UK: British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair has said the world is entering "the final phase" of a 12-year battle to disarm Saddam Hussein's Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.
In a forthright statement to MPs about his Washington summit with President Bush, Mr Blair insisted there was "unmistakable evidence" of an Iraqi "infrastructure of deception and concealment" designed to thwart the UN weapons inspectors.
And he again warned that Britain and the United States would not back down in the face of any "unreasonable" veto at the UN Security Council.
Speaking ahead of today's talks with French President Jacques Chirac at Le Touquet, Mr Blair assured MPs that he and President Bush were agreed that, should the inspectors report continuing non-compliance, a second UN resolution should be sought declaring Iraq in breach of resolution 1441 and authorising any proposed military action.
However, Mr Blair again entered the crucial qualification: "President Bush and I have agreed we should seek maximum support for such a resolution provided, as ever, that seeking such a resolution is a way of resolving the issue, not delaying or avoiding dealing with it at all."
As Downing Street last night gave wider circulation to secret intelligence material showing the scale of Iraq's alleged efforts to obstruct the work of Dr Hans Blix and his team of inspectors, sources close to Mr Blair indicated they were not expecting agreement for military action from President Chirac today.
However, the Prime Minister's advisers will be anxiously searching for evidence of a "reaching out" by the French President as Mr Blair continues his uphill battle to persuade doubtful Labour MPs that he can secure UN backing for war.
In the Commons yesterday, Mr Blair again enjoyed the support of the Conservative leader, Mr Iain Duncan Smith, who said his party also supported following the UN route and hoped a second resolution could be secured. "While it is not a prerequisite for future action, it is highly desirable," he said.
However, Mr Blair clashed with the Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Charles Kennedy, whose party appears to be the sole beneficiary of the Labour government's latest recorded drop in public support.
Accusing ministers of sending mixed messages, Mr Kennedy said the government had so far failed to make "a credible case" for war based on credible evidence.
He said if the Americans decided to take some sort of pre-emptive action before the weapons inspectors were able to complete their task, Britain would have to be "clear-cut" about where its allegiance lay.
And he challenged Mr Blair: "Do you recognise that by making war appear somehow inevitable it is hard for the public to believe that President Bush and yourself are actually objective about the task in front of the weapons inspectors?"
Mr Blair derided Mr Kennedy's assertion that he and President Bush were "hastening into war" ahead of events. "We have gone through 12 years of this in which we have tried to get Saddam to disarm. This is hardly hastening into war. We are responding to the fact that Saddam Hussein has refused point blank, as he has throughout 12 years, to do what the UN has asked him to do."
Insisting that a "decisive stand" be taken, Mr Blair warned MPs: "Show weakness now and no one will ever believe us when we try to show strength in the future."