In Baghdad, President Saddam Hussein's chief scientific adviser Amir al-Saadi said the "so-called evidence" would not show a "smoking gun," because if the United States had credible facts, it would have given them to UN weapons inspectors on the ground.

Powell wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece ahead of his speech on Wednesday to the UN Security Council that although there was still no "smoking gun," the world must recognize Iraq had flouted the will of the international community.

In Vienna, one of the two top inspectors, International Atomic Agency chief Mohamad ElBaradei, said the world was losing patience with Iraq and Baghdad needed to begin cooperating more with the inspectors.

The other chief inspector, Hans Blix, told reporters at the United Nations in New York that he had received no new information from Iraq ahead of a weekend trip to Baghdad and hoped Powell would provide more data on suspected arms sites.

Asked by reporters about his upcoming trip on Saturday and Sunday, Blix said there were no assurances yet on any of the actions he and ElBaradei had requested before they went to Baghdad.

They had urged Iraq to guarantee the safety of U-2 overflights without conditions and allow private interviews with scientists before the trip. During the visit they said they expected Iraq to account for missing data in its major arms declaration, submitted on December 7, which Blix has sharply criticized.

'NO GUARANTEES'

"There are no guarantees," Blix said. "We have simply indicated the issues which should be easy," such as the U-2 flights and the private interviews.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said a second Security Council resolution might be necessary if the UN inspectors were obstructed in performing their duties. But he said force was a last resort.

Powell wrote he would say Baghdad was continuing to frustrate the work of the inspectors, who have been scouring Iraq since November but have yet to find proof of chemical, biological or nuclear arms.

"While there will be no 'smoking gun'...We will...offer a straightforward, sober and compelling demonstration that Saddam is concealing the evidence of his weapons of mass destruction, while preserving the weapons themselves," he wrote.

He was backed up by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington's main ally in its drive to force Baghdad to give up banned weapons peacefully or by force.

Blair told the British parliament there was "unmistakable evidence" that Iraq was withholding cooperation from the inspectors.

Striking a conciliatory but firm note toward other European allies, many of them skeptical of US intentions, Powell promised Washington would try to bridge differences and fully consult its partners before any decision to go to war.

IRAQ'S UN AMBASSADOR ASKS TO SPEAK

Iraq's UN ambassador on Monday formally asked to address the Security Council after Powell's speech and a US official said Washington would not object.

Blix, in charge of chemical, biological and ballistic weapons teams, again took issue on Monday with US claims that Iraqi officials would hide and move illicit materials around as inspectors attempted to scrutinize a suspected weapons site.

"I do not think that is the case," he told reporters. "I do not think there is any leakage."

But Blix said Powell might "have lots of other things" to present in his speech.

He said he was hoping for more information on the location of banned weapons so we can "go to the sites and check that."

In Toronto, former senior Iraqi nuclear scientist Imad Khadduri said there was no way Iraq could possess nuclear arms.

Khadduri, who was part of a team seeking to develop a nuclear bomb in the 1980s, said Baghdad's weapons program fell into a shambles after the 1991 Gulf war and could not possibly have been resurrected.

Iraq's Saadi told a 32-member European Union delegation from 11 countries Baghdad could not understand why Powell did not just give the evidence he said he had to the inspectors.

"I can't prejudge what he is going to present and whatever it is, we'll certainly react and ask the two (UN inspection) agencies to check it if it is in their competence," he said.

(China Daily February 4, 2003)