Mr Colin Powell made a powerful case to the United Nations Security Council yesterday that Iraq has systematically evaded and deceived UN arms inspectors, is continuing to develop weapons of mass destruction and is giving haven to terrorist networks associated with the al-Qaeda organisation.
He insisted that these are facts based on US intelligence information. He repeated the US view that Iraq harbours ambitions to dominate the Middle East and plans to use these weapons to do so. And he made it clear his government believes little time is left for the UN to tackle this crisis, since Iraq is deeply in breach of Resolution 1441 demanding that it disarm.
Not a great deal of this case is substantively new. What is so is the intelligence evidence on which it is based. Has this been released for the first time to the UN and its arms inspectors? If this is so it raises grave questions about the seriousness with which the US treats the Security Council's mandate and the arms inspectors' obligation to verify and evaluate these allegations. If a system of collective security is to work it must be based on trustworthy pooling of information about breaches of Security Council demands. It must also allow sufficient time and resources for the arms inspectors and their political masters to evaluate the findings. If they say months rather than weeks are required for this task they must be given it. They must also be given far more resources.
Iraq must immediately demonstrate its willingness to comply fully with Resolution 1441 if it is to be given more time to let the arms inspection take its full course. Several key demands arise from yesterday's presentations to the Security Council. They include the use of U2 surveillance planes and credible evidence that it can account for the destruction of the biological and chemical weapons it has already admitted possessing.
It will be up to the arms inspectors to make this evaluation in coming days, ahead of their report back to the Security Council next week. If they say progress has been made the case for more time to complete their work becomes more compelling. If they report continuing non co-operation by the Iraqis there is likely to be a swing at the Security Council towards military action to force compliance in another UN resolution.
Mr Powell's case that Iraq plans regional domination by using these weapons and must be stopped by the use of force is not proven. But it will become more credible if the pattern of systematic evasion and deceit he asserted yesterday is shown to be true. In turn that would strengthen the case he makes for military action against Iraq. But even if his case about evasion and deceit is shown to be correct it does not necessarily follow that military action is the best means to deal with the threat. Mr Powell's presentation was put to the proper forum yesterday, but the US must fully respect the UN's role in coming weeks.