Massive US air strikes on Iraq loomed closer as B-52 bombers with Cruise missiles began moving to the Gulf region yesterday.
However, a State Department spokesman said that "a number of options are being presented to the President to maintain maximum flexibility". Mr Clinton is due to leave for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APE) economic summit in Malaysia at the weekend but it is possible that his place in Kuala Lumpur will be taken by Vice-President Al Gore if the President is obliged to stay in Washington to deal with the Iraq crisis.
US officials insisted that there is no room whatever for negotiation with Iraq and that the only way to prevent US action is by Iraq returning to compliance with UN resolutions on inspections for weapons of mass destruction.
The US also hailed a statement by a number of Arab states warning President Saddam Hussein to return to compliance as a sign of Iraq's isolation in the Arab world. The statement did not indicate any support for military action by the US.
Both President Clinton and Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, continued to call heads of government and foreign ministers around the world to seek support for the US position. But so far, Britain appears to be the only country to support air strikes on Iraq.
Congress recently approved measures to arm opposition groups in Iraq seeking to overturn the present regime.
A dissident voice was that of former President Jimmy Carter who said that the US lacked support for a strike against Iraq and that the international community would accept military force only if it were narrowly targeted.
"At this point, contrary to what we saw during the Gulf War period, we don't have the support for military action either in Europe - certainly not in Russia - and I don't believe we have the support in the Arab countries that are neighbours of Saddam Hussein," Mr Carter said on CNBC television.