By Glenn Kessler and Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, February 6, 2003; Page A01

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 5 -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell presented the U.N. Security Council today with satellite images, intercepted telephone conversations and information from Iraqi defectors in a bid to convince the American public and the world that new weapons inspections have failed to halt Iraq's banned weapons programs and that the hour was approaching for a decision on confronting President Saddam Hussein with force.

Speaking before a packed council chamber, Powell cited what he called an "accumulation of facts and disturbing patterns of behavior" to charge that Iraq does not intend to comply with last year's unanimous U.N. resolution giving Baghdad one last chance to disarm and to outline new alleged links between Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network.

While inspections may continue for some weeks, Powell warned the council that the United Nations has little choice but to act in the face of such evidence of Iraqi behavior, in effect serving notice that the Bush administration has made up its mind and is ready to launch an invasion of Iraq to force Hussein from power with or without formal U.N. backing.

"This body places itself in danger of irrelevance if it allows Iraq to continue to defy its will without responding effectively and immediately," Powell said.

As Powell addressed the Security Council, the Pentagon announced the mobilization of an additional 16,979 military reservists and National Guard members, bringing the total activated to 111,603, the largest number since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. And at Fort Campbell, Ky., the Army's 101st Airborne Division -- likely a key component of any Iraqi invasion -- stepped up preparations for what appeared to be an imminent deployment order.

In his nearly 90-minute address, Powell accused Iraq of constructing an elaborate deception scheme that enabled officials to conceal programs to produce biological weapons in mobile trucks and trains, to build prohibited long-range missiles and to construct unmanned aerial vehicles capable of spreading biological or chemical agents over vast tracts of territory.

In an effort to broaden the indictment against Iraq, Powell also detailed new evidence of apparent links between Iraq and affiliates of al Qaeda. Powell noted that some of the ties may have a role in terrorist incidents in France, Britain, Spain and Russia -- all represented on the Security Council.

Iraq's U.N. ambassador, Mohamed Douri, was invited to attend the session and he dismissed Powell's assertions as "utterly unrelated to the truth."

"No new information was provided, mere sound recordings that cannot be ascertained as genuine," he said. "There are incorrect allegations, unnamed sources, unknown sources."

But Powell's statement, which was televised live to audiences around the world, appeared to generate new support for the Bush administration within Congress, with even critics of President Bush's Iraq policy saying that Powell made a compelling case. Overseas, the reaction was more mixed. Powell's performance was widely praised, but many governments said he made a case for enhanced inspections, not war.

Powell also appeared to sway few minds on the Security Council.

Immediately after Powell spoke, the foreign ministers of France, Russia and China -- all of which hold veto power -- rejected the need for imminent military action and instead said the solution was more inspections. "Let us double, let us triple the number of inspectors. Let us open more regional offices. Let us go further than this," said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, a vocal opponent of war, supported the French proposal to extend the inspections. But, he pointedly noted, Germany does not "hold any illusions on the inhuman and brutal nature of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. The regime is terrible for the Iraqi people." Fischer added that he lacked the technical expertise to assess whether the intelligence presented to the council by Powell was convincing.

In a statement sure to annoy the Germans, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, in testimony before Congress today, lumped Germany with Libya and Cuba as countries that have ruled out any role in a U.S.-led attack or postwar reconstruction of Iraq. "I believe Libya, Cuba and Germany are ones that have indicated they won't help in any respect, I believe," said Rumsfeld, who last month angered the German and French governments by referring to them as "old Europe."

The foreign ministers' council statements, however, had mostly been written before Powell spoke, and U.S. officials said afterward they believe the impact of Powell's presentation will become more apparent in the days ahead. Proponents of more inspections, officials said, will need to address the evidence of Iraqi deception outlined by Powell.

"The issue before us is not how much time we are willing to give the inspectors to be frustrated by Iraqi obstruction," Powell said. "But how much longer are we willing to put up with Iraq's noncompliance before we, as a council, we, as the United Nations, say: 'Enough. Enough.' "

One U.S. official noted with satisfaction that de Villepin, who two weeks ago threatened to veto an imminent military strike, today appeared to open the door to military action. "We rule out no option, including in the final analysis the recourse to force," he said.

After lunch, Powell raced through individual meetings with 11 foreign ministers whose countries are represented on the council, reinforcing the idea that the United Nations cannot wait much longer before acting. The United States has not committed itself to seeking a second U.N. resolution authorizing military action, but Powell's speech was designed to test the waters for whether it was possible to win approval for such a measure.

Powell may have picked up support from some of the smaller countries on the council. In the meetings with Powell, Angola was very supportive of the U.S. position, while Guinea said there were "no big gaps" between it and the United States, a U.S. official said. Spain, Bulgaria and Chile -- along with Britain, the closest U.S. ally -- also expressed support for a tough line on Iraq.

"We'll see what happens after the inspectors come back from Baghdad," Powell told reporters before departing for Washington. The chief weapons inspectors are scheduled to travel to the Iraqi capital this weekend in an effort to seek more cooperation, and are due to report to the council again Feb. 14.

Powell is held in high esteem abroad, partly because of the perception that he is a reluctant warrior in an administration filled with hawks. Today, he used that reputation to bolster the administration's case. With CIA Director George J. Tenet seated behind him, Powell frequently emphasized that the facts he was presenting were his own conclusions from reviewing the intelligence.

Using large screens erected in the chamber, Powell displayed photographs, diagrams and translations from intercepts, moving quickly from the images and sounds to a detailed explanation of their meaning.

In one theatrical touch, he held up a vial with a teaspoon of simulated anthrax provided by the CIA. Less than a teaspoon of anthrax in an envelope, he noted, caused havoc in the U.S. postal system in 2001, and Iraq has not accounted for as much as 16,500 liters of anthrax, enough to "fill tens upon tens upon tens of thousands of teaspoons."

A senior State Department official said that Powell spent Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at CIA headquarters in Virginia, which is only minutes from Powell's home in McLean. He reviewed slides and transcripts and closely questioned photo and other intelligence analysts to understand how they reached their conclusions. Some pieces of intelligence were withheld to not compromise the sources of the information or the means by which it was gathered, the official said. Powell rejected some information if he felt it was too difficult for nonexperts to understand.

The official said Powell hoped to win over his audience by the wealth of information, saying he wanted to win like the 1963 Dodgers rather than the 1927 Yankees. "We hit a series of line drives, rather than go for a big out-of-the-park home run."

One senior council diplomat said Powell had delivered a skillful presentation of the risks posed by Iraq's weapons program. But he said that key elements, particularly the communications between Iraqi officials allegedly trying to hide nerve agents and mobile biological weapons facilities, were less convincing.

Syria, the Security Council's only Arab nation, said that there was nothing in Powell's remarks that would justify military action against Iraq. Syria's U.N. ambassador, Mikhail Wehbe, faulted the administration for creating a media spectacle in the council.

Powell said that intelligence sources had described an elaborate system of Iraqi concealment, replacing computer hard drives at weapons sites, and moving documents, computers and banned weapons around the country. He showed satellite photographs allegedly showing chemical weapons bunkers and convoys of Iraqi cargo trucks preparing to move ballistic missile components from a missile facility two days before inspections resumed. "We saw this kind of housecleaning at close to 30 sites," he said.

He acknowledged differences between the United States and the IAEA over the threat posed by Iraq's ambitions to develop nuclear weapons. But he said "there is no doubt in my mind" that Iraq is seeking the ability to produce fissile nuclear fuel.

He also detailed new intelligence alleging that Iraq has been harboring the Baghdad cell of a global terrorist network run by Abu Musab Zarqawi, whom he described as an associate of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.