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...gaps in Iraq's weapons disclosure put it in "material breach" of UN Security Council Resolution 1441, says Washington. Yet the Bush Administration refrained Thursday from seeking UN endorsement of that view, and triggering an invasion of Iraq. Chief UN weapons inspector Dr. Hans Blix told the Council that Iraq's declaration contained little new information about its weapons programs and left key questions unanswered, and Secretary of State Colin Powell warned that Baghdad had failed "to move us in the direction of a peaceful resolution." But instead of demanding Security Council support for going to war, Powell emphasized...
...Proof of Iraqi cheating, of course, remains a central concern of American voters, along with a desire to see UN backing for any attack on Iraq. A TIME/CNN poll released Thursday found that 66 percent of Americans believe the U.S. should not invade Iraq without first offering proof that Baghdad is producing weapons of mass destruction. And in the event of the U.S. offering its own proof in the event that the UN inspectors find nothing, 54 percent supported an invasion while 38 percent opposed it. Those figures tack with a poll released this week by the LA Times, which...
...elements of the Bush Administration - 67 percent of respondents approved of the job UNMOVIC is doing in probing for weapons in Iraq. Despite the Administration reserving the right to strike unilaterally, 50 percent of respondents said that even if Saddam obstructed weapons inspections, the U.S. should not invade without UN authorization, whereas only 31 percent said Washington should launch an immediate invasion in the event of Iraqi non-compliance...
...pressing the inspectors to intensify their efforts and assisting them with intelligence that may point them to forensic and oral evidence of Iraqi weapons programs may well be the smart way for Washington to go, right now. To be sure, the Bush Administration loses little by indulging the UN process even as U.S. officials constantly remind the public of Washington's view that Saddam is lying and cheating. Preparations for war continue; Pentagon officials have told CNN they plan to raise troop levels around Iraq to 100,000 in January, and the U.S. is actively pursuing basing rights and commitments...
...Regardless of the state of the UN inspection process, a war is already taking shape. Indeed, 63 percent of respondents to the TIME/CNN poll indicated a belief that war is inevitable. But given the concerns expressed by American voters and the absence of international consensus over invading Iraq, continuing the UN process while slowly building a case against Saddam - at least in the court of U.S. public opinion, and as far as possible among allies - may be the Administration's most effective strategy for building support for going to war some time next year...