As time runs out for Iraq, President Clinton has urged President Saddam Hussein to end the present crisis by resuming full co-operation with the UN weapons inspectors.
It will be several days before US aircraft and troop reinforcements are in place in the Gulf region, leading observers to speculate that Mr Clinton is indicating there is still time for Iraq to avoid intensive air strikes.
The president is to leave Washington this evening for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Kuala Lumpur, but rumours persist that he will have to send Vice-President Al Gore in his place so that he can handle the Iraqi crisis from Washington.
The UN Security Council met yesterday to discuss the crisis in Iraq with the Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, in attendance, having cut short a trip to North Africa. Mr Annan talked to President Clinton for 10 minutes by phone about the crisis.
The UN ambassadors of Russia, China and France also met Mr Annan separately before the Security Council meeting, leading to speculation that these countries which do not approve of military action are searching for a compromise.
US officials were saying, however, that they did not see Mr Annan travelling to Baghdad on a mediation mission in view of the Iraqi hardline position.
The State Department has warned US citizens around the world to maintain a high degree of vigilance against possible terrorist attacks arising from the confrontation with Iraq. Americans are being told to keep a low profile, vary routes and times for all required travel and treat mail from unfamiliar sources with suspicion. Mr Clinton commented briefly on the Iraq crisis in remarks to the media at the White House. He said that Iraq's "continued refusal to embrace a peaceful solution and its continued defiance of even more UN resolutions makes it plainer than ever that its real goal is to end sanctions without giving up its weapons of mass destruction programme".
The UN Security Council and the world had "made it crystal clear now that this is unacceptable and that none of us can tolerate an Iraq free to develop weapons of mass destruction with impunity. Still, Saddam Hussein has it in his own hands to end this crisis now by resuming full co-operation with UNSCOM", Mr Clinton said.
The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, repeated his support for military action, writing in the New York Times that "once again America and Britain stand shoulder to shoulder".
Stating that America was again responding to the call of duty, Mr Blair warned that if President Saddam "does not willingly halt his attempts to give himself the ability to commit mass murder, we are prepared to force him to".
Earlier the Secretary of State, Mrs Madeleine Albright, insisted that "no further warnings are needed" before the US military struck begin. She dismissed calls from some politicians that Congress should be convened to pass a resolution authorising action against Iraq. President Clinton had "the inherent authority" to launch air strikes, she said, and that he was consulting with congressional leaders while Congress was in recess.
Asked about the attitude of Russia to US military action, Ms Albright said she had spoken to the Foreign Minister, Mr Ivanov, who indicated that he preferred "a diplomatic solution" but also expressed frustration at the conduct of Iraq. She told him that the US also preferred a diplomatic solution.
Pope John Paul may visit Iraq this month, the head of the Eastern Chaldean rite, Patriarch Raphael Bidawid, said in an interview with Fides, the news agency of the Vatican's missionary arm. "On our side, we're pushing for the government to officially invite the Pope to Iraq," the Patriarch said.