Secretary of State Colin Powell Says Iraqi Threat Must Be Dealt With Now, Not When Its Too Late

Secretary of State Colin Powell, heading into high- stakes talks with fellow U.N. Security Council envoys, said Thursday the Iraqi threat must be dealt with now, not after the another mass murder of innocent people.

Testifying before a Senate subcommittee before traveling to New York, Powell said, "The moment we find ourselves in is a critical moment. We are being tested, the Security Council of the United Nations and the international community are being tested."

He asked whether individuals such as Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein should be allowed to continue to develop weapons of mass destruction.

"This is the time we have to deal with this kind of threat, not after we have seen thousands of people die as a result of the use of some of these horrible weapons," he said.

In New York, Powell will try to overcome U.N. resistance to using force to disarm Iraq, warning that holding back would send a "terrible message" to tyrants everywhere.

On Wednesday, he said that if Security Council does not act, the United States and its coalition partners are prepared to disarm Iraq by force and take responsibility for Iraq's future after a war.

In more intensified activity against Iraq, the United States ordered two U.N.-based Iraqi diplomats to leave the country and asked 60 countries to expel alleged Iraqi agents who could attack American interests overseas.

The government has identified 300 Iraqis in the 60 countries, said the U.S. officials, asking not to be identified. Some are operating as diplomats out of Iraqi embassies, and foreign governments are expected to comply with the U.S. request, the officials said.

President Bush scheduled a prime-time news conference Thursday as part of his effort to prepare the nation for the prospect of war.

Spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush's opening statement in the East Room would address "the successes in the war against terror as well as the importance of disarming Saddam Hussein." He said Bush has not decided whether to wage war.

During his fourth trip to the United Nations in less than two months, Powell is scheduled Friday to make what could be a final speech to the council urging approval of a U.S.-British-Spanish resolution supporting the use of force.

In advance of the speech, Powell arranged for meetings beginning later Thursday with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani and Spanish foreign minister Ana Palacio.

Powell will speak Friday after chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix reports to the council on Iraq's cooperation in the search for illegal chemical and biological weapons.

Blix said Wednesday that Iraq is now providing "a great deal more" cooperation and painted a more positive picture of Iraq's disarmament efforts than he did a week ago. He said he would welcome the continuation of U.N. inspections for several more months and mapped out plans well into the summer.

Meanwhile, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the top Democrat on Senate Armed Services Committee, said that U.S. intelligence agencies have shared only a small fraction of the sites Iraq identified as highly suspicious for weapons of mass destruction. That information contradicts public statements by CIA Director George Tenet that all such information has been shared with U.N. inspectors, he said.

"If we have not shared the suspect sites, we undermine our own case at the Security Council," Levin said. He said it would be a "nightmare scenario" if Iraq were to use biological or chemical weapons hidden at one of the sites that had not been shared.

With a vote on the new U.N. resolution expected next week, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Russia said they would block any attempt to get U.N. approval for war with Iraq. Either France or Russia could kill the resolution with a veto. Other council members normally allied with the United States have said more time should be allowed for weapons inspections.

Council diplomats said Wednesday that Britain was preparing an amendment that would extend the time for inspections. There was no immediate indication whether that would be acceptable to the United States.

Powell has said repeatedly that the inspections were futile, and that Iraq's intelligence agency in late January had taken chemical and biological agents "to areas far away from Baghdad near the Syrian and Turkish borders in order to conceal them."