Powell tells allies: US will not shrink from war

Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, served notice on Washington's reluctant allies yesterday that America would attack Iraq alone if an international consensus on military action could not be reached.

"We seek Iraq's peaceful disarmament. But we will not shrink from war if that is the only way to rid Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction," General Powell said .

The warning – delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos – came at the start of a critical week that could determine the timing of a war with Iraq. Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, and his counterpart from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed al-Baradei, will appear before the UN Security Council today to report on the first two months of resumed inspections.

Tensions will be unusually high at the Security Council. In behind-the-scenes diplomatic manoeuvring last night, some countries were preparing to press the US to delay any war and, instead, to set a new deadline of 1 March for inspectors to reach conclusions on Iraq. Sources said the compromise proposals had already won British backing.

The inspectors are not expected to put forward any fresh evidence of wrongdoing by Iraq. Mr Blix, however, will spell out several areas where Iraqi co-operation is still falling short. Mr Baradei is expected to say he has found no evidence of nuclear weapons activity in Iraq and to ask formally for more time for his inspectors.

Tony Blair conceded yesterday that the inspectors needed more time but said it should only amount to weeks, rather than months. Britain would interpret Iraqi failure to co-operate fully with the UN team as a material breach of Security Council resolutions, even if no weapons of mass destruction were uncovered, he said. "If he fails to co-operate in being honest and he is pursuing a programme of concealment, that is every bit as much a breach as finding, for example, a missile or a chemical agent." The inspectors should have some leeway,, Mr Blair added, but London would justify military action by charging Iraq with secrecy and obstruction.

President George Bush is under pressure at home to slow the momentum towards war. New polls at the weekend showed a clear majority of Americans favoured winning multinational backing before engaging Iraq. Washington now calculates that to allow extra time may help both the case for a second resolution authorising force, as well as the American military build-up in the Gulf.

Mr Bush will attempt to lay out his case once more in the annual State of the Union address tomorrow night. He will discuss strategy with Mr Blair at Camp David on Friday.

General Powell's presence in Davos was seen as an attempt by the Bush administration to rally support for military action. The unusually hawkish message from Gen Powell was meant as a warning that time was running out and that one way or another Iraq would be disarmed. "Let the Iraqi regime be in no doubt," he said. "If it does not disarm peacefully at this juncture, it will be disarmed at the end of the road."

US officials would not respond to a report in the Los Angeles Times that the Pentagon was preparing contingency plans to use nuclear weapons if Saddam Hussein resorted to weapons of mass destruction. Andrew Card, the White House chief of staff, would not deny or confirm the report, but said the US would use "all necessary means" in a war.

In London, the Government revealed fresh intelligence, including details of munitions, chemicals, motors for missiles and secret documents concealed by the Iraqis.

King Abdullah of Jordan struck a pessimistic note in Davos, saying it would "take a miracle" to find a diplomatic solution to the Iraq crisis. "Unfortunately I believe that we're ... too late to see a way out, a diplomatic solution between Iraq and the international community," he said.