Powell makes his case for war as countdown starts

Making his case before the council, Powell played an audiotape in which one Iraqi officer tells another to make sure that ‘‘no modified vehicles are present if UN arms inspectors visit’’.

We evacuated everything,’’ the junior officer reassured him. He was referring to a vehicle from the al-Kindi company, which Powell said was involved in ‘‘prohibited weapons activity’’.

Powell showed satellite photos of what he said were weapons munition bunkers and a decontamination vehicle, which are used in the event something goes wrong in the facility. Then he displayed a photo showing that before UN weapons inspectors arrived, the vehicle was gone and the facility cleaned up, and the inspectors found nothing. ‘‘This sequence of events raises the worrisome suspicion that Iraq had been tipped off,’’ Powell said.

The Secretary of State told the UN Security Council that the UN risked irrelevance if it did not act in response to alleged Iraqi violations. ‘‘This body places itself in danger of irrelevance if it allows Iraq to continue to defy its will without responding effectively.’’

Some other key points made by Powell:

• Saddam had threatened Iraqi scientists with death if they divulged information to UN weapons inspectors. One scientist had been sent into hiding by the Iraqi regime, after a false death certificate was issued for him.

• Iraq harbours a terrorist group headed by al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab Zarqawi.