U.S., UK may compromise

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.

The two allies came to no formal conclusions during talks between U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

But both deliberated the option of giving the arms monitors extra time in exchange for assurances from allies that inspections won't drag on indefinitely, according to U.S. and British officials.

"You need space to show that the policy is working and to convince public opinion that you have let this process take its course. There's no need to go to war in February, for example," said a British official who requested anonymity.

Powell and Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also moved to shore up support on Capitol Hill, where some key senators have complained that the administration has failed to make a case for war.

Behind closed doors, the pair acknowledged the administration's concern over allied opposition to military intervention in Iraq, made most vocally this week by France and Germany.

Powell and Rumsfeld indicated that the administration is prepared to let the UN teams continue their work "a little longer," maybe a month or so, according to Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee.

In a spate of speeches and background briefings with senior U.S. officials this week, the U.S. administration has been scrambling to make its case that there is evidence that Iraq is not complying with inspections, and that no smoking gun is needed.

Washington has been deeply frustrated that the barometre of cooperation has been whether or not the UN teams find hidden nuclear, chemical or biological weapons or ballistic missiles-and not that Saddam turn voluntarily turn over known outstanding items.

As the bridge between the United States and Britain's European neighbours, London is particularly concerned with closing the growing chasm over what to do next in Iraq, British officials said.

Britain, which has now committed one-quarter of its standing army to the Gulf region, shares the U.S. conviction that Iraq is guilty of violating its promise to disarm and is prepared to stand with the Washington if the United Nations does not, according to British and White House officials.

But London also is pressing for credible evidence of one of three circumstances, British officials say, to justify military intervention: a smoking gun in the form of concealed weapons; evidence that Hussain is lying; or tangible proof that Baghdad is blocking the inspections process.

While some senior U.S. and British officials insisted that London is not pressuring Washington to prolong inspections indefinitely, Prime Minister Tony Blair, due here for talks January 31, is likely to urge President Bush to allow UN teams time to show that Saddam is not complying.

"We need something more decisive than this general feeling that Iraq is not really cooperating," one senior British official said. "From our point of view, we don't have enough to go to war at this point – we will prefer to wait until the circumstances are more favourable to broader support."

Under growing pressure this week from allies and Iraq's neighbours, the United States engaged in heavy diplomacy on Thursday to prevent a diplomatic face-off over Iraq at the United Nations next week.