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To prepare for phase two of the disarmament campaign in Iraq, U.S. intelligence is "whittling down" a list of discrepancies and holes in Baghdad's arms declaration to identify the top half-dozen or so as the basis for an intense and tightly timed series of inspections, probably in the new year, according to U.S. officials.

Just a 30-minute drive from this isolated checkpoint, beyond Iraqi troops and artillery deployed on a rocky ridge, lies a city that could make or break a U.S. intervention in Iraq. Kirkuk may even be one of the first stops for American troops.

His frail body perched on a pillow, Ali Shakiebeinejad whispered a few words at a time through a green plastic mask connected to an oxygen canister.

The international haggling is over. A new UN resolution on Iraq passed Friday, and weapons inspectors soon could be heading back to Baghdad.

At an abandoned Iraqi army base beneath the voluptuous brown mountains of Kurdistan, the sounds of thudding boots and military chants echo through the morning air. The only armed force in Iraq not under Saddam Hussain's control is running daily drills.

Two plans on table for post-war Iraq

U.S. acts to thwart European policy

The U.S. administration now distinguishes between Iran and the other countries that President George W. Bush lumped together last year in an "axis of evil" and does not plan to target the Islamic Republic after the increasingly likely war in Iraq, a senior official told the Los Angeles Times.

Jordan's King Abdullah is quietly trying to broker a deal that would lead Tehran to surrender some 70 Al Qaida operatives, including the son of Osama bin Laden, in exchange for US action on the largest Iranian opposition group now based in Iraq, according to US and Middle East officials.

Show time for Iraq 'Spartacus'

As the military squeeze tightens around Iraq, Arab leaders and the European Union have quietly begun mobilising last-minute initiatives to avert a U.S.-led war, according to American, European and Arab officials.

The outlines of a possible compromise on Iraq began to take shape on Thursday, as the United States and Britain seriously considered allowing UN weapons inspections to continue for several weeks in hopes of making the case with sceptical allies and public opinion.