Earlier today, while traveling to

Earlier today, while traveling to Switzerland, Colin Powell made some comments to reporters that, as reported by Haaretz, sound consistent with den Beste’s analysis of the Iraq situation.
Powell said that “at least a dozen” countries would support an attack on Iraq without further U.N. action, but that a decision on whether to pursue military action will not be made before President Bush and Prime Minister Blair meet on January 31. Powell also chided Europeans who voted for the U.N. resolution threatening Iraq with “serious consequences,” but now are leery of military action: “We can’t be afraid to go down this road because the going’s going to get tough or hard. You should have realized that was a possibility when you signed on and became a partner to (UN resolution) 1441.” Finally, Powell confirmed that President Bush will “lay out more of the case” for disarming Iraq by force in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.