the co-operation and respect asked of them it could be a fast process," he said.