United Nations, Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will highlight unaccounted weapons and the threat of terrorism when he presents a case to the United Nations Security Council today that Iraq must be disarmed by force. Powell, in a 90-minute address beginning at 10:30 a.m. local time, will try to convince the Security Council Iraq won't cooperate with UN demands it reveal its arms programs. Eleven of the 15 Security Council members oppose military action and want UN inspectors to complete their work in Iraq, UN Secretary of State Kofi Annan said last week. Powell will document Iraq's chemical and biological weapons and will highlight its ``intersections with various and sundry terrorist groups,'' U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said yesterday. ``That's our real fear with Iraq,'' he told a Congressional committee.
President George W. Bush asked the Security Council to allow Powell to present evidence to convince nations, including France, Germany, Russia and China, that Iraq is failing to disarm. Bush says he will lead a coalition to disarm Iraq if the UN fails to act. The U.S. and U.K. are deploying more than 215,000 troops in the Persian Gulf ready for military action. Powell said in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week he won't present any ``smoking gun'' evidence against Iraq. He said he will produce ``compelling'' evidence the country has weapons of mass destruction in violation of UN resolutions. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein yesterday denied his country has any banned weapons or maintains links with the al-Qaeda terrorist network. He was speaking in a television interview with Tony Benn, a former U.K. Cabinet minister, broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 network. Ari Fleischer, a spokesman for Bush, rejected Hussein's comments. ``His track record on telling the truth is not good at all,'' Fleischer said yesterday.
Powell's Evidence
Powell's presentation may include satellite photos, telephone conversation intercepts and evidence Iraq bought illegal arms, said Hans Blix, the UN's chief weapons inspector. The secretary of state is unlikely to indicate any sites UN inspectors should visit, he said. Blix visits Iraq Feb. 8 with Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. They report to the Security Council Feb. 14 on the level of Iraqi cooperation with inspectors. Iraq must produce evidence of substance on the weapons it still has or, if they aren't there, ``present credible evidence for their absence,'' Blix said yesterday on the UN's Web site. The Iraqi government must take action to avoid war, Blix said. A date hasn't been set for military action ``but I think we are moving closer and closer to it,'' he said. ``Therefore it would seem to me that the Iraqi leadership must be well aware of that,'' Blix said. ``They can do things that would change the situation.''
Little Impact
Foreign ministers from at least 12 of the 15 countries on the Security Council will attend today's presentation, the UN cited Gunter Pleuger, Germany's ambassador, as saying. The ambassadors from Angola, Mexico and Syria, as well as U.K. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, said Powell's presentation will have little immediate impact. ``Don't expect to see movement in the Security Council right away,'' Greenstock said yesterday. Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov said only ``undeniable'' evidence would convince him to support military action. Iraq's Ambassador Mohammad al-Douri will be given the opportunity to respond to Powell's presentation, after the foreign ministers give their statements in the meeting. ``I will say that we are cooperative, that we will do our best to avoid war,'' al-Douri said earlier this week. ``It will be a peaceful message. I can assure you that Powell won't present any evidence that Iraq has mass destruction weapons or any link to al- Qaeda.'' //www.quote.bloomberg.com